Getting Started with the pklmart Data Entry Tool (Oct 2023)

 

Learn How to Track Pickleball Stats with Our Data Entry Tool A Step-by-Step Guide to Inputting Match Data

Introduction In this in-depth tutorial, pklmart analytics founder Alex Spancake walks you through how to use the pickleball data entry tool to track stats for matches. Whether you want to analyze your own games or contribute data to the pklmart database, this guide will teach you the ins and outs of entering accurate data. Topic 1: Data Entry Tool Layout (0:36) Alex provides an overview of the data entry tool layout. There are two main sections - the top section is where you input game information like tournament, date, players, etc. The bottom section is an interactive court where you click to log rally data. Topic 2: Grabbing the YouTube URL (2:00) The first step is to find a YouTube video of the match you want to track. Copy the video URL and paste it into the game info section. This allows the data entry tool to pull timestamps as you input data. Currently, only YouTube videos are supported. Topic 3: Populating Game Info Section (3:42) Next, fill out the game details like game type (rally or standard scoring), tournament, date, skill level, usernames, and player names. Enter the starting server and partner on the left, returning team on the right. If players already exist in the database, their names will auto-populate. Topic 4: Adjusting Playback Speed and Using Hotkeys (4:19) Alex recommends starting slowly and increasing playback speed as you get comfortable. Useful hotkeys are the left and right arrow keys to skip forward and back 5 seconds. Topic 5: The "Swap Team Sides" Button (6:09) If players start a game on the wrong side, use the "Swap team sides" button to flip them to the correct positions. This is helpful between games or if teams switch sides mid-match. Topic 6: Entering Your First Rally (6:40) Now onto entering rally data! The basic principle is clicking where contact is made with the ball. Go through the rally, clicking each shot location. Click a little after contact, you don't need to be frame perfect. Topic 7: Indicating Where Final Shot Landed (8:25) The only time you click where the ball lands is for the final shot of the rally. This helps indicate if the shot was in or out. Topic 8: Ending a Rally (8:50) Once the rally ends, select how it ended - rally win, unforced error, winner, etc. This will update the scoreboard for the next rally. Topic 9: Indicating Stacking on Serves (9:52) If the serving team stacks, indicate this by right-clicking for the serve instead of left clicking. This will switch player positions. You can also indicate if the returning team stacks on their return. Topic 10: Inputting the Third Shot (11:30) Inputting the third shot takes some coordination. Use the 1 and 2 keys to indicate which side hit the third. 1 = left side player, 2 = right side. Then left click for third shot drives and right click for drops. Topic 11: Using the "Rewind Last Shot" Button (13:34) If you realize you forgot to input a shot, use the "Rewind last shot" button to go back and add it. You can also remove the last shot entered if needed. Topic 12: When the Last Shot Lands in the Net (14:03) If the final rally shot lands in the net, indicate this by clicking the net for the final landing location and selecting "Made error into net" for the rally end. Topic 13: Tracking Timeouts (14:23) To track timeouts, select "Timeout" instead of a rally end type after entering shots. The data entry tool will log the timeout in the data. Topic 14: Updating Data After a Rally (14:38) After entering a full rally, you can expand the rally log and update any data like which side hit the third, stacking, or rally end type. Topic 15: Using Right Click for Dinks and Shift-Click for Lobs (16:21) For dinks, always right click to log the shot location. For lobs, hold shift and left click. This helps categorize shot types in the data. Topic 16: Submitting a Completed Game and Saving Process (17:51) Once finished with a full game, click "Complete game and download CSVs" to submit the data. Email pklmart to request a stats report for the game. If you need to close the data entry tool mid-game, it will save your progress. When you reopen, click "Resume game" to pick up where you left off. Topic 18: A Note About Camera Angles (19:31) The data entry process works best with a stationary, full court camera angle. Side or court-level angles are challenging. Avoid matches filmed at odd angles. Summary In this detailed tutorial, Alex walked through how to use the pklmart data entry tool to track pickleball match stats. From inputting serve locations to indicating shot types and rally ends, you now have the knowledge to start logging accurate data for your own matches or to contribute data to the pklmart database. It does take practice, but stick with it through those first few games. Before you know it, you'll be entering stats like a pro.

Topic List Data Entry Tool Layout (0:36) Grabbing the YouTube URL (2:00) Populating the Game Info Section (3:42) Adjusting Playback Speed and Using Hotkeys (4:19) The "Swap Team Sides" Button (6:09) Entering Your First Rally (6:40) Indicating Where the Final Shot Landed (8:25) Ending a Rally (8:50) Indicating Stacking on Serves (9:52) Inputting the Third Shot (11:30) Using the "Rewind Last Shot" Button (13:34) When the Last Shot Lands in the Net (14:03) Tracking Timeouts (14:23) Updating Data After a Rally (14:38) Using Right Click for Dinks and Shift-Click for Lobs (16:21) Submitting a Completed Game, Saving Process (17:51) A Note About Camera Angles (19:31)