- AI expert explains how technology will change coaching
- AI will soon provide coaches with data to counteract tactics
Leading experts are predicting that the impact of artificial intelligence on the job market will be far-reaching – and it might just transform the way the AFL is coached, too.
Executive director of the AFL’s official analytics provider Champion Data, Tim Kelsey, believes AI technology will change the way Aussie Rules footy is coached in a significant way – and it’ll happen in the near future.
‘At some point a computer using artificial intelligence, would be able to reason what’s going on in the game and what it might do to counteract what’s happening,’ Kelsey told CODE Sports.
‘But people get nervous when you go down this track – “Oh, it doesn’t allow for your own thinking” – so we talk about data-informed decisions for a coach, rather than data-driven decisions.
‘A coach needs to be informed and needs to also use their own judgement in today’s game.’
Champion Data is now using optical tracking from cameras to give coaches more insights into things like player positioning and match-ups.
Kelsey explained that the information that AI will soon provide will be able to override the ‘eye test’ coaches use.
‘Instead of just “Nick Daicos is being tagged by Toby Bedford”, we will end up with a much more nuanced answer,’ Kelsey said.
Artificial intelligence will change the way that AFL matches are coached, a leading expert says (pictured, Nick Daicos kicking for Collingwood this year)
Coaches like Brisbane’s Chris Fagan (pictured) will have access to AI that can decipher what’s happening in a game and how to counteract it with specific tactics
‘The AI answer might find that he is tagging him in stoppages, but then when they’re outside of stoppages they’re not anywhere near each other.
‘So you can get much more fine-grained and more accurate information.’
The NBA, which has been a pioneer in embracing technological advancements, is using advanced AI that can provide data to coaches during a match in about 10 seconds.
This analysis of data helps coaches make important real-time decisions on player rotations and strategies.
With the rapid advancement in technology, coaches like John Longmire and Chris Fagan will soon not need to wait until the following day to understand exactly how they got beaten.
AI will soon provide be able to provide information that’s accurate enough to override the ‘eye test’ coaches use to make tactical changes (pictured, Swans players being coached during a break in play in the 2024 season)
Artificial intelligence has conjured up nightmare scenarios like those explored by the Terminator movies (pictured) – and in the real world, it is feared that the technology will lead to mass job losses
‘As opposed to just trying to do it with humans, we can start to work out things like who’s coming on and off the ground automatically, interchange movements, player positions, who’s playing on who and get them much more accurate,’ Kelsey said.
‘And then once we’ve got those sorted, we’d then start to look at some of the harder things like trying to work out whether we can detect kicks and pressure.’
Kelsey believes one of the major challenges of AI is how it is embraced by humans.
He does predict the technology will be successful, though.
‘I think in time the debate will be whether a computer using artificial intelligence might get a better result than a coach,’ he predicted.
