Review: The Rise of Women's Soccer

I know this isn't related to software development, but I think this journey ought to be studied in comparison to lifting up minorities in a field dominated by the majority. In this case, the majority is men; minority is women. See my thoughts after this video clip which does a great job in summarizing the reason behind US Women's Soccer. The same needs should happen within the world of technology. But like women's sports, minorities in tech will only prosper by taking the initiative and building platforms that the next generation will grow well.

Why the US Women's Team is Great at Soccer

But, the US Women's Soccer team aren't the only ones who surprised the world. There were plenty of other teams in the World Cup 2019 that amazed the fans from Sweden's Jakobsson to Brazil's Marta (a legend!).

Netherlands vs Italy

Take for instance the Italian Women's Soccer team. They actually dominated the field against the European Champs, the Netherlands, but lost the game. In my opinion, they didn't lose the game due to lack of skill. On the contrary, the Italians lost due to lack of patience and lack of strategies. Italy's mistakes on the field in scoring plus attitude with the referees gave the Netherlands the opportunities to score - and, with great composure like Johan Cruyff, the Orange did! More blues for the Blue.

France vs USA

Take another instance with the French Women's Soccer team. In my opinion, they had more talent than the US Women's team. However, the French lost due to lack of coaching and strategy. Majri was getting stopped easily by the US defenders. Renard should have been used like Klose (in German Men's Soccer team). After all, Renard was the tallest player on the field and could have scored some easy headers (if coached well). Then, there's the skill and quickness of Diani, my goodness! They should have played her at attacking midfielder, not on the wing!

World Cup 2023!

I watched almost all of the World Cup games and could give my breakdown of each team, but nobody has time for that. The point though I hope is clear - European soccer clubs for women are also on the rise. The next World Cup will be even more exciting and perhaps even more exciting than the Men's World Cup.

Professional Players at Home

So, why haven't these countries compensated these talented players like their male counterparts? #equalpay? If they created these programs and events, doesn't it also makes sense to pay them professionally too? On the Jimmy Kimmel show, Jimmy makes a good point that these champs should actually be paid more than equal - right? And why is the NWSL still having games during the Women's World Cup? Same with the men's Cups (from African Cup to Gold Cup)? Yet, despite the disrespect that these talented players receive, they still show more passion for soccer than any other player. Thank you, soccer queens for never giving up!

Articles

1. https://www.dailywire.com/news/49375/us-womens-soccer-team-accused-snubbing-star-player-hank-berrien
2. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/jul/11/usa-womens-world-cup-nwsl-victory-parade
3. https://youtu.be/Ei6cPcQWph0 (Jimmy Kimmel Live with Morgan and Rapinoe)

Review: Data Science replacing Film Studies in Sports

Disclaimer: My post here isn't to diminish the importance of gender equality in the workplace especially in sports, but to emphasize the significance of data analytics in sports.

Sports use to function purely on the brains of coaches and even some general managers. However, today many sport franchises are building and relying on a team of "brains" especially data scientists.

Here's a wonderful story telling the role of data science in professional sports.

Data Science replacing Coaching Film Studies

What I love most about this story and new trend in sports strategy is my first memory seeing this in action by my head coach in football. My high school head coach would spend hours analyzing film on opponents to catch any advantage that our team could use to win the games when we played our opponents.

Example

Specifically, there was one team that had one specific offensive lineman that would position his stance according to the offensive play. If the team was going to RUN the football, then this lineman would position his right foot slightly behind his left foot (although still squared up to block) indicating he was ready to run and block any defensive lineman. If the team was going to PASS the football, then this lineman would position both feet directly squared indicating he was going to sit still and block (i.e. prepare for pass protection which is more reactive in blocking). Our defense captain even called out the play (whether it was a "run" or "pass") which created more confusion and frustration for our opposing team. Clearly, we beat this opposing team when we played them.

Rising Potential

In the NBA, we are seeing a lot of the advantages with data science especially with the rising numbers of scoring three-pointers. I'm sure there are other advantages being studied currently but I'm curious to know the defensive advantages which have yet to be highlighted like rebounding.

Let's see where else data science will become the "brains" behind the "brawns".

Happy Coding!