Zack Marriot is a recent graduate of the BSc (Hons) Performance Analysis and Coaching Science programme at the University of Derby. Since graduating he has progressed onto an MSc Performance Analysis programme and is currently working as an analyst on an internship with Nottingham Forest Football Club 1st team. We caught up with Zack to talk about his experiences at the University of Derby and how it has helped him get a foothold in the Premier League.
How would you summarise your journey in the last three years? Did you ever dream you would be where you are now?
Not in my wildest dreams. I have definitely exceeded where I thought I would be. I went from not even knowing what I wanted to do, to working as an analyst on Premier League games. So, it's kind of crazy when you sit back and think about it. I always thought I would go into football coaching, but I was really inspired to become a performance analyst through the course, particularly in my last year.
I know you didn’t get to where you are now overnight, so can you tell me about some of the key moments then that have helped shape your performance analysis career to date?
It probably started about 18-months ago, alongside the course I started working with a semi-professional team in Leicester. I was coaching, videoing games using Veo and putting together presentations off my own initiative. This gave me some of the skills and confidence to apply for an academy role at Wolves, where I was really thrown in the deep end, and had to learn a lot of new things on the job. I had to get really familiar with using Hudl Sportscode, Hudl Studio, and the different workflows the club used. Over time, I was given more and more responsibility. The skills I learnt over that eight month period got me to the level where I was able to gain an internship at Nottingham Forest with their 1st team. Now I’m using Sportscode, Match Tracker, live coding games and developing my skills every day. My progression over the last 18-months has been really fast, both in terms of my technical skill level and the level of roles and responsibilities I am being given.
Tell me a little about what you learnt at each placement?
At Leicester City Football Club, I was working as a Community Development Football Coach. It gave me excellent exposure to working with boys and girls academies. It really helped me with advancing my football knowledge, and taught me to be flexible, as I had to adapt my coaching to a wide range people and abilities. I was also working with a wide range of coaches and other supporting roles within the club. It was great collaborating with the coaching team, developing and adapting sessions. Through my coaching experience, I was able to complete my UEFA C License, which supported my game knowledge, but also helped me understand the coaching and analysis process better. As I have a better tactical understanding of the game, when I'm out on the pitch and supporting the goal keeping coach, I appreciate what he's doing and why he's doing it, meaning I can provide stronger analysis.
Tell me a bit more about the analysis you did for Wolves?
With a bit more experience, I was able to get some analysis experience with the Wolves Academy. Initially, I was just working with the Under 10’s to better understand the Academy’s philosophy, coding games post-match, as well as some live coding. After just a week though, due to some restructuring in the analysis team, myself and another analyst were given responsibility for three teams, so I was unexpectantly working as a full-time academy analyst. I was in the office during the week coding games from the weekend and then I'd go in at the weekend and code live games as well. I'd also put together playlists and videos for players that were getting released to send off to other clubs with their highlights package. The demands from the coaches and the analysts were hard, but it's shaped me into what I am today. I guess it was my big break within football, to be able to then get into a club, and having responsibilities thrown on me that I probably didn't expect so early on. Things were moving at a very accelerated pace, but my skill set grew massively from where it started. So, it was a really good experience.
How did you find the placement opportunities married with the performance analysis modules you were doing through the programme?
It was perfect. The course really helped me as well because it was aligned with what I was doing within the club. Whether that was exposing me to data, helping me understand the data other analysts were showing me, using software like Sportscode or Studio, and more generally how to present my analysis. In the same way, my course assignments were perfect because they were emulating what I was being asked to do as an analyst. The course gave me the skills to do well in the placement at Wolves, and the work with Wolves helped me do really well with my assessments.
Tell me about your most recent role at Nottingham Forest?
I am currently the Training Analyst and Opposition Analyst Intern at Nottingham Forest. I go out on the training pitch every training session, working with the goal keeping coaches to get the footage and angles they need, then clipping it up in Sportscode. After that I will be in the office doing oppositional analysis, creating Sportscode organisers with video clips, with the strengths and weaknesses of every single opposition player. The clips then all get put together and get shown to the players in the week leading up to the game, or in the changing room beforehand. During match day, I’m hooked up to all the IP cameras and code the individuals within our team. So every time someone touches the ball, or makes a run, I will code them and put it all into a package for the goal keeping coach after the game.
What would you say have been some of the stand-out highlights?
I think working on my first Premier League game. I’d been working in training, and seeing how the week had gone for the team, but when it came to like that first game day, it was like ‘this is for real’! Getting into that world, where it's sort of the dream job, and I’m there as an analyst. That was really massive – definitely a pinch yourself sort of moment.
The coaching staff, analysts and manager have all been very supportive. The manager is really into the analysis side of things, as are the coaches. They encourage us to improve and to keep doing what we're doing because it helps them. I'm on the training pitch every day so I’ve also got a good relationship with all the players as well, so I couldn’t really ask for a better environment to be in.
Can you think about maybe some examples where your analysis work has made a difference?
The first one that comes to mind was one of the first games of the season. We said that this one particular player was going to come inside and shoot, cutting in from the left. We showed this to the full backs beforehand, and the player comes on, and the full back defended it perfectly. Although it might seem like a little thing, it was good to feel like deep down you have made an impact.
What advice would you give to somebody starting a Performance Analysis programme, knowing what you know now?
I'd say just put yourself out there and try and get as much experience as you can. The experience will massively help the skill set along with your university degree. Take as many opportunities as you can. Just 12 months ago, when I was at a semi-professional team, I wouldn’t have thought I would be where I am now in my wildest dreams. But here we are!
