October 16, 2025 • 30 mins
With Decision Day and the playoffs approaching, Behind the Flow takes a brief pause from the action on the field to explore how San Diego FC are using data to empower decisions — turning raw numbers into real-world results, with people at the heart of it all.
Adrian García-Márquez is joined by ESPN’s Katia Castorena and San Diego Sports 760’s Darren Smith to dig into the rise of analytics in football, the stats that actually tell a story, and why at SDFC the numbers never replace human judgment — they amplify it.
We hear from Head Scout Sean Howe, who fell in love with finding the right jigsaw pieces for the puzzle — explaining how, despite all the stress-testing, dossiers, and data models, it’s still the people and their mentality that matter most.
Then, Harry Jamieson, Head of Football Development, takes us inside the club’s data operation — from short, sharp “walkout” meetings to the live booth at Snapdragon Stadium, where every run, touch, and decision is tagged and sent to the bench in real time.
Finally, the team preview Decision Day at Portland Timbers — and why the result could shape San Diego’s playoff path and mindset heading into the postseason.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
These restarts are getting so long now in these constant
mornings for zero yellow cards, there might be a message
for someone I don't know.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
With these towels that they're leaving around the pitch, can.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Someone remove.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
This is Behind the Flow the podcast where we dive
in deep, week by week into the heart of San
Diego f c's very first season.
Speaker 5 (00:24):
In Major League Soccer.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
In modern football, every club collects data, but as DFC,
the difference is how the numbers are used, not to
replace people, but to empower them. This week we step
inside that process. From scouting new talent with head scout
Sean Howe.
Speaker 6 (00:43):
Kind of fell into scouting and fell in love with
trying to find the right chicksaw piece for the puzzle.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
To training ground preparation with Harry Jamison and his team
of analysts.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
My job is to.
Speaker 7 (00:56):
Make sure that the processes that we have in place
to scratch, that we are leaders in video in MLSH.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
And finally into the booth on match day at Snapdragon,
where every action is tracked, clipped and sent straight to
the coaches.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Backeline is pretty high, like a compact with the moments
where we can't play that open ball, go go go.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
So how does detail become an advantage and how does
data serve the human decisions that drive as DFC. That's
all coming up on Behind the Flow. I'm Adrian Garcia
Marcus and joined as always by Darren Smith, and welcome
(01:46):
to Behind the Flowing guys.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Today we're going to get into a flow of nu metals. Now.
There's no as DFC action this.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
Week with the international break, so we thought we'd use
this pause for the cause to dig into something that's
right up Darren Smith's alley.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
Data data. I don't know what we're gonna call it.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
All I hear is beat peop every time I hear
that word, Darren, You've been waiting your whole life for
an episode like this one, Darren Smith, haven't you.
Speaker 8 (02:15):
I'm ready to start talking about data or data or
whichever way we're going to pronounce it here today. I
do think that data data, it's a big part of
sports in twenty twenty five, and it's an ever increasing
presence no matter what the sport is, including in football.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
And of course you're not just a football guy, but
a lover of all sports. So I'm gonna throw this
at you before I get to cut you, is there
a data data point from another sport that you'd love
to see introduced into footballne.
Speaker 8 (02:39):
Well, I mean, I think the baseball stat wins above
replacement war as it's referred to, and it's not a
perfect stat as a matter of fact, there's there's two
different versions of it, so nobody even knows which is
the right version of wins above replacement. But if there
was one all encompassing stat, I think that could measure
(02:59):
football players, I think that would be beneficial.
Speaker 9 (03:02):
That doesn't exist.
Speaker 8 (03:03):
You know, there's no plus minus that's a basketball one
because the sport is low scoring, so it doesn't really
make a ton of sense to talk about plus minus
when it comes to soccer players. But I think if
there was a way to figure out how to evaluate
players in terms of how they might compare to every
other player, that would be valuable.
Speaker 10 (03:24):
But that one doesn't exist yet. Maybe someday, I don't know,
maybe it does exist. It's called wins and losses and all.
It's like, the more guys on the field and the
team wins, there's a correlation. That's all the math that
I need. What about you, is there's a stet that
you'd borrow.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
From another sport for extra soccer analysis.
Speaker 11 (03:39):
I think it's difficult because of course every sport is different,
and soccer is different, and sometimes even the SATs that
we have in soccer doesn't necessarily translate to what happened
on the field, because you might see that a team
had possession or that a team had a lot of
shots on goal and then they ended up losing because
it's something completely different and doesn't really show sometimes the
(03:59):
way the game just went about, and it doesn't like
translate or it doesn't show the whole picture. So I
guess it'd be difficult. I mean, I would appreciate maybe
a little bit more when it comes to those individual
performances that I know clubs have, but we don't always
have access.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
You know.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
I saw a stat when I was doing MLS on
Apple TV and it was Cold Bassett and I just thought, okay,
and the stat was, oh, Cole Bassett and it said
they're in the notes. Cole Bassett has run so many
miles that he could go to Santa Fe, New Mexico
and come back to Denver and still have extra blah
blah blah. And I was like, wait, but did they
look like what was the impact. He ran around the
field the whole entire night, but there was no real impact.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
But that's great. Go ahead, keep jogging, Papa, keep jogging.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
A lot of clubs lean heavily on data to decide
which players to sign and how to build a squad,
but at SDFC, while the numbers matter, it's human instinct
and judgment that remain key. That's where Sean Holle comes in.
One of the very first people hired at SDFC and
a former player who turned to coaching, and he helped
build the youth club in Atlanta and then being involved
(05:02):
with MLS before unexpectedly falling into the scouting departments and
discovering that that's where his real passion was going to be.
We caught up with Sean to hear more about how
SDFC blend data with the human eye to find players
who truly fit.
Speaker 6 (05:20):
Kind of fell into scouting and fell in love with
trying to find the right jigsaw piece for the puzzle.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
As we found out earlier in the series, every signing
in San Diego FC goes through the same process, no shortcuts,
no exceptions, whether it's a name from an agent, a
player they've tracked, for years or a completely new lead.
The due diligence never changes. This conversation with Sean was
recorded back in July during the mid season transfer window,
(05:47):
as he talked us through how San Diego approaches recruitment.
Speaker 6 (05:51):
It's all about the collective and we do our due
diligence regardless of how the play comes in. All three
players came through different avenues. One came through an agent,
one came through having known the player for over a year,
and one come through another avenue. So again it's it's
it's all about the collective and we do our due
(06:13):
diligence regardless. So we're very driven in terms of process, physicals,
technical mentality. Technical ability will always be one within this group.
You need to have the technical ability to be able
to play in this in this style of play, and
then mentality, of course, to be the best player you
can be. I think you see that from our two
(06:36):
young players we've already signed.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
That's more about what they're looking for in the person,
but how do they look for it in the player.
Speaker 6 (06:42):
We start a process from an initial scam report, which
is you know, very granular, and then we go into
the physical and technical data. Look like that next level
may be what we consider a stress test. That stress
test is based on away game, home game, tough opponent,
(07:04):
weak opponent, playing out of position, it's freezing cold, it's
ninety five degrees. The most fun part for me is
the discussion at the end, when everybody has an opinion
and that opinions or those opinions come out in everybody,
and ultimately we take that to final decision.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
It's part science, part intuition, a mix of data and
discussion that ends with one shared decision.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
We put together dossiers from video to data to just
general information about the player, whether it be mental upbringing.
We go into as much detail as we can. I
think the hardest part in today's world of football is
trying to understand the psychology of the player. I think
(07:51):
it's almost impossible to do. But you try to tick
every box. And when you try to tick every box,
you go through every avenue to try and do that
and come to an agreement of what are we presenting
to ownership, particularly if it's about spending money or an investment.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Numbers might start the story, but people finish it. Numbers
then meet the narrative, then the checkbook. What else do
we look.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
For resilience, yeah, mental toughness. But what I would tell
you is that sometimes you don't always see it on
the surface level. I think you get a lot from
watching hours and hours of video, but then going assessing
warm up live, going to meet the player live. Sayako,
(08:38):
it's a very appealing place. So you have to you
have to be diligent, and you have to go through
the right process. This could be your pathway. It's not
only FC Noutulin now, it's not only you know to
f seen as are in Egypt. You now have another
place or another home that you can call home in
San Diego.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
That was s dfc's head scout, Sean Howe, And what
really stands out there is how much emphasis he puts
on character and instinct, not just numentous Darren Gantia, What.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
Did you guys make of that?
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Because Mikey always talks about the unity of the group first,
and Sean's approach feels like an extension of that philosophy, you.
Speaker 9 (09:18):
Know, absolutely.
Speaker 8 (09:19):
And one of the things I think that we talk about,
even before we get to the tactics, when we're talking
about Mikey Vadis and the Right to Dream style is
the building of the culture of San Diego Football club, right, Like,
that's the one thing that I think he gets more
credit for, not just the x's and o's and how
they go about picking a starting eleven, et cetera. It's
interesting timing that we're talking about this. I literally just
(09:42):
listen to a podcast the other day and one of
the assistant coaches for the Argentina national team, Matteas Mana,
said that one barbecue is worth twenty video chats nice,
And I thought that was such an interesting line because
of course Argentina is looking at numbers. They're doing the
same thing that a lot of other clubs are. It's
not like they're just rubbing dirt on it, right and
(10:03):
going old school, but like that is still such an
important part of this. The numbers can only get you
so far.
Speaker 11 (10:08):
One of the clubs in MLS is one time we
were asking about that is like, how do you decide
who or like, what player is that right fit? And
then the answer that this coach gave us was pretty funny,
but it was like off the record, so I'm not
just gonna say but then he said, well, pretty much
is like no a holes are allowed in this team.
So that's part of like when you do the work
(10:29):
as well, you try and understand, like you know, prior experiences,
the interviews, the references, how is this people when it
comes to relating to others teamwork, what's their essence? And
that's going to help you as well decide if that's
the right fit for you or not.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
And I love that about sports because that's what really
sometimes breaks down in the stories and storylines is the
stuff that you didn't track, the stuff that you didn't
account for. That data will never show you. But that's
Sean Howe, and he gives us a real insight into
how scouting as DFC balances data with instinct and why
character is just as important as technical skill. Still to come,
(11:09):
we step inside the analysis room on match day itself
and you're gonna hear from Harry Jamison and his team
log every touch, every run, every decision live at Snapdragon Stadium.
That's after the break, catch you on the way back,
(11:38):
Welcome back to behind the Flow.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
Now.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
If scouting is about finding the right pieces for the puzzle,
analysis is about making sure those pieces fit on the pitch,
and as DFC few people are more central to that
process than Harry Jamison as Head of Football Development or
simply head of Analysis. He and his team are the
ones breaking down performance, setting up game plans, and making
(12:02):
sure the players and coaches have the information that they
need to improve every single day. So how does it
actually work. We got up with Harry in the summer
to find this out.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
My name is Harry Jamison.
Speaker 7 (12:16):
My role here is Head of Football Development, but I
think more commonly it's known as the head of Analysis,
and particularly video analysis. My job is to make sure
that the processes that we have in place up to
scratch that we are leaders in video in MLS.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
The work actually started.
Speaker 7 (12:35):
For me back in October twenty twenty four, where it
took the game model that existed and then some of
my key's ideas and had to fashion that into something
that we could put into practice every day on the
training field, but also game to game. I'm in charge
of three staff members, two opposition analysts and one train analyst.
(13:00):
Theen nice thing with him, right to dream, is that
we have a flat hierarchy here, so no one is
above anyone else. So when we sit down and discuss
everyone's voice is equal. I think it gives us all
confidence that we can contribute with something meaningful and that's
going to translate to something directly.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
On the field.
Speaker 7 (13:18):
It's intense, long days, definitely initially in the week, and
then we almost periodize ourselves as the staff so that
we end the week a little bit lighter so that
when it comes to game day, we're really.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Sharp and ready to go.
Speaker 7 (13:32):
Well, I consume enough caffeine I think to take down
a small horse, but I feel like it's needed. So,
you know, we stay humble and we show a growth mindset,
and what we do, then the results that we get
are just going to be the byproduct of those expectations
that we set ourselves.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
The work is still in.
Speaker 7 (13:51):
You know what we do every single day on the
training ground and it's just about the next game.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
We just want to.
Speaker 7 (13:57):
Get better every single day. With that clear on the
game model, when we sit we could take the player
through it or the player could take us through it,
because we all know what we're looking for in the
day to day. The meeting this morning was a walkout
meeting that we were aiming to keep for eight minutes
to keep the attention of the players. The walkout meeting
(14:18):
directly translated to what we were asking for on the
field for the players. So we tried to take a
little bit of the bigger concepts that we spoke about
yesterday in the team meeting and then sort of filter
it down to the specific.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Areas we were looking at.
Speaker 7 (14:32):
So today there was a focus on what we do
when we end up in a bit of a lower
block and conversely, of course, when we were attacking a
lower block.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
So we pulled clips from.
Speaker 7 (14:45):
Earlier this season that we already had database, that we
already had tellustrated, and by that that means the graphics
that you see on the field, the discs, the sort
of areas, and it's just to emphasize to the players'
key things looking for. So we showed two clips of
us defensively, and I think off the top we had,
(15:05):
we showed somewhere between four to six offensively. Of course,
shows you how much attention I was playing. I can't
tell you how many clips we did, but I know
it was under eight clips this morning. And we had
a really good training session today and I think as
a coach and stuff we have seen that translate on
the field, and it just demonstrated the value in those
(15:28):
meetings more than Nathan to direct the attention of the
players towards it.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Well, that was Harry explaining how the system works, the preparation,
the processes, the philosophy behind it all. But this is
where it gets really exciting for those that love analytics. Disneyland,
we were incredibly privileged to be invited our mics for
behind the Flow into the boot on match day to
hear how that operation runs in real time. So for
(15:59):
sdfc's home game against Minnesota, we took them up on
that invitation. What you're about to hear is something fans
rarely get access to. The voices, the calls, the decisions
being made on the fly.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
This is SDFC from the inside.
Speaker 7 (16:20):
We are currently in the video and answers booth at
stop Dragon blackline.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Is pretty high, like it's compact is moments where we
can't play that open ball at the time.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Improving one was pretty good. That one less, so I
think it's fine. Women up still. This is just how
much he eeks out of like to flow the game
in seconds?
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Be good, yes, go go go.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
I was tagging every single player action.
Speaker 7 (16:54):
I was tagging some key moments because that gets sent
down to the coaches on the bench and I think
set piece in this game means Minnesota are massive. So
those clips, some are attacking low block. There's some of
the key modes that we're looking at in this game
right now.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
There's two occasions where we have a lot to play
and the churt that's for the switch out the other
side that we're in behind, and the only other thing
halftime right now is just reinforcing the low block concept
that we've done so well up to this point.
Speaker 7 (17:22):
We have a few different coding. Those that we use
are coding. THO is just a tool that we use.
It's like a window with the player names on in blocks.
They're all linked to hoteys, and then I select the
hoteys anytime they see a player involvement. My function on
(17:45):
match day is more just a focus on our players
opposed to the team performance. So I've just looked now
and I've made five hundred player clips in our first
game for our guys on the field. So you can
imagine that we'll get I mean, the full game will
get to a thousand clips, and then we add some
more to it, so we'll probably end up with eleven
(18:07):
hundred player actions in the game. I'm pretty clear on
what we need to look for with our players, and
obviously any sort of on the ball moments are the
most obvious, but I'm also looking you know, if we.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Use the forwards as an example, any.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
Moments where they run behind, even if they don't receive it,
because when I watch this back again tomorrow and go
through those moments, they are still positive actions that we
do want to feedback to the individual players.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We've got time to get to a pet make sure
that when we do all the back line, he's breaking it.
There's definitely room to run in behind.
Speaker 7 (18:43):
I think versus the other MLS teams, it's probably double
what some teams have. So we're very privileged and fortunate
they were given this platform to do the work that
we do.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
I think we have it divided up really well between
us where.
Speaker 7 (18:56):
We can all focus quite fairly on our areas to
make sure it's covered. I've been you know, teams who
have just worked on me own before and it's impossible
to focus on what the needed for halftime, the team events,
the player events, what I'm going to do postmatch. So
it just allows us to give a greater coverage and
better provision of analysis to the coaches.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
And the players.
Speaker 7 (19:20):
With Jack being a lead Anders in this game, He's
watched probably about ten MINUTESOTA games. He's watched an awful
lot and he has a clear picture of what this
game should look like. You know, we want to be
always in control of the game, so it means that we.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Wanted to look a certain way is the easiest way
to put it.
Speaker 7 (19:39):
So anything that would alter the picture that we want
this game to look like is probably what Jack would
be quite focused on.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So the turnover off the long ball from Saint Clair,
two phases where we failed to lock it, one attack
where we go quick that last roue with Anders, and
then two against the low block.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
It's just whatever we decided show. Basically, it has to
be shy.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
These restarts are getting so long now in these constant warnings.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
With zero yellow cards.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
So there's a counter attack where we attack fast when
we do regain the ball well, and then there's two
against the low block, one where we crossed under their
back line and we.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Created the chance, and one from a switch through.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
It might be a message for someone I don't know who,
but these towels that they're leaving around the pitch and
someone remove them.
Speaker 7 (20:27):
So he mentioned to the coaches two clips of us
without the ball.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
In ball recovery where we need to improve.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
And then I think there's one clip when we're attacking
the box as well, keep an eye out for your
bowl and in the throws he started out through the
penalty box and the moment the second blog was he
runs straight to the back of the zones and.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
He ended up with.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
That's where they're able to get.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
In this booth.
Speaker 7 (20:53):
You feel like you have a degree of control and
then you feel like you're little controls as well sor
it's a weird like part of the play when you're
watching the game. We connected the players individually all the time,
so you know, there's things I've spoken to play about
this week, who's playing at the nine today, and I've
seen some of those actions out in the field. So
(21:14):
I'm very keen to go through those clips and connected them.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
So just as the game is going on, just having that.
Speaker 7 (21:23):
I guess focus on some of those things that you've
spoken with the players of vot's like another part of
the live match day, especially for me. Post game, we'll
take an overall package that we make that probably has
a two thousand clips that we've made and we'll upload
it to a platform to the.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Players immediately at the game.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
It has four angles in him with the wide broadcast,
two EN zones, and it's available tonight. So the player
let's usually by the captain. By the time he gets homes,
it's on his coach. The game is fully broken down
and you can watch every single instance back if.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
He chooses to do that. It's all all work that
we do.
Speaker 7 (22:02):
So some teams you will provide it the next day,
but we want to do it immediately. When I get home,
I'll rewatch like the key moments in the game that
I've tugged so tags on, like key actions that I'm
going to look back on that might be like thirty
of those, and then I will do my best to
watch the first half in full and pull any of
(22:22):
the key moments out, and then tomorrow I'll watch the
second half in full, and then I'll do one or
two additional watchers where I'll look back at the attackers
because that's the unit group that I wear with, and
I'll produce a full post much review.
Speaker 5 (22:39):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Thank you again as DFC for giving behind the flow
this access for the fans in particular. But two things
stood out when he made the towel comment. All I
can think of. I don't know if you guys ever
watched South Park, but I thought of Tauleat just reaking
heavy there on the field, like somebody removed these towels,
get them out of the way.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
The other thing is, ye I totally pictured them.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Like Captain Kirk the Enterprise, he sits down and he says,
make it so, and then there it is, every single play,
every single clip, everything that the kapita needs to process
things moving forward, wild access, indeed being there in the
booth hearing it all unfold in real time. Honestly, the
(23:17):
fans get themselves plenty of experiences here on behind the
flow got.
Speaker 11 (23:21):
Damn not even us as media get to experience that
very often. So huge things to the club for opening
the doors like that. It gives us a new appreciation
of how much detail goes into every moment, every analysis,
and unbelievable how they're doing it in real time, and
in this case in the Minnesota United game in particular,
(23:43):
when you're facing one of the best goalkeepers in the
league in Saint Clair and then just hearing how they're
analyzing what he's doing, how can you go and try
to beat him?
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Is just great.
Speaker 8 (23:54):
I also just want to echo what Katy just said.
I cannot believe this podcast is free. I'm just say
that like that kind of access people should pay for. Honestly,
I appreciate it. I think everybody else does as well.
You know, I think if we're doing this entire episode
about analytics, we're probably remiss in not mentioning the name
(24:15):
Tyler Heaps before now, right, because when you think about
the people that we just heard from that are doing
this game in, game out, and it's so much more
in depth, I think than even we realize, and we're
there every single day. Tyler Heaps is the former head
of Analysis and Insights with AS Monaco six years with
US Soccer, the director of analytics, the head of analysis, right,
(24:37):
So this is his background. But what makes Tyler unique
is he's not just a numbers cruncher, and he's a
former player. You know, he played in college and he
played a little bit from Minnesota United.
Speaker 9 (24:48):
So this is one of.
Speaker 8 (24:50):
The more advanced analytics department anywhere in Major League Soccer.
Makes a ton of sense when you think about who
the sporting director is.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
Right, absolutely, that was during the first half again against Minnesota,
and at halftime all of that work went straight into
the locker room to adjust the tactics. So does it
surprise you, guys at all, that it's so human lied
when so much of the sport leans into automation and
AI got the act.
Speaker 11 (25:15):
Most of the clubs, at least that I know of,
they wait to do that the following day, and then
you have your video analysis session and then you get
to sit down with the player and show them those clips.
It's just unbelievable. It's amazing.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
It's setting a high standard for all things that San
Diego FC are doing.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
Endearn Smith. Is there anything else that stands out to you, Darin?
Speaker 8 (25:36):
I do think the human touch is really interesting because
we're all bombarded by artificial intelligence, right and better ways
to do it.
Speaker 9 (25:44):
It's not just data, it's why is this important?
Speaker 8 (25:48):
And how do you present it to players who are
down there, who are doing the dirty work for ninety
minutes a match and it sounds like they've found that balance.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
And you hit it. How does it translate? And can
much information be a bad thing? But in the end,
it's about one thing, guys. Results, That's what matters. The most,
and there's no bigger moment than decision day. So all
of this incredible work with data and analysis has been
about one thing, making sure as DFC are ready when
(26:19):
it counts most. And now that we've arrived at that moment,
decision day. And for the team, it's about setting the
tone going into playoffs.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
But we know Darren got the friends.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
This is a tricky place to play.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
It's the cabin in.
Speaker 4 (26:37):
The woods in Portland, and let's hope that it doesn't
become just that far as DFC Darren Smith, right.
Speaker 9 (26:46):
We want to keep timbers. Joey is that his name.
Speaker 8 (26:48):
We want to keep that guy quiet, Keep that chance.
Speaker 5 (26:51):
On Joey quiet.
Speaker 9 (26:52):
No change something, solutely, keep that thing quiet.
Speaker 8 (26:55):
I also think carrying a nine match unbeaten streak into
the playoffs matters. I like the idea of getting on
a little bit of a heater here heading into the
Audi Mlscup playoffs.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
And Katya, I know that there's a phrase that we've
heard throughout history, Red October and this and that Kroman
asul October.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
How does that sound to you?
Speaker 11 (27:14):
Everything you've done throughout the season comes down to this moment,
the playoffs, and everything goes out the window in a way,
and it's a clean slate because a lot of the
teams that you've faced before are going to look different.
And then they have that mindset of yes, is that
the playoffs, so they have to be ready. And to
everybody listening, even if you don't know about that tradition
(27:35):
that Darren and Adrian we're referring to, you know, they
have the chainsaw and they cut the log right there
when the Timbers score a goal. So of course you
do not want to see Timber Joe pull out the
chainsaw because that means that the home team scores. So no,
we don't want that.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
No.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
So now it's the moment we've all been waiting for
your predictions. Katia Castorina, what are you seeing happening at
La Caaba the Cavin of Terror.
Speaker 12 (28:04):
I believe that s EFC will close out the season
strong and they can walk out of there with a
win let's say one two.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
Darren Damus illuminate us.
Speaker 9 (28:19):
Yeah, I tend to agree.
Speaker 8 (28:21):
I think that the road unbeaten streak really really matters.
I think also maybe stuck in the backs of their
minds is what it was that Portland came down and.
Speaker 9 (28:31):
Picked up a result.
Speaker 8 (28:32):
I do like SDFC in these rematch games. They have
won eight of them so far this year, so let's
make it nine and I'll just go with an even
nil two win for SDFC.
Speaker 9 (28:45):
Let's get ready for the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
Let's get ready for the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
And in Portland they make great donuts, guys, but we
don't want to see donuts on the score. But we
want to see the donut for the Portland Timbers, but
no donuts for SDFC. For me, it's going to be
dos a said or two nothing San Diego FC, and
you know who's going to score both. Staying hot, keep
it going, keep it moving. I think that's what's gonna
happen my prediction.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
All right, that's gonna do it. For this week's episode.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
Of Behind the Flow, a huge thank you to Sean
Howe and Harry Jamison for taking us inside the world
of data at SDFC, and to the club for letting
us share such incredible access.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
That was awesome.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Decision Day is here, Portland Timbers away the final test
before the playoffs begin. However, it plays out as dfc's
first MLS season has already been his story a huge success,
and the journey is only beginning. We're gonna be here
for every step of the way, just for you. So
next week we're gonna step inside as dfc's brand new
(29:43):
Right to Dream Academy. Yes, we're gonna take you to
Hogwarts in SD, the cornerstone of the entire project and
the place that will shape the club's future as much
as the first team.
Speaker 5 (29:54):
Darren Gatien.
Speaker 8 (29:56):
This was fun, always fun looking forward to it. I
can't believe we're at the finish line.
Speaker 9 (30:01):
Here we go.
Speaker 11 (30:01):
Playoffs around the corner.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
Let's go playoffs like in the playoffs. That's right, playoffs, Benguy, I'm.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Adrian, Gertie markis for contec Casta. Darren Smith, we thank
you for listening. You've been dipped in chrome and a suit.
We'll catch you next time. I'm behind the flow.
These restarts are getting so long now in these constant
mornings for zero yellow cards, there might be a message
for someone I don't know.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
With these towels that they're leaving around the pitch, can.
Speaker 3 (00:11):
Someone remove.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
This is Behind the Flow the podcast where we dive
in deep, week by week into the heart of San
Diego f c's very first season.
Speaker 5 (00:24):
In Major League Soccer.
Speaker 4 (00:27):
In modern football, every club collects data, but as DFC,
the difference is how the numbers are used, not to
replace people, but to empower them. This week we step
inside that process. From scouting new talent with head scout
Sean Howe.
Speaker 6 (00:43):
Kind of fell into scouting and fell in love with
trying to find the right chicksaw piece for the puzzle.
Speaker 4 (00:50):
To training ground preparation with Harry Jamison and his team
of analysts.
Speaker 3 (00:55):
My job is to.
Speaker 7 (00:56):
Make sure that the processes that we have in place
to scratch, that we are leaders in video in MLSH.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
And finally into the booth on match day at Snapdragon,
where every action is tracked, clipped and sent straight to
the coaches.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
Backeline is pretty high, like a compact with the moments
where we can't play that open ball, go go go.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
So how does detail become an advantage and how does
data serve the human decisions that drive as DFC. That's
all coming up on Behind the Flow. I'm Adrian Garcia
Marcus and joined as always by Darren Smith, and welcome
(01:46):
to Behind the Flowing guys.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Today we're going to get into a flow of nu metals. Now.
There's no as DFC action this.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
Week with the international break, so we thought we'd use
this pause for the cause to dig into something that's
right up Darren Smith's alley.
Speaker 5 (02:03):
Data data. I don't know what we're gonna call it.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
All I hear is beat peop every time I hear
that word, Darren, You've been waiting your whole life for
an episode like this one, Darren Smith, haven't you.
Speaker 8 (02:15):
I'm ready to start talking about data or data or
whichever way we're going to pronounce it here today. I
do think that data data, it's a big part of
sports in twenty twenty five, and it's an ever increasing
presence no matter what the sport is, including in football.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
And of course you're not just a football guy, but
a lover of all sports. So I'm gonna throw this
at you before I get to cut you, is there
a data data point from another sport that you'd love
to see introduced into footballne.
Speaker 8 (02:39):
Well, I mean, I think the baseball stat wins above
replacement war as it's referred to, and it's not a
perfect stat as a matter of fact, there's there's two
different versions of it, so nobody even knows which is
the right version of wins above replacement. But if there
was one all encompassing stat, I think that could measure
(02:59):
football players, I think that would be beneficial.
Speaker 9 (03:02):
That doesn't exist.
Speaker 8 (03:03):
You know, there's no plus minus that's a basketball one
because the sport is low scoring, so it doesn't really
make a ton of sense to talk about plus minus
when it comes to soccer players. But I think if
there was a way to figure out how to evaluate
players in terms of how they might compare to every
other player, that would be valuable.
Speaker 10 (03:24):
But that one doesn't exist yet. Maybe someday, I don't know,
maybe it does exist. It's called wins and losses and all.
It's like, the more guys on the field and the
team wins, there's a correlation. That's all the math that
I need. What about you, is there's a stet that
you'd borrow.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
From another sport for extra soccer analysis.
Speaker 11 (03:39):
I think it's difficult because of course every sport is different,
and soccer is different, and sometimes even the SATs that
we have in soccer doesn't necessarily translate to what happened
on the field, because you might see that a team
had possession or that a team had a lot of
shots on goal and then they ended up losing because
it's something completely different and doesn't really show sometimes the
(03:59):
way the game just went about, and it doesn't like
translate or it doesn't show the whole picture. So I
guess it'd be difficult. I mean, I would appreciate maybe
a little bit more when it comes to those individual
performances that I know clubs have, but we don't always
have access.
Speaker 5 (04:15):
You know.
Speaker 4 (04:15):
I saw a stat when I was doing MLS on
Apple TV and it was Cold Bassett and I just thought, okay,
and the stat was, oh, Cole Bassett and it said
they're in the notes. Cole Bassett has run so many
miles that he could go to Santa Fe, New Mexico
and come back to Denver and still have extra blah
blah blah. And I was like, wait, but did they
look like what was the impact. He ran around the
field the whole entire night, but there was no real impact.
Speaker 5 (04:36):
But that's great. Go ahead, keep jogging, Papa, keep jogging.
Speaker 4 (04:39):
A lot of clubs lean heavily on data to decide
which players to sign and how to build a squad,
but at SDFC, while the numbers matter, it's human instinct
and judgment that remain key. That's where Sean Holle comes in.
One of the very first people hired at SDFC and
a former player who turned to coaching, and he helped
build the youth club in Atlanta and then being involved
(05:02):
with MLS before unexpectedly falling into the scouting departments and
discovering that that's where his real passion was going to be.
We caught up with Sean to hear more about how
SDFC blend data with the human eye to find players
who truly fit.
Speaker 6 (05:20):
Kind of fell into scouting and fell in love with
trying to find the right jigsaw piece for the puzzle.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
As we found out earlier in the series, every signing
in San Diego FC goes through the same process, no shortcuts,
no exceptions, whether it's a name from an agent, a
player they've tracked, for years or a completely new lead.
The due diligence never changes. This conversation with Sean was
recorded back in July during the mid season transfer window,
(05:47):
as he talked us through how San Diego approaches recruitment.
Speaker 6 (05:51):
It's all about the collective and we do our due
diligence regardless of how the play comes in. All three
players came through different avenues. One came through an agent,
one came through having known the player for over a year,
and one come through another avenue. So again it's it's
it's all about the collective and we do our due
(06:13):
diligence regardless. So we're very driven in terms of process, physicals,
technical mentality. Technical ability will always be one within this group.
You need to have the technical ability to be able
to play in this in this style of play, and
then mentality, of course, to be the best player you
can be. I think you see that from our two
(06:36):
young players we've already signed.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
That's more about what they're looking for in the person,
but how do they look for it in the player.
Speaker 6 (06:42):
We start a process from an initial scam report, which
is you know, very granular, and then we go into
the physical and technical data. Look like that next level
may be what we consider a stress test. That stress
test is based on away game, home game, tough opponent,
(07:04):
weak opponent, playing out of position, it's freezing cold, it's
ninety five degrees. The most fun part for me is
the discussion at the end, when everybody has an opinion
and that opinions or those opinions come out in everybody,
and ultimately we take that to final decision.
Speaker 4 (07:22):
It's part science, part intuition, a mix of data and
discussion that ends with one shared decision.
Speaker 6 (07:29):
We put together dossiers from video to data to just
general information about the player, whether it be mental upbringing.
We go into as much detail as we can. I
think the hardest part in today's world of football is
trying to understand the psychology of the player. I think
(07:51):
it's almost impossible to do. But you try to tick
every box. And when you try to tick every box,
you go through every avenue to try and do that
and come to an agreement of what are we presenting
to ownership, particularly if it's about spending money or an investment.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Numbers might start the story, but people finish it. Numbers
then meet the narrative, then the checkbook. What else do
we look.
Speaker 6 (08:15):
For resilience, yeah, mental toughness. But what I would tell
you is that sometimes you don't always see it on
the surface level. I think you get a lot from
watching hours and hours of video, but then going assessing
warm up live, going to meet the player live. Sayako,
(08:38):
it's a very appealing place. So you have to you
have to be diligent, and you have to go through
the right process. This could be your pathway. It's not
only FC Noutulin now, it's not only you know to
f seen as are in Egypt. You now have another
place or another home that you can call home in
San Diego.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
That was s dfc's head scout, Sean Howe, And what
really stands out there is how much emphasis he puts
on character and instinct, not just numentous Darren Gantia, What.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
Did you guys make of that?
Speaker 4 (09:11):
Because Mikey always talks about the unity of the group first,
and Sean's approach feels like an extension of that philosophy, you.
Speaker 9 (09:18):
Know, absolutely.
Speaker 8 (09:19):
And one of the things I think that we talk about,
even before we get to the tactics, when we're talking
about Mikey Vadis and the Right to Dream style is
the building of the culture of San Diego Football club, right, Like,
that's the one thing that I think he gets more
credit for, not just the x's and o's and how
they go about picking a starting eleven, et cetera. It's
interesting timing that we're talking about this. I literally just
(09:42):
listen to a podcast the other day and one of
the assistant coaches for the Argentina national team, Matteas Mana,
said that one barbecue is worth twenty video chats nice,
And I thought that was such an interesting line because
of course Argentina is looking at numbers. They're doing the
same thing that a lot of other clubs are. It's
not like they're just rubbing dirt on it, right and
(10:03):
going old school, but like that is still such an
important part of this. The numbers can only get you
so far.
Speaker 11 (10:08):
One of the clubs in MLS is one time we
were asking about that is like, how do you decide
who or like, what player is that right fit? And
then the answer that this coach gave us was pretty funny,
but it was like off the record, so I'm not
just gonna say but then he said, well, pretty much
is like no a holes are allowed in this team.
So that's part of like when you do the work
(10:29):
as well, you try and understand, like you know, prior experiences,
the interviews, the references, how is this people when it
comes to relating to others teamwork, what's their essence? And
that's going to help you as well decide if that's
the right fit for you or not.
Speaker 4 (10:46):
And I love that about sports because that's what really
sometimes breaks down in the stories and storylines is the
stuff that you didn't track, the stuff that you didn't
account for. That data will never show you. But that's
Sean Howe, and he gives us a real insight into
how scouting as DFC balances data with instinct and why
character is just as important as technical skill. Still to come,
(11:09):
we step inside the analysis room on match day itself
and you're gonna hear from Harry Jamison and his team
log every touch, every run, every decision live at Snapdragon Stadium.
That's after the break, catch you on the way back,
(11:38):
Welcome back to behind the Flow.
Speaker 5 (11:40):
Now.
Speaker 4 (11:40):
If scouting is about finding the right pieces for the puzzle,
analysis is about making sure those pieces fit on the pitch,
and as DFC few people are more central to that
process than Harry Jamison as Head of Football Development or
simply head of Analysis. He and his team are the
ones breaking down performance, setting up game plans, and making
(12:02):
sure the players and coaches have the information that they
need to improve every single day. So how does it
actually work. We got up with Harry in the summer
to find this out.
Speaker 3 (12:15):
My name is Harry Jamison.
Speaker 7 (12:16):
My role here is Head of Football Development, but I
think more commonly it's known as the head of Analysis,
and particularly video analysis. My job is to make sure
that the processes that we have in place up to
scratch that we are leaders in video in MLS.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
The work actually started.
Speaker 7 (12:35):
For me back in October twenty twenty four, where it
took the game model that existed and then some of
my key's ideas and had to fashion that into something
that we could put into practice every day on the
training field, but also game to game. I'm in charge
of three staff members, two opposition analysts and one train analyst.
(13:00):
Theen nice thing with him, right to dream, is that
we have a flat hierarchy here, so no one is
above anyone else. So when we sit down and discuss
everyone's voice is equal. I think it gives us all
confidence that we can contribute with something meaningful and that's
going to translate to something directly.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
On the field.
Speaker 7 (13:18):
It's intense, long days, definitely initially in the week, and
then we almost periodize ourselves as the staff so that
we end the week a little bit lighter so that
when it comes to game day, we're really.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
Sharp and ready to go.
Speaker 7 (13:32):
Well, I consume enough caffeine I think to take down
a small horse, but I feel like it's needed. So,
you know, we stay humble and we show a growth mindset,
and what we do, then the results that we get
are just going to be the byproduct of those expectations
that we set ourselves.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
The work is still in.
Speaker 7 (13:51):
You know what we do every single day on the
training ground and it's just about the next game.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
We just want to.
Speaker 7 (13:57):
Get better every single day. With that clear on the
game model, when we sit we could take the player
through it or the player could take us through it,
because we all know what we're looking for in the
day to day. The meeting this morning was a walkout
meeting that we were aiming to keep for eight minutes
to keep the attention of the players. The walkout meeting
(14:18):
directly translated to what we were asking for on the
field for the players. So we tried to take a
little bit of the bigger concepts that we spoke about
yesterday in the team meeting and then sort of filter
it down to the specific.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Areas we were looking at.
Speaker 7 (14:32):
So today there was a focus on what we do
when we end up in a bit of a lower
block and conversely, of course, when we were attacking a
lower block.
Speaker 3 (14:43):
So we pulled clips from.
Speaker 7 (14:45):
Earlier this season that we already had database, that we
already had tellustrated, and by that that means the graphics
that you see on the field, the discs, the sort
of areas, and it's just to emphasize to the players'
key things looking for. So we showed two clips of
us defensively, and I think off the top we had,
(15:05):
we showed somewhere between four to six offensively. Of course,
shows you how much attention I was playing. I can't
tell you how many clips we did, but I know
it was under eight clips this morning. And we had
a really good training session today and I think as
a coach and stuff we have seen that translate on
the field, and it just demonstrated the value in those
(15:28):
meetings more than Nathan to direct the attention of the
players towards it.
Speaker 4 (15:38):
Well, that was Harry explaining how the system works, the preparation,
the processes, the philosophy behind it all. But this is
where it gets really exciting for those that love analytics. Disneyland,
we were incredibly privileged to be invited our mics for
behind the Flow into the boot on match day to
hear how that operation runs in real time. So for
(15:59):
sdfc's home game against Minnesota, we took them up on
that invitation. What you're about to hear is something fans
rarely get access to. The voices, the calls, the decisions
being made on the fly.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
This is SDFC from the inside.
Speaker 7 (16:20):
We are currently in the video and answers booth at
stop Dragon blackline.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Is pretty high, like it's compact is moments where we
can't play that open ball at the time.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Improving one was pretty good. That one less, so I
think it's fine. Women up still. This is just how
much he eeks out of like to flow the game
in seconds?
Speaker 4 (16:44):
Be good, yes, go go go.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
I was tagging every single player action.
Speaker 7 (16:54):
I was tagging some key moments because that gets sent
down to the coaches on the bench and I think
set piece in this game means Minnesota are massive. So
those clips, some are attacking low block. There's some of
the key modes that we're looking at in this game
right now.
Speaker 1 (17:10):
There's two occasions where we have a lot to play
and the churt that's for the switch out the other
side that we're in behind, and the only other thing
halftime right now is just reinforcing the low block concept
that we've done so well up to this point.
Speaker 7 (17:22):
We have a few different coding. Those that we use
are coding. THO is just a tool that we use.
It's like a window with the player names on in blocks.
They're all linked to hoteys, and then I select the
hoteys anytime they see a player involvement. My function on
(17:45):
match day is more just a focus on our players
opposed to the team performance. So I've just looked now
and I've made five hundred player clips in our first
game for our guys on the field. So you can
imagine that we'll get I mean, the full game will
get to a thousand clips, and then we add some
more to it, so we'll probably end up with eleven
(18:07):
hundred player actions in the game. I'm pretty clear on
what we need to look for with our players, and
obviously any sort of on the ball moments are the
most obvious, but I'm also looking you know, if we.
Speaker 3 (18:20):
Use the forwards as an example, any.
Speaker 7 (18:22):
Moments where they run behind, even if they don't receive it,
because when I watch this back again tomorrow and go
through those moments, they are still positive actions that we
do want to feedback to the individual players.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
We've got time to get to a pet make sure
that when we do all the back line, he's breaking it.
There's definitely room to run in behind.
Speaker 7 (18:43):
I think versus the other MLS teams, it's probably double
what some teams have. So we're very privileged and fortunate
they were given this platform to do the work that
we do.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
I think we have it divided up really well between
us where.
Speaker 7 (18:56):
We can all focus quite fairly on our areas to
make sure it's covered. I've been you know, teams who
have just worked on me own before and it's impossible
to focus on what the needed for halftime, the team events,
the player events, what I'm going to do postmatch. So
it just allows us to give a greater coverage and
better provision of analysis to the coaches.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
And the players.
Speaker 7 (19:20):
With Jack being a lead Anders in this game, He's
watched probably about ten MINUTESOTA games. He's watched an awful
lot and he has a clear picture of what this
game should look like. You know, we want to be
always in control of the game, so it means that we.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Wanted to look a certain way is the easiest way
to put it.
Speaker 7 (19:39):
So anything that would alter the picture that we want
this game to look like is probably what Jack would
be quite focused on.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So the turnover off the long ball from Saint Clair,
two phases where we failed to lock it, one attack
where we go quick that last roue with Anders, and
then two against the low block.
Speaker 2 (19:58):
It's just whatever we decided show. Basically, it has to
be shy.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
These restarts are getting so long now in these constant warnings.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
With zero yellow cards.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
So there's a counter attack where we attack fast when
we do regain the ball well, and then there's two
against the low block, one where we crossed under their
back line and we.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Created the chance, and one from a switch through.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
It might be a message for someone I don't know who,
but these towels that they're leaving around the pitch and
someone remove them.
Speaker 7 (20:27):
So he mentioned to the coaches two clips of us
without the ball.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
In ball recovery where we need to improve.
Speaker 7 (20:34):
And then I think there's one clip when we're attacking
the box as well, keep an eye out for your
bowl and in the throws he started out through the
penalty box and the moment the second blog was he
runs straight to the back of the zones and.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
He ended up with.
Speaker 5 (20:49):
That's where they're able to get.
Speaker 3 (20:52):
In this booth.
Speaker 7 (20:53):
You feel like you have a degree of control and
then you feel like you're little controls as well sor
it's a weird like part of the play when you're
watching the game. We connected the players individually all the time,
so you know, there's things I've spoken to play about
this week, who's playing at the nine today, and I've
seen some of those actions out in the field. So
(21:14):
I'm very keen to go through those clips and connected them.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
So just as the game is going on, just having that.
Speaker 7 (21:23):
I guess focus on some of those things that you've
spoken with the players of vot's like another part of
the live match day, especially for me. Post game, we'll
take an overall package that we make that probably has
a two thousand clips that we've made and we'll upload
it to a platform to the.
Speaker 3 (21:43):
Players immediately at the game.
Speaker 7 (21:45):
It has four angles in him with the wide broadcast,
two EN zones, and it's available tonight. So the player
let's usually by the captain. By the time he gets homes,
it's on his coach. The game is fully broken down
and you can watch every single instance back if.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
He chooses to do that. It's all all work that
we do.
Speaker 7 (22:02):
So some teams you will provide it the next day,
but we want to do it immediately. When I get home,
I'll rewatch like the key moments in the game that
I've tugged so tags on, like key actions that I'm
going to look back on that might be like thirty
of those, and then I will do my best to
watch the first half in full and pull any of
(22:22):
the key moments out, and then tomorrow I'll watch the
second half in full, and then I'll do one or
two additional watchers where I'll look back at the attackers
because that's the unit group that I wear with, and
I'll produce a full post much review.
Speaker 5 (22:39):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
Thank you again as DFC for giving behind the flow
this access for the fans in particular. But two things
stood out when he made the towel comment. All I
can think of. I don't know if you guys ever
watched South Park, but I thought of Tauleat just reaking
heavy there on the field, like somebody removed these towels,
get them out of the way.
Speaker 5 (22:54):
The other thing is, ye I totally pictured them.
Speaker 4 (22:57):
Like Captain Kirk the Enterprise, he sits down and he says,
make it so, and then there it is, every single play,
every single clip, everything that the kapita needs to process
things moving forward, wild access, indeed being there in the
booth hearing it all unfold in real time. Honestly, the
(23:17):
fans get themselves plenty of experiences here on behind the
flow got.
Speaker 11 (23:21):
Damn not even us as media get to experience that
very often. So huge things to the club for opening
the doors like that. It gives us a new appreciation
of how much detail goes into every moment, every analysis,
and unbelievable how they're doing it in real time, and
in this case in the Minnesota United game in particular,
(23:43):
when you're facing one of the best goalkeepers in the
league in Saint Clair and then just hearing how they're
analyzing what he's doing, how can you go and try
to beat him?
Speaker 3 (23:53):
Is just great.
Speaker 8 (23:54):
I also just want to echo what Katy just said.
I cannot believe this podcast is free. I'm just say
that like that kind of access people should pay for. Honestly,
I appreciate it. I think everybody else does as well.
You know, I think if we're doing this entire episode
about analytics, we're probably remiss in not mentioning the name
(24:15):
Tyler Heaps before now, right, because when you think about
the people that we just heard from that are doing
this game in, game out, and it's so much more
in depth, I think than even we realize, and we're
there every single day. Tyler Heaps is the former head
of Analysis and Insights with AS Monaco six years with
US Soccer, the director of analytics, the head of analysis, right,
(24:37):
So this is his background. But what makes Tyler unique
is he's not just a numbers cruncher, and he's a
former player. You know, he played in college and he
played a little bit from Minnesota United.
Speaker 9 (24:48):
So this is one of.
Speaker 8 (24:50):
The more advanced analytics department anywhere in Major League Soccer.
Makes a ton of sense when you think about who
the sporting director is.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
Right, absolutely, that was during the first half again against Minnesota,
and at halftime all of that work went straight into
the locker room to adjust the tactics. So does it
surprise you, guys at all, that it's so human lied
when so much of the sport leans into automation and
AI got the act.
Speaker 11 (25:15):
Most of the clubs, at least that I know of,
they wait to do that the following day, and then
you have your video analysis session and then you get
to sit down with the player and show them those clips.
It's just unbelievable. It's amazing.
Speaker 4 (25:28):
It's setting a high standard for all things that San
Diego FC are doing.
Speaker 5 (25:33):
Endearn Smith. Is there anything else that stands out to you, Darin?
Speaker 8 (25:36):
I do think the human touch is really interesting because
we're all bombarded by artificial intelligence, right and better ways
to do it.
Speaker 9 (25:44):
It's not just data, it's why is this important?
Speaker 8 (25:48):
And how do you present it to players who are
down there, who are doing the dirty work for ninety
minutes a match and it sounds like they've found that balance.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
And you hit it. How does it translate? And can
much information be a bad thing? But in the end,
it's about one thing, guys. Results, That's what matters. The most,
and there's no bigger moment than decision day. So all
of this incredible work with data and analysis has been
about one thing, making sure as DFC are ready when
(26:19):
it counts most. And now that we've arrived at that moment,
decision day. And for the team, it's about setting the
tone going into playoffs.
Speaker 5 (26:28):
But we know Darren got the friends.
Speaker 4 (26:32):
This is a tricky place to play.
Speaker 5 (26:37):
It's the cabin in.
Speaker 4 (26:37):
The woods in Portland, and let's hope that it doesn't
become just that far as DFC Darren Smith, right.
Speaker 9 (26:46):
We want to keep timbers. Joey is that his name.
Speaker 8 (26:48):
We want to keep that guy quiet, Keep that chance.
Speaker 5 (26:51):
On Joey quiet.
Speaker 9 (26:52):
No change something, solutely, keep that thing quiet.
Speaker 8 (26:55):
I also think carrying a nine match unbeaten streak into
the playoffs matters. I like the idea of getting on
a little bit of a heater here heading into the
Audi Mlscup playoffs.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
And Katya, I know that there's a phrase that we've
heard throughout history, Red October and this and that Kroman
asul October.
Speaker 5 (27:13):
How does that sound to you?
Speaker 11 (27:14):
Everything you've done throughout the season comes down to this moment,
the playoffs, and everything goes out the window in a way,
and it's a clean slate because a lot of the
teams that you've faced before are going to look different.
And then they have that mindset of yes, is that
the playoffs, so they have to be ready. And to
everybody listening, even if you don't know about that tradition
(27:35):
that Darren and Adrian we're referring to, you know, they
have the chainsaw and they cut the log right there
when the Timbers score a goal. So of course you
do not want to see Timber Joe pull out the
chainsaw because that means that the home team scores. So no,
we don't want that.
Speaker 6 (27:53):
No.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
So now it's the moment we've all been waiting for
your predictions. Katia Castorina, what are you seeing happening at
La Caaba the Cavin of Terror.
Speaker 12 (28:04):
I believe that s EFC will close out the season
strong and they can walk out of there with a
win let's say one two.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
Darren Damus illuminate us.
Speaker 9 (28:19):
Yeah, I tend to agree.
Speaker 8 (28:21):
I think that the road unbeaten streak really really matters.
I think also maybe stuck in the backs of their
minds is what it was that Portland came down and.
Speaker 9 (28:31):
Picked up a result.
Speaker 8 (28:32):
I do like SDFC in these rematch games. They have
won eight of them so far this year, so let's
make it nine and I'll just go with an even
nil two win for SDFC.
Speaker 9 (28:45):
Let's get ready for the playoffs.
Speaker 5 (28:46):
Let's get ready for the playoffs.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
And in Portland they make great donuts, guys, but we
don't want to see donuts on the score. But we
want to see the donut for the Portland Timbers, but
no donuts for SDFC. For me, it's going to be
dos a said or two nothing San Diego FC, and
you know who's going to score both. Staying hot, keep
it going, keep it moving. I think that's what's gonna
happen my prediction.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
All right, that's gonna do it. For this week's episode.
Speaker 4 (29:09):
Of Behind the Flow, a huge thank you to Sean
Howe and Harry Jamison for taking us inside the world
of data at SDFC, and to the club for letting
us share such incredible access.
Speaker 5 (29:20):
That was awesome.
Speaker 4 (29:21):
Decision Day is here, Portland Timbers away the final test
before the playoffs begin. However, it plays out as dfc's
first MLS season has already been his story a huge success,
and the journey is only beginning. We're gonna be here
for every step of the way, just for you. So
next week we're gonna step inside as dfc's brand new
(29:43):
Right to Dream Academy. Yes, we're gonna take you to
Hogwarts in SD, the cornerstone of the entire project and
the place that will shape the club's future as much
as the first team.
Speaker 5 (29:54):
Darren Gatien.
Speaker 8 (29:56):
This was fun, always fun looking forward to it. I
can't believe we're at the finish line.
Speaker 9 (30:01):
Here we go.
Speaker 11 (30:01):
Playoffs around the corner.
Speaker 5 (30:03):
Let's go playoffs like in the playoffs. That's right, playoffs, Benguy, I'm.
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Adrian, Gertie markis for contec Casta. Darren Smith, we thank
you for listening. You've been dipped in chrome and a suit.
We'll catch you next time. I'm behind the flow.
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