West Ham United Foundation’s’ international player development program is renowned as one of the best in Europe, consistently producing pathways into professional football. The international academy in partnership with Choices International offers an intensive program designed to test and optimize young players’ performance by integrating the latest advancements in sports technology with Premier League training techniques.
Ian Mackay, the International Academy of Football’s general manager, is in charge of recruiting players and sought solutions to assess their performance levels impartially and remotely.
JuniStat provided Ian with a trial of the smart testing system, which included 50 performance tests for current Academy players. Utilizing smartphones and tripods, the manager and coaches conducted comprehensive tests, measuring technical and physical performance attributes.
Performance tests on the pitch
Complete 6 tests — 3 for each leg.
- Dribbling 15m with run-up. RF/LF
- Power kick. RF/LF
- Arrow with the ball. RF/LF
Players’s cards
After completing the tests, each player receives a digital card and a detailed profile with accurate performance data extracted from various individual football tests.
Player detailed profile
The data belongs to the West Ham United Foundation Academy and can be accessed through personal web accounts. Academy management can choose to make the players’ profiles public or keep them private at their discretion. The Academy’s web account serves as a digital talent database, allowing players to be sorted and selected by rating skills and other metrics. The Academy can link branches and coaches, facilitating the collection and analysis of unbiased player data across the organization.
Academy web-account
One key feature the West Ham United Foundation International Academy uses is the remote screening and recruiting of players. They have launched a web page describing the program and inviting players from all over the world to complete tests. The link to the program’s web page is junistat.com/academies/whuf/
Players participating in the program pay for a JuniStat license to take tests and create their digital profiles. The unlimited annual plan is $99 per player, and the Academy can use promo codes to offer discounts—in this case, a 50% discount for young footballers.
Using AI-driven objective data, each player is compared with peers globally and benchmarked against academy-level players, receiving a rating based on various macro and micro skills.
In addition to performance tests, JuniStat allows players to describe their bio and experience, indicate their preferred pitch position, and upload videos to their profiles—helping them showcase their best game moments.
Player profile with video highlights
Ian Mackay
“JuniStat has enabled us to become much more accurate in our recruitment. We regularly test our academy players to assess our benchmarks for new candidates. Candidates who meet the minimum requirements are further evaluated. Even though we carry out the tests with all candidates, this is particularly valuable when assessing candidates who do not have recorded match footage available. This is often the case in countries where football technology is not so advanced, however, everyone to date has had a mobile phone! We have found it invaluable and very accurate. It not only gives us a good insight into their athletic stats but also their ball mastery so we know that their physical and technical corners are covered if we can’t analyse any footage. We then aim to assess the ‘social and psychological’ corners through interviews and references”.
Potential Outcomes for Ian Mackay using JuniStat:
- Enhanced Talent Identification: A data-driven approach allows for more accurate and objectively identifying young talents. This ensures that the most promising players are recruited based on comprehensive performance data rather than subjective assessments.
- Improved Player Development: With detailed performance data for each player, the coaching staff can tailor training programs to address individual strengths and weaknesses.
Efficient Resource Allocation: By leveraging remote screening and digital profiles, WHUF Academy of Football can streamline its scouting process, reducing the need for extensive travel and in-person evaluations.
Comprehensive Performance Tracking: JuniStat provides continuous monitoring and evaluation of players through regular testing. This ongoing assessment helps track progress over time, identify improvement areas, and make informed decisions about player development.
Increased Player Engagement: Players receive digital profiles and performance cards, which can boost their motivation and engagement. Seeing their progress and having tangible data on their performance encourages them to strive for improvement.
Enhanced Communication with Parents: Detailed performance reports and digital profiles can be shared with parents, providing them with clear insights into their child’s development. This transparency can enhance trust and satisfaction among parents.
Data-Driven Decision Making: With access to a comprehensive digital talent database, the Academy management can make more informed decisions regarding player selection, training focus, and overall strategy.
Global Talent Pool Access: WHUF Academy of Football’s remote assessment capabilities allow It to tap into a broader talent pool that is not limited by geographical boundaries. This global reach increases the chances of discovering exceptional talents from diverse regions.
Benchmarking and Competitive Analysis: Competitive analysis helps us understand where players stand and what is needed to reach the next level.
Scalability and Flexibility: The system’s ability to integrate with different branches and coaches across the Academy provides scalability and flexibility. It ensures consistent and unbiased data collection and analysis, facilitating a cohesive development strategy across all levels.