11 Questions with Carlon Carpenter

The pursuit of wisdom in any walk of life quickly reveals that what you think you know is not nearly enough to get you to where you want to go. As I'm starting out in my football scouting journey I challenged myself to reach out to those already working in various roles in football to answer a short list of questions. My goal wasn't to get answers but relevant perspectives on the game within the game.

Here is Carlon Carpenter, performance analyst at University of Virginia Men's Soccer.

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

I work for the University of Virginia, one of the top college level programs in the

country. I’ve lived in Charlottesville (where the school is located) for most of my life,

and because of that, when I was a player, I had a connection with the coaching staff.

I would often help with running camps, and other various things I could do to help

the program. Because of this, when my predecessor A.J Barnold (who now works for

the US Women’s national team) left, he reached out to me due to our prior

relationship.

What attracted you to coaching? What’s more intriguing now winning or developing players?

When I was a player, I was always interested in thinking about the game and the

deeper levels of understanding that were possible as much as I was in actually playing

it. My attraction to breaking down the many nuances in football meant that I was

probably predestined to get involved in performance analysis/coaching from the start.

While winning is the ultimate goal in the sport, my role as a performance analyst is one

which the end goal is to improve players and the team as a whole: development is the

most important part of the process as constantly evolving and building will in turn get

you results.

Who is the first coach/teacher that resonated with you? What stood out?

I played as a goalkeeper, so the coach that I had a connection with was my first

goalkeeping coach. His name was Martin Braun, and he was a former professional

player in Germany. There’s a lot of talk about the “goalkeeping union” in football, and

similarly, due to the isolated nature of the position the 1 on 1 coaching I received from

him was much more personal than that of other managers I’ve had. He helped instill a

love of goalkeeping first and foremost but his emphasis on work ethic and getting the

little details right has stuck with me ever since.

What is the biggest misconception in football? Why?

I believe the idea that people who advocate for data are against any other type of

process in football is completely wrong. For the uneducated, there exists this notion that

data people think that football can be won and lost on a spreadsheet: this couldn’t be

further from the truth. 

Data analysis and objective based analysis is just a part of the other intangibles (traditional coaching methods, etc.) required for success in the game, they are to be balanced together. 

People within my profession realize this, but many unfortunately think that data people are trying to “sabotage” the game they grew up understanding. The biggest reason in my opinion for this backlash is simply down to a lack of education on the many metrics that exist.

If you could start over what skill would you build on first?

Definitely my ability to communicate my work in a way that is accessible to everyone.

Players and coaches, for the most part, are not necessarily ‘up to date” with the many

complex metrics/statistics, etc. that the game has: Whether it be through visualizations,

videos, etc. what I am trying to communicate must be easily understandable across the

board. I have learned to improve this side of my job through trial and error, and it has

made me a better analyst for it.

Do you see player development as more of an art or a science? Which would you

start with?

Player development is an art that uses science to aid it. Coaches will always need the

talent to unlock the potential of a player through their communication skills, coaching

skills, etc. which cannot be truly labelled scientific: players are human, and it’s almost

impossible to give a black and white answer for the best way to develop every single

player. However, as we utilize coaching throughout a player’s career, we can help

support this art throughout scientific means: data work, video work, physical fitness

metrics, etc.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

I’m an Arsenal fan, so the biggest moment in my life as a supporter was the Invincibles

season of 2003/2004: I had never seen the game played with such creativity and beauty

before that, and while other teams have come close (Pep’s Barcelona for example),

none will have as profound an effect on me. I was young at the time and had just gotten

into the game, so it was the perfect “welcome to football"moment for me.

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

I have two coaches who really stick out for me: Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola.

Arsene Wenger, as I mentioned previously was the manager of the club who I’ve

supported since birth and was also responsible for the greatest period in the history of

the team. His ability as a coach is well documented, but what really stood out for me

was his understanding of “the process” that is required for players and teams to become

truly exceptional. For Guardiola, his footballing mind is second to none: Second to

perhaps Cruyff, I’m not sure anyone has had as profound an effect on the modern game

as he.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into

coaching/scouting/analytics?

First and foremost, find you niche and work as hard as possible to get better than

anyone else at it. If you like video analysis, become the best at video analysis. If you

like tactical work, become the best at tactical work. It sounds simple, but standing out

from the rest of the crowd will get you noticed. Once you learn the many different tools

that are required, promote yourself. Speaking from personal experience, my usage of

social media is one of the biggest ways I got work into the public sphere. From here,

you can learn from the work of others and further improve your craft. As well, it’s a great

way to get a job!

What is your favorite app/tool to use (for work or fun)?

Video analysis is my favorite aspect of my job, so doing live coding on SportsCode is

without a doubt my most treasured tool. With SportsCode I can send clips to the

coaching staff during a game, and also use it to analysis post game/training session

what we as a team did well/can improve on.

What other sport/hobby/discipline do you feel improves your work? Why?

Reading. I’m an avid reader, so looking into the many different books, articles, etc. that

are out there regarding football is a huge way in which I’ve learned and developed. For

example, I have learned how to use the programming language R by simply reading a

tutorial on it. Without reading, I doubt many of my best ideas in my performance

analysis would be as developed and fleshed out as they have been.