Odd Lots · Thursday, July 16, 2026
The challenge of translating complex machine learning model outputs into actionable insights for soccer coaches and managers is a key discussion point. It's highlighted that a 'translation layer' of data analysts is crucial, often using video clips derived from model outputs to communicate findings effectively.
“The main thing is the translation, like you said, from model outputs to coach, and I think in the last couple of years most most teams have found is that they need an expert analyst and data analysts to do this conversion or the translations, where the coach isn't fed the data directly.”
“Sure the coach is fed just the information that the analyst finds from the data, and that could be in the end. That generally still boils down to having video clips, so you can use the data to find video, and then you can show the video to the coach, which then from bottom up you have this.”
“So the model output could be many things. It could be outputs from a classification model that says, in this given ten second or fifteen or twenty second window, this team played in this sort of build up, or they have this type of structure.”