B0274
Title: Should you park the bus?
Authors: Tim Swartz - Simon Fraser University (Canada) [presenting]
Tianyu Guan - Brock University (Canada)
Jiguo Cao - Simon Fraser University (Canada)
Abstract: The aim is to explore defensive play in soccer. The analysis is predicated on the assumption that the area of the convex hull formed by the players on a team provides a proxy for a defensive style where smaller areas coincide with a greater defensive focus. Whereas the pre-processing of the data is an exercise in data science, the statistical analysis is carried out using simple linear models. The resultant messages are nuanced but suggest that an extremely defensive style is a detrimental strategy in soccer.