A spatio-temporal graph-based model for team sports analysis
This work addresses the problem of tactical analysis in team sports for coaches and analysts, but it appears incremental as it builds on existing graph-based approaches with new applications.
The study tackled the challenge of analyzing team sports as complex spatio-temporal systems by introducing a generic graph-based model to examine tactical aspects under external constraints, with preliminary results from rugby data showing notable effects of coach pedagogy and defensive positioning.
Team sports represent complex phenomena characterized by both spatial and temporal dimensions, making their analysis inherently challenging. In this study, we examine team sports as complex systems, specifically focusing on the tactical aspects influenced by external constraints. To this end, we introduce a new generic graph-based model to analyze these phenomena. Specifically, we model a team sport's attacking play as a directed path containing absolute and relative ball carrier-centered spatial information, temporal information, and semantic information. We apply our model to union rugby, aiming to validate two hypotheses regarding the impact of the pedagogy provided by the coach on the one hand, and the effect of the initial positioning of the defensive team on the other hand. Preliminary results from data collected on six-player rugby from several French clubs indicate notable effects of these constraints. The model is intended to be applied to other team sports and to validate additional hypotheses related to team coordination patterns, including upcoming applications in basketball.