Scott Martin

2023 Advent Calendar Find links to each post, the original articles, and the extended excerpts below. Come back each day for an excerpt from one of my top Total Football Analysis articles from the past four years. All links are provided in the comments.

Some words from Ceri Bowley ahead of season start ✉️

Entering the 2026 season with a new goalkeeper union. Read more on Kailen Sheridan, Madi White, and Molly Pritchard and how they are building the new Courage keeper room: nccourage.com/news/new-year-…

Notifications are pouring in for Portugal vs France in the 2020 Euro semifinals. ⁦⁦@FTFotMob⁩, not I game I wanted to remember. fotmob.com/match/1006429?…

Introducing Uno❕ We have acquired Japanese defender Uno Shiragaki via permanent transfer from Japanese club Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Ladies and signed her through 2028. 📰 Read more: nccourage.com/news/nc-courag…

We've announced our 2026 team staff, adding two new assistant coaches and enhancing player support roles! 📰 Read more: nccourage.com/news/north-car…

I am releasing my Complete Football Analytics in Python course on YouTube free to watch! I created the course ~ 2 years ago and there is still a ton of great value in it, especially for learning the fundamentals of Python and football analytics. With the changes in AI coding, my processes have changed a ton since i first made this, so I figured I'd make this free to watch. Enjoy! youtube.com/playlist?list=…

Welcoming Wickenheiser 👋 We have acquired Canadian international Carly Wickenheiser via permanent transfer from Swedish club BK Häcken and signed the midfielder through the 2027. 📰 Read more: nccourage.com/news/nc-courag…

It's official: Mak Lind is all in. 📰 Read more: nccourage.com/news/nc-courag…

A new era... Introducing Head Coach of the NC Courage, Mak Lind!

EVELYN ENTERS THE CHAT 💬 We have acquired Swedish international Evelyn Ijeh via permanent transfer from Italian club AC Milan. Welcome, Evelyn! 📰 Read more: nccourage.com/news/nc-courag…

🪄Midfielder of the Year🪄 🪄Best XI First Team🪄 ✨Manaka is MAGIC✨

She brought Magic every time she touched the pitch. Congratulations, Manaka!

Preseason and match days can't come soon enough. In the meantime, we'll continue building, planning, and researching. In our minds, 2026 has already begun. Let's get after it!

While there's still work to do, we're working hard in the background to ensure we build upon the performances of 2025. As we wrap up the year, I have nothing but gratitude for my 1st season with the Courage and the people I work with each day.

Yesterday's session was the last of the season. Reflecting on the season, there's much to be proud of. -2nd in NPxG (10th in 2024 with a 23% improvement) -3rd in xG Difference (T-7th last year with a 0.37 P90 improvement) -4th in NPxG Difference (8th in 2024, 0.28 P90 jump)

@realEstateTrent Long-time youth soccer coach here. The two consistencies in these situations are... 1) Parents equating the kid's success with their own character and parenting quality. 2) Weak or poor coaches who fail to set appropriate expectations and allow and/or engage in verbal abuse.

Okay, please tell me what I’m missing here. I got to Little League this morning for my five-year-old’s “championship” game - whatever that means. Basically the last game of the season. We got there early, and the game before ours was wrapping up. Those kids were maybe six, a year older. As the final out happens, I notice parents on the losing team absolutely losing it. One mom literally yells, “Are you kidding me?!” Others are glaring at each other, looking disgusted, like something tragic just happened. Meanwhile, I’m standing there smiling - because… they’re six. And I’m thinking, what is going on with people? Am I the one who’s off here? I couldn’t care less if my kid’s team wins or loses a Little League game. It has zero impact on life. None. But these parents are the complete opposite. So now I’m wondering - who actually has the blind spot here? Them, or me?

RECORD SHATTERED ⛓️‍💥

This Sunday’s home finale is completely sold out, surpassing the attendance record for professional women’s sports in North Carolina with over 11,000 tickets sold!

Youngest in charge, coldest on the pitch. 🥶 Manaka Matsulubo is the @att Player of the Week after dropping 3 goals in a 4-1 win to become the youngest player to score a hat trick in #NWSLHistory. 🎩 🪄

WHO ELSE BUT MANAKA?!? 🪄 Manaka earns her second @NWSL Player of the Week honor of the season!

Per FBref, no one has more goal-creating actions in the NWSL this season than Manaka Matsukubo's 12. Manaka's 78 shot-creating actions also rank T-5th in the league.