The team behind the team: Dr Bobby Willcox
These people are the team behind the team.
Today we catch up with Silver Ferns performance analyst, Dr Bobby Willcox.
SF: What exactly do you do on that computer and how does it help the team?
Bobby: A lot of very fast typing! The coaches use that information to confirm their own feeling on the game, but also to highlight any areas we need to address within our own game, or the opposition.
SF: How did you come to be the Silver Ferns Performance Analyst?
Bobby: Coming up to the final year of my Masters in Statistics at university I had an idea of a statistical modelling project I could do within Netball. Silver Ferns assistant coach Leigh Gibbs asked me if I would like to go away with the team as their video analyst. A few years later I decided to go back to university to do my PhD in Statistics, again using Netball as the focus of my research. In the course of that study I had to substantially expand on the data we were collecting on the game. With input from the coaches, I have continued to develop a Netball analysis system and undertake several research projects each year.
SF: Best part of the job?
Bobby: Spending your time completely immersed in a sport you are very passionate about – what’s not to love? For me the most exciting part of the job is the ability to be involved at all levels of the game, whether I’m coaching my seven year old daughter’s team, attending NZ Secondary Schools or NZU21 trials, working on the U23 or Lion Foundation National Champs, or travelling away with the Ferns. I find it incredibly exciting seeing players come through the system, and hopefully going on to achieve at the ultimate level. As an absolute fan of the sport, the ability to be involved in the game from absolute grassroots level all the way through to the elite internationals is what keeps me engaged and fresh in my job.
SF: What are some personal highlights from being involved over the years?
Bobby: I’ve been involved for over 10 years now, so there have been a lot of highlights! I’ve been to three Commonwealth Games (Melbourne, Delhi, Glasgow) and those events are always such an amazing experience. Obviously the gold medal match in Delhi would be one of the most memorable games to be a part of - it was one of those games that Netball fans everywhere remember and still talk about, so to be a part of it was very special.
SF: If someone’s interested in being a performance analyst, what do they have to do?
Bobby: Performance Analysis is a young discipline, but is starting to expand quite a bit now. There are several tertiary institutions in NZ now offering papers and degrees in Performance Analysis that weren’t around when I first started out. But I think the biggest thing to do would be to talk to people in the industry, approach sports teams and see if you can get involved with them, even if it’s on a volunteer basis to start with.
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