European Championship Silver: How the National Inline Skating Hockey Team Analyzed Its Performance with ATHLYZER

What a tournament! The German men’s national inline skate hockey team is the European runner-up. At the IISHF European Championships in Rossemaison, Switzerland, the young team marched undefeated all the way to the final. Only there did defending champion Switzerland prove too strong. ATHLYZER was there: The coaching staff used the software to analyze the games throughout the entire tournament.

Switzerland also entered the final undefeated; in the preliminary round, the two longtime rivals had tied 2–2. The final got off to a fast start: After just over five minutes, the score was 0–3. The German team fired many shots on goal afterward, but Switzerland had the clearer scoring chances. The final score was 3–8.

Still, one thing was clear to the coaching staff after the game: the players showed commitment, passion, tenacity, and determination.

Analyze in the evening, discuss in the morning

How do you work with video analysis when there’s only one night between games? Arndt Kons, the national team’s goalkeeper coach, told us all about it. The first day of the tournament was a bit rough, but that wasn’t the software’s fault. After that, everything went smoothly: “After the first day, everything went wonderfully, and I was able to use the software easily and effectively. I was especially pleased with how quickly and easily we were able to achieve good results,” says Arndt.

The coaching staff deliberately showed the players only a select few clips. A three-day tournament is short, so no one should be overwhelmed with information. The goal was to highlight a few key points.

For the coaches, the analysis went much deeper. Among other things, they looked at goals scored and allowed, face-offs won and lost, shots on goal by both teams, and how players reacted when gaining or losing possession. The opponent’s substitution patterns were also analyzed. Arndt posted the clips online for his fellow coaches, supplemented with data on shots on goal, ice time, and plus-minus statistics.

The analysis was conducted each evening. On Saturday morning and before the final, the results were then presented directly during the team meeting at the hotel.

European Championship Silver After a Strong Tournament

During the tournament, the coaching staff used ATHLYZER primarily for quick post-game analysis and preparation for the next match. Not only Arndt, but also the rest of the coaching staff was thrilled. And his take on the tournament? “This is a success for our young team. Switzerland was still too strong and too experienced for us.”

Dear team, dear coaching staff: Congratulations on the silver medal! And congratulations to Switzerland on defending their title. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for you in the upcoming tournaments.

The official tournament report is available from Inline Skater Hockey Germany (ISHD).

You might be familiar with this from your own tournament weekend: there’s often only one night between the final whistle and the next meeting. If you want to analyze your games just as quickly, check out ATHLYZERcoach.

All photos: ISHD