The Portal · Data · Task
Your first data chart
Take the free practice dataset, ask one question a coach would care about and answer it with one clear chart.
Lesson · Task · Practice dataset
Worked example
Who gets Kestrel Bay into the final third?
Introduction
Numbers are not analysis yet
A row of data says what happened. A chart turns hundreds of rows into one answer a coach can use in a few seconds.
Data gets you part of the way. It helps you evidence what you have seen and back up your findings. Then it is on you, as the analyst, to explain what the numbers mean and why they matter to the coach.
This task uses our free practice dataset: a full fictional match laid out like professional event data. You ask one question, filter the events, count them and show the answer in one chart, then explain it in three sentences.
01
One question, one chart
Start with the question, not the chart. Most questions a coach asks about a match are one of three kinds, and each has a chart that suits it.
Who?
Bar chartCompare players or teams. Sort the bars from biggest to smallest.
Where?
Pitch mapPlot each event where it happened. Patterns show up as clusters.
When?
Line over timeCount by 5 or 15-minute blocks to see when the match changed.
02
Know your data
Each row is one event: a pass, a carry, a shot, a pressure. The match has 3,943 of them. You only need a few columns to start.
The pitch is 120 by 80. In the data, x runs from 0 at a team’s own goal to 120 at the goal it attacks, whichever way it is shown. That makes thirds easy: the final third is everything with x of 80 or more.
03
A worked example
The question: which Kestrel Bay players get the ball into the final third?
Define it first
“Getting the ball into the final third” could mean a pass, a carry or both. Ours is: a completed pass or a carry that starts outside the final third and ends inside it. Put your definition on the chart and tell the coach, so everyone reads it the same way and agrees on what you are showing them.
The filters
Passes
Carries
That leaves 63 passes and 33 carries: 96 in all. Split them by player and sort from biggest to smallest.
The definition changes the answer. Count passes only and Niall Sorrell makes 3. Count carries too and he makes 11: he takes the ball in himself.
The three sentences
What it shows
Kestrel Bay got the ball into the final third 96 times, by a completed pass or a carry. Two central midfielders did it 66 times between them: Arlo Okonedo (37) and Theo Rasmus (29).
What it does not show
Where in the final third the ball went, what happened next, or whether it led to shots.
What a coach should look at next
The clips of Arlo Okonedo’s passes. If he is Kestrel Bay’s main route forward, pressing him could cut off their supply.
04
The task
Pick your own question about either team, and work through the five steps. Do not reuse the worked example.
- 01Ask one question, and define it
Pick one team and one question a coach would care about: who, where or when. Then define every term in it, so it is clear what counts and what does not.
Questions to start from
- Who gets the ball into the final third?
- Where do they win the ball back?
- When do their shots occur the most?
Done well when: You can say the question and its definition in one sentence each.
- 02Filter the events
Open the events table in Excel or Google Sheets and turn on filters. Keep only the rows that answer your question: the right team, the right type and, if it matters, the right outcome and area.
Done well when: Someone else could repeat your filters and get the same rows.
- 03Count
Count the rows that are left, then split them: by player for who, by third or zone for where, by 15-minute block for when.
Done well when: Your totals add up to the number of rows you filtered.
- 04Make one chart
Bars for who, a pitch map for where, a line over time for when. One colour for what matters, grey for the rest, and a title that says what the chart shows.
Done well when: The chart makes sense without you there to explain it.
- 05Write three sentences
What it shows. What it does not show. What a coach should look at next.
Done well when: Each sentence is backed by the chart.
05
Check your work
Before you call it finished, look at the chart as if you were the coach seeing it for the first time.
- Does the chart answer one question?
- Does the title say what it shows?
- Have you told the coach how you defined it?
- Does the colour point at what matters?
- Do the three sentences match the chart?
- Have you said what the chart cannot show?
If you can answer yes to all six, you have your first data chart. Keep it: it is a piece of your portfolio.
06
Get the data
Everything you need is in the practice dataset. Open it in your browser, or download it for Excel or Numbers. The CSV, JSON and SPADL files are there if you work in Python or R.
PDF · 9 PAGES
Your first data chart guideStep by step: the worked example in Google Sheets, with where to click in Excel and Numbers, then your own task.
The match
Kestrel Bay FC 2–0 Redfern AthleticTFAG Practice League · 2026/27 · 3,943 events
- Events with time, team, player, position and pitch location
- Pass end points, receivers, height and outcome
- Carries, pressures, duels, dribbles and set pieces
- Shots with an expected-goals value, height and goalkeeper outcome
- Both line-ups, with substitutes
Hidden in it: a few build-up patterns from Kestrel Bay. See how many you can find.
Fictional practice data created by The Football Analysis Guy. Every club, player and event is invented and is not taken from any data provider. Free to use for learning.
07
Submit your work
Finished your chart? You can send it in.
Optional
Your work is yours to keep. Submitting is only for anyone who wants feedback.
What happens next
Every submission is read. A small selection are chosen, and those analysts receive direct feedback on their work. Your work stays private unless you agree to share it.
Send your chart and three sentences.
All submissions go through one place on The Portal. Choose "Your first data chart" when you send it.
Submit your work →08
Go further in The Club
This task makes one chart from one match. In The Club, you work with full data across matches and seasons, and get feedback on your work.
Founding members
The first cohort is chosen from the waitlist.
The Club opens in early 2027. Joining the waitlist is free, with no payment and no commitment. Membership is paid; prices are released soon. It supports your development; it does not guarantee work.
The Portal · Data · Task
Your first data chart
Take the free practice dataset, ask one question a coach would care about and answer it with one clear chart.
Lesson · Task · Practice dataset
Worked example
Who gets Kestrel Bay into the final third?
Introduction
Numbers are not analysis yet
A row of data says what happened. A chart turns hundreds of rows into one answer a coach can use in a few seconds.
Data gets you part of the way. It helps you evidence what you have seen and back up your findings. Then it is on you, as the analyst, to explain what the numbers mean and why they matter to the coach.
This task uses our free practice dataset: a full fictional match laid out like professional event data. You ask one question, filter the events, count them and show the answer in one chart, then explain it in three sentences.
01
One question, one chart
Start with the question, not the chart. Most questions a coach asks about a match are one of three kinds, and each has a chart that suits it.
Who?
Bar chartCompare players or teams. Sort the bars from biggest to smallest.
Where?
Pitch mapPlot each event where it happened. Patterns show up as clusters.
When?
Line over timeCount by 5 or 15-minute blocks to see when the match changed.
02
Know your data
Each row is one event: a pass, a carry, a shot, a pressure. The match has 3,943 of them. You only need a few columns to start.
The pitch is 120 by 80. In the data, x runs from 0 at a team’s own goal to 120 at the goal it attacks, whichever way it is shown. That makes thirds easy: the final third is everything with x of 80 or more.
03
A worked example
The question: which Kestrel Bay players get the ball into the final third?
Define it first
“Getting the ball into the final third” could mean a pass, a carry or both. Ours is: a completed pass or a carry that starts outside the final third and ends inside it. Put your definition on the chart and tell the coach, so everyone reads it the same way and agrees on what you are showing them.
The filters
Passes
Carries
That leaves 63 passes and 33 carries: 96 in all. Split them by player and sort from biggest to smallest.
The definition changes the answer. Count passes only and Niall Sorrell makes 3. Count carries too and he makes 11: he takes the ball in himself.
The three sentences
What it shows
Kestrel Bay got the ball into the final third 96 times, by a completed pass or a carry. Two central midfielders did it 66 times between them: Arlo Okonedo (37) and Theo Rasmus (29).
What it does not show
Where in the final third the ball went, what happened next, or whether it led to shots.
What a coach should look at next
The clips of Arlo Okonedo’s passes. If he is Kestrel Bay’s main route forward, pressing him could cut off their supply.
04
The task
Pick your own question about either team, and work through the five steps. Do not reuse the worked example.
- 01Ask one question, and define it
Pick one team and one question a coach would care about: who, where or when. Then define every term in it, so it is clear what counts and what does not.
Questions to start from
- Who gets the ball into the final third?
- Where do they win the ball back?
- When do their shots occur the most?
Done well when: You can say the question and its definition in one sentence each.
- 02Filter the events
Open the events table in Excel or Google Sheets and turn on filters. Keep only the rows that answer your question: the right team, the right type and, if it matters, the right outcome and area.
Done well when: Someone else could repeat your filters and get the same rows.
- 03Count
Count the rows that are left, then split them: by player for who, by third or zone for where, by 15-minute block for when.
Done well when: Your totals add up to the number of rows you filtered.
- 04Make one chart
Bars for who, a pitch map for where, a line over time for when. One colour for what matters, grey for the rest, and a title that says what the chart shows.
Done well when: The chart makes sense without you there to explain it.
- 05Write three sentences
What it shows. What it does not show. What a coach should look at next.
Done well when: Each sentence is backed by the chart.
05
Check your work
Before you call it finished, look at the chart as if you were the coach seeing it for the first time.
- Does the chart answer one question?
- Does the title say what it shows?
- Have you told the coach how you defined it?
- Does the colour point at what matters?
- Do the three sentences match the chart?
- Have you said what the chart cannot show?
If you can answer yes to all six, you have your first data chart. Keep it: it is a piece of your portfolio.
06
Get the data
Everything you need is in the practice dataset. Open it in your browser, or download it for Excel or Numbers. The CSV, JSON and SPADL files are there if you work in Python or R.
PDF · 9 PAGES
Your first data chart guideStep by step: the worked example in Google Sheets, with where to click in Excel and Numbers, then your own task.
The match
Kestrel Bay FC 2–0 Redfern AthleticTFAG Practice League · 2026/27 · 3,943 events
- Events with time, team, player, position and pitch location
- Pass end points, receivers, height and outcome
- Carries, pressures, duels, dribbles and set pieces
- Shots with an expected-goals value, height and goalkeeper outcome
- Both line-ups, with substitutes
Hidden in it: a few build-up patterns from Kestrel Bay. See how many you can find.
Fictional practice data created by The Football Analysis Guy. Every club, player and event is invented and is not taken from any data provider. Free to use for learning.
07
Submit your work
Finished your chart? You can send it in.
Optional
Your work is yours to keep. Submitting is only for anyone who wants feedback.
What happens next
Every submission is read. A small selection are chosen, and those analysts receive direct feedback on their work. Your work stays private unless you agree to share it.
Send your chart and three sentences.
All submissions go through one place on The Portal. Choose "Your first data chart" when you send it.
Submit your work →08
Go further in The Club
This task makes one chart from one match. In The Club, you work with full data across matches and seasons, and get feedback on your work.
Founding members
The first cohort is chosen from the waitlist.
The Club opens in early 2027. Joining the waitlist is free, with no payment and no commitment. Membership is paid; prices are released soon. It supports your development; it does not guarantee work.