Social Network Analysis Applied to Team Sports Analysis

Explaining how graph theory and social network analysis can be applied to team sports analysis,

This book presents useful approaches, models and methods that can be used to characterise the overall properties of team networks and identify the prominence of each team player.

Exploring the different possible network metrics that can be utilised in sports analysis, their possible applications and variances from situation to situation, the respective chapters present an array of illustrative case studies. Identifying the general concepts of social network analysis and network centrality metrics, readers are shown how to generate a methodological protocol for data collection. As such, the book provides a valuable resource for students of the sport sciences, sports engineering, applied computation and the social sciences.

Filipe Manuel Clemente (Instituto Politecnico de Viana do Castelo, Escola Superior de Desporto e Lazer and Instituto Politecnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior de Educacao de Coimbra, Portugal), Fernando Manuel Lourenco Martins (Instituto de Telecomunicacoes, Delegacao da Covilha and Instituto Politecnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior de Educacao de Coimbra, Portugal) and Rui Sousa Mendes (Instituto Politecnico de Coimbra, Escola Superior de Educacao de Coimbra, Portugal) have published more than 30 articles in journals indexed on Web of Knowledge about team sports analysis based on technological and mathematical approaches. In the last five years, the research group have published five articles on network analysis applied to team sports analysis. In addition, they have been working on a software (Performance Analysis Tool) to increase the possibilities of network analysis in the field of match analysis.