The Future of Sports Scouting

I will be honest, one of the big things that I am looking forward to is the future of sports scouting. Looking at in game statistics, what players will likely get drafted, potential ratings and rankings can be quite a mathematical game. Tracking athletes and picking the best ones kind of remind me of how talent agents pick the best actors or do potential distribution analysis for movie releases. The same approaches apply in the sports world. If this athlete gets picked for this team, how popular can the ratings be?

Scouting doesn’t just apply to picks and talent management. In-game statistics is a whole “game” on its own. Not only do people try analyzing and predicting outcomes of current or even future games, but past athletic performance also helps sports agencies and teams. Teams are able to better their strategy and tactics in order to optimize their performance. In sports, it used to be just chance the ball and score. Now people are talking about where certain players should be positioned, target players, key areas, different in game combinations, point guards, etc.

Even Athletes whether you like it or not, will have to think like mathematicians or game theorist. It is no longer enough to be in the best shape or looked at as an entertainer. An athlete can have peak performance but not peak strategy causing all sorts of mishaps.

Scouting isn’t just going to apply in the world of physical sports. Now with elo ratings, and online gaming, MMOs, RPGs, etc., eSports is becoming increasingly popular. eSports in itself is starting to easily pass the viewership of regular sports, and similar sorts of tracking methods are being applied for talent agencies picking up eSports players.

Disclosure: Please keep in mind, everything I say is on an opinion based basis. This is not meant to be taken seriously or as some form of actionable advice. Do your own due diligence in any decisions you make.