Network Analysis of Passing Patterns in Handball

• Main Author: Jebsen, Margrethe
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2018
• Subjects: network; analysis; handball; sports; passing; patterns
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1947; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2940&context=cmc_theses

Network analysis is used in a number of different fields to study systems ranging from molecular interactions to social interactions between humans. With the increase of available data, it is not surprising that network analysis methods are now used to analyze human behavior and interactions in sports. Handball is a popular sport in Europe, and while it has been studied, it has not been studied with network methods. In this work, passing data was collected from two international competitions to study the passing behavior of the Norwegian women’s handball team. The data were divided into multiple scenarios to try to explore how the team’s and individual players' playing styles depended on whether the team was leading, trailing, or scoring goals. Star players were also compared with their replacements to see if there was any statistical evidence available as to why the star players may be unique. We found differences between the star players and their replacements, some differences between the team’s passing behavior when leading and trailing and when scoring goals, and that the team appears to have a specific prescribed playing style for each position.