Leading sports analytics expert Professor Bill Gerrard has joined The Sports Office as they continue to enhance the Analytics module of their performance management software.
Gerrard – who is Professor of Business and Sports Analytics at Leeds University Business School, and holds a UEFA ‘B’ coaching licence – will provide strategic leadership in this specific area , ensuring the Sports Office continues to enhance its coach-led approach. He is well known for his pioneering activity within this rapidly developing discipline, and has worked with US baseball icon Billy Beane, who himslef is regarded as the man who first embraced a more analytical, evidence-based approach in elite sport.
“We are delighted that Professor Bill Gerrard will join The Sports Office team, to work with us as a consultant”, commented Phil Clarke. “Bill is rightly regarded as a pioneer and one of the pre-eminent thinkers in this area.
“He will oversee our programme at three levels from initial exploratory data analysis to more forensic investigation and ultimately the development of bespoke analytical tools to assist performance management at all levels.”
Clarke added ”At The Sports Office, we have always recognised the significance and growing importance of analytics in elite sport and we want to assist our clients as they seek to benefit from it.”
“The online performance management systems we supply to elite sporting organisations have previously offered functionality in the area of analytics, data mining and information management. Our partnership with Bill will enable us to develop this even further and remain at the forefront in this field; and to identify and incorporate emerging trends and ideas that will positively influence the high-performance environment.”
Professor Bill Gerrard also added: ”I’m excited by the opportunity to work with The Sports Office and their clients to develop coach-led analytics to use performance data as effectively as possible.”
Gerrard pioneered statistical analysis in football in the 1990s, using evidence based methods to value players. In collaboration with Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A’s, Gerrard explored the feasibility of applying the “Moneyball” approach in Major League Soccer.
Bill has also worked with several of the leading football clubs in the UK.
In the world of professional rugby, Professor Gerrard has also worked for the last five years as technical analyst with leading Aviva Premiership club Saracens. Again his approach and methods were credited with significantly enhancing coaching, preparation and performances.
Brendan Venter, the World Cup winning South African rugby player and former Director of Rugby at Saracens described Gerrard’s work as “seen by the entire club as a unique point of difference that has made Saracens one of the leading clubs in European rugby.”
To learn more about how The Sports Office’s powerful online performance management systems can support sports analytics, as well as the full range of funcationality they provide to support preparation and performance at elite level, please contact our Client Management Team.