Why PhoenixGK?
I started PhoenixGK as a passion project for my son. On the rides home after games what he described to me was different than what I remembered seeing. The sideline cameras our team used aren't great for keepers. So I decided to record the games from his point of view behind the goal. He loved it. Most of the time when he would watch a video he would say "wow...that's not how I remember it happening". He would sit down with his coach and review the last game. It was perfect for his coach because he could help him improve and target training sessions where he saw isssues.
Then I figured it would be fun to plot out the shots on goal... and of course I got carried away. When I showed my son he loved getting to see where shots were being scored, save percentage and all the data. Not only did he love it, but when I showed his keeper coach the video and the data he loved it too. He was able to improve his coaching for my son based on the video and design training sessions specifically from the data.
Most youth goalkeeper coaches have anywhere from 10-30 kids they are coaching. They don't have time to go to the games or watch an hour video. You need something that can display a game at a glance so you can see how a keeper played, and dig into specific clips. That is what we deliver to you.
Now instead of talking to your keepers about their game, and hearing what they "remember", you can review it all in 10 minutes and talk to them about what you saw.
By combining unbiased video highlights from a game with the data over a game and season, you can better guide training and preparation for your keepers.
Analytics are making their way from pros to the youth levels...we need to be on the leading edge.
Let me give you an example of how my sons coach used this for my son in the Fall of 2023 to immediately see areas of improvement and translate that to training and results.
All Shots
Here is a heatmap of all of the shots my son has faced in the Fall 2023 season. His coach made the following conclusions from this graph:
- The majority of the shots are to his left (this is from behind goal).
- The majority of shots are around 4 feet, or hand level.
- Based on the data at the bottom he is doing a good job saving shots.
So what should he work on? Let's dig deeper.
Scored Shots
This a display of only the shots that were scored.
- Almost all of the shots scored were low and to his left.
- There were a couple of shots scored on his right at hand level.
- In the area of the first graph where most of the shots were there were NO GOALS scored.
These two graphs gave my son a ton of confidence. He remembers the goals he let in, but he is saving 71% of the shots that are coming his way!
But what is happening in the bottom left? Lets dig one more layer.
Shot Type
Here is a Shot Chart, zoomed in on the left corner of those same shots by the Type of Shot. Red is scored, blue is saved. The shot type is denoted by the shape - triangle is a 1v1, X is a cross, circle is a direct shot, plus is a free kick and a diamond is a PK.
My son was clearly having issues with 1v1's, low crosses, and direct shots.
When his coach looked at this in combination with the video he was able to diagnose two issues:
- His set position was too high, so he was having trouble getting low quickly and driving through on his dives.
- In 1v1 situations he wasn't getting set before a shot was taken.
His coach immediately put more emphasis on his set position and dive mechanics and how to approach 1v1's. He was able to see results immediately.
The Results
By identifying a working on these areas of his game, he has already saved and prevented more 1v1's (13) at a high percentage (70%) in his first 8 games in the spring than the entire fall season (18 games, 9 opportunities prevented at 50%). He is also playing a higher up on the field when his team has the ball and has cut off three chances his opponents would have had for breakaways.
His team moved from 9v9 to 11v11 this spring, so the results are hard to compare, but given the fact he has an extra 8 feet of goal to cover the results on his left hand dives are encouraging, as the only shots that have been scored in that corner are classified as "Hard or Very Hard".