Introducing SkillCorner’s Change of Direction (COD) metrics.

Football has traditionally relied on linear metrics like Total Distance, High-Speed Running Distance and Sprint Count to assess physical performance. While valuable, these measures tell only part of the story. They quantify how fast or how far a player moves - but not how effectively they change direction.

In reality, the game is multi-directional. Every pressing action, recovery run, counter-movement and body feint demands rapid shifts in velocity - changes not only in speed, but in direction. Ignoring these directional changes overlooks a large share of the true physical load and performance demands placed on players.

SkillCorner’s new Change of Direction metrics address this gap - making multi-directional movement objectively measurable for the first time at global scale. By quantifying the intensity, frequency and efficiency of a player’s directional changes, these metrics reveal a new dimension of athleticism - one that better reflects the realities of modern football.

‍

This article is also available in French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. Select your preferred language to read more. ‍

This latest release enables a more comprehensive analysis of player profiles and their potential impact on the pitch - making agility quantifiable and adding a new layer of insight to the evaluation of explosiveness. Alongside the existing linear physical metrics, the inclusion of Change of Direction data marks a key step toward assessing a player’s physical performance across the full range of movements required during a match. 

In scouting and recruitment, you can now get a more complete physical profile to inform transfer decisions.

Head coaches can derive even more specific tactical insights, while physical coaches can objectively quantify load and compare over 75,000 players across more than 130 leagues and competitions.

‍

What do we provide exactly? 

‍

• Change of Direction Count: how many times a player performs an intense change of direction, regardless of the type of movement. Provides validation about the physical volume the player can sustain and the overall mobility.
  

• Time to 505 around 180: taking its name from the popular agility test, it measures the time a running player takes to cover the final 5 meters before a tight turn plus the 5 first meters after it. Calculated around ≃ 180° turns, the metrics provides an evaluation of the player’s raw agility after a big directional change.
  ‍
• ‍Time to 505 around 90: it measures the time a running player takes to cover the final 5 meters before a tight turn plus the 5 first meters after it. Calculated around ≃ 90° turns, the metrics provides an evaluation of the player’s ability to keep momentum after the change of direction

• Time to HSR Post Change of Direction: adding an extra layer of granularity and detail to the measurement of explosiveness, the metrics quantifies the time needed by a player to reach High Speed Running speed (20 km/h, 5.5 m/s) after a change of direction.
   
• Time to Sprint Post Change of Direction: adding an extra layer of granularity and detail to the measurement of explosiveness, the metrics quantifies the time needed by a player to reach Sprinting speed (25 km/h, 6.9 m/s) after a change of direction.

‍

The new Change of Direction metrics are exclusively available with our Physical V3 data for any player performance and includes historical data starting from the 2023/2024 season. They can be accessed via our WebApp, WebApp Lab and API, giving you even deeper insights into your players physical performance.

‍