Cover lesson · PE · Year 9 · Intermediate

Match analysis with notational data: where was the game lost?

DCF: Data and computational thinking → Data and information literacy

Name: Class: Date:

Cover teacher — you need no subject knowledge

Print: this sheet, one per pupil. The whole event log is printed below, so no computers are needed; the same log is in netball-quarter-three-log.csv if you are in a computer room. Calculators are allowed.

Run: 5 min read the code key and the coach's notes aloud · 12 min tally the third-quarter log (Steps 1 and 2) · 12 min complete the match summary table and the percentages (Step 3) · 12 min draw the bar chart (Step 4) · 12 min answer the analysis questions (Step 5).

Collect: this sheet. The one check you can make without knowing netball: the six totals in the Step 1 tally must add up to 40, because there are 40 events in the log. If a pupil's totals add up to anything else, they have missed or double-counted a line. Nobody exercises today; pupils stay seated.

What you are doing

Notational analysis is how coaches turn a match into numbers: an observer writes down a short code for every event as it happens. You have the data from an invented Year 9 netball match between Llanbedr and Pentre Isaf. Llanbedr were winning at half-time and lost by one goal. You are going to tally the raw log for the third quarter, finish the match summary, draw a chart, and find out — from the numbers, not from guesses — where and why the game was lost.

The code key

One code is written for every time a Llanbedr player does something with the ball. Pentre Isaf's actions are not coded.

Code	Meaning	Notes
P	Pass completed	The ball reaches a teammate.
X	Pass lost	Intercepted, dropped or thrown out of court. Pentre Isaf get the ball.
G	Goal	A shot that scores. Only GS and GA may shoot.
M	Missed shot	A shot that does not score.
I	Interception won	A Llanbedr player takes the ball off Pentre Isaf.
E	Other error	Footwork, holding the ball over three seconds, offside. Pentre Isaf get the ball.

Positions: GS Goal Shooter · GA Goal Attack · WA Wing Attack · C Centre · WD Wing Defence · GD Goal Defence · GK Goal Keeper.

Coach's notes: Four quarters of 10 minutes. At half-time Llanbedr's usual Centre came off with a sore ankle, and a substitute who normally plays Wing Defence played Centre for the whole third quarter. For the fourth quarter the coach moved the Wing Attack to Centre.

Step 1 — tally the third-quarter log

This is the observer's log for the third quarter, in order. Tally every code, then write the total.

#	Time	Position	Code	#	Time	Position	Code
1	00:05	C	P	21	05:25	C	X
2	00:08	WA	P	22	06:10	C	P
3	00:11	GA	P	23	06:14	WA	P
4	00:14	GS	G	24	06:18	GA	P
5	00:50	C	X	25	06:22	GS	P
6	01:35	C	P	26	06:26	GA	G
7	01:39	WD	P	27	07:05	GK	P
8	01:44	C	X	28	07:09	GD	P
9	02:20	C	P	29	07:13	C	X
10	02:24	WA	P	30	07:50	C	P
11	02:28	GA	M	31	07:54	WA	P
12	03:05	GD	I	32	07:58	GA	M
13	03:08	GD	P	33	08:30	C	P
14	03:12	WD	P	34	08:34	GA	X
15	03:16	C	P	35	09:10	C	P
16	03:20	WA	X	36	09:14	WA	P
17	03:55	C	P	37	09:18	GS	E
18	03:59	WA	P	38	09:35	C	P
19	04:03	GS	M	39	09:39	GA	M
20	04:40	C	E	40	09:41	GS	G

Code	Meaning	Tally	Total
P	Pass completed
X	Pass lost
G	Goal
M	Missed shot
I	Interception won
E	Other error
Check: all six totals added together

Step 2 — who had the ball when it was lost?

A turnover is any time Llanbedr gave the ball away without shooting: every X and every E. Go back through the log and count them by position. Then work out the Centre's own pass completion.

Position	X (passes lost)	E (other errors)	Turnovers (X + E)
C
All other positions together
Whole team

Centre's pass completion in the third quarter: C's P codes ____ ÷ C's passes attempted (P + X) ____ × 100 = ______ %

Step 3 — the match summary

The other three quarters were logged the same way and have already been added up. Copy your third-quarter totals into the table, then fill in every blank. Round percentages to one decimal place.

Passes attempted = P + X. Pass completion % = passes completed ÷ passes attempted × 100.
Shots = G + M. Shooting % = goals ÷ shots × 100.

Quarter	Passes attempted	Passes completed	Shots	Goals	Interceptions won	Other errors	Goals conceded
Q1	40	36	9	7	3	1	5
Q2	44	39	10	8	2	2	6
Q3							9
Q4	38	33	8	6	4	1	5
Match

Running score (Llanbedr first): after Q1 ______ · half-time ______ · after Q3 ______ · full time ______

Step 4 — chart the goals

Draw a pair of bars for each quarter: goals scored by Llanbedr and goals conceded. Shade the two kinds of bar differently (for example solid and striped) so the chart works in black and white, and complete the key and title.

Step 5 — what the data tells the coach

(a) In which quarter was the match lost? Use the running score and the goals conceded to prove it.

(b) Compare the Centre's pass completion in the third quarter with the rest of the team's. Use your Step 2 figures and the coach's notes to explain what happened.

(c) Shooting % fell sharply in the third quarter. How many shots is that percentage based on? Explain why a percentage built on so few attempts should be treated with care.

(d) The log counts passes but says nothing about how hard they were. Give two things a coach would want to know that this notational data cannot tell them.

(e) Write two coaching points for the next match. Each one must quote a number from your tables.

Step by step

5 min — Read the code key and the coach's notes.
12 min — Tally all 40 events, check the total is 40, then count the turnovers by position.
12 min — Complete the match summary and running score. On a computer: =COUNTIF(D2:D41,"P") counts the P codes in the CSV.
12 min — Draw the eight bars, the key and the title.
12 min — Answer (a) to (e) in full sentences.

Success criteria

I can turn a raw coded log into accurate totals, and I have checked them against the number of events.
I can calculate pass completion % and shooting % correctly, to one decimal place, for every quarter and the whole match.
I can draw a paired bar chart with a scale, a key and a title that works in black and white.
I can use the numbers to find where a match was lost and explain it with evidence from the log and the coach's notes.
I can explain what notational data cannot show, including the danger of percentages built on very few attempts.

If you finish early

Design your own code key for a different sport you play — football, rugby or hockey. Six codes at most, each one something an observer could spot and write in under two seconds.
The log records the time of every event. Work out how long Llanbedr's longest spell without a turnover lasted in the third quarter.
Llanbedr won 10 interceptions in the whole match but only 1 in the third quarter. Suggest two different explanations, and say what extra data would tell you which one is right.