Title: A Crash-Course in Sports Statistics
Abstract: The path to becoming successful in the sporting world is substantially different from that of more traditional fields. Whether you’re an athlete or an analyst, coursework and university degrees matter much less being able to effectively demonstrate you ability to have a positive impact on a team or organization. In this talk, I will discuss my path to becoming successful in the world of statistics in sports. I will give a crash-course in the fundamentals of using statistical analysis in sports, discussing important concepts such as repeatability, replacement, and prediction. I will also touch on more academic topics that are extremely important in the sporting world, such as programming techniques, data visualization, professional communication (writing and speaking). Finally, I’ll discuss my personal experiences from working with professional sports teams, coaching ice hockey, and teaching students about statistics. Although my work is primarily in hockey, I will also discuss the use of statistics and quantitative analysis in football, baseball, and basketball.