Any competent sports fan will agree, there are a combination of different elements that each play a major role in the growth of a team and franchise. Some of these elements include, but are not limited to, solid management, consistency, strong communication, and of course, leadership. However, there is one component to creating a successful team and franchise that seems to be unobserved more often than it should be. That component is player development.
As an athlete begins his or her career in whatever sport they choose, it is imperative that they receive a well-structured development program to train to the best of their ability. As these athletes grows older and more proficient at their respective sport, teams begin to take notice of both accomplishments, as well as the developing skills an athlete shows, that could make them an integral part of a franchise in the future.
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With respect to the most popular sport in the world, soccer clubs all over begin to show interest in very young players, watching the development as their skills grow year after year. SoccerLAB, is an application which allows coaches, managers, and other staff members of a particular soccer club or federation, to track the development of youth soccer players as they progress through the years, all constructed from a centralized system.
Dating back to 2001, soccer clubs in countries such as Germany, Holland, and Belgium were looking for ways to manage statistics of both players and teams, as well as using video analysis to track development of up and coming players. Being able to keep track of the physical, medical, and even mental data of youth players in a centralized application would help soccer clubs immensely, not to mention the ability to examine the skills of an athlete through video analysis.
Located at the science park in Diepenbeek, Belgium, SoccerLAB has worked tirelessly to create an effective, and reliable application that allows soccer clubs and federations to prepare for the future. 
“Even for other sports, there is no centralized solution like this one yet,” says Sales Manager Koen Beyen. “We recently launched TennisLife for example, a central database application for tennis academies. For SoccerLAB, it is important to work for clubs who have a strong vision, who are are coming up with new ideas, and create the ability for us to learn from them.”
Some of the major features SoccerLAB boasts, include individual game overviews, details, and analysis showing statistics relevant to what the club wishes to explore. Online video analysis allows coaches to go in and see every aspect that was recorded during game time, as well as the option to choose what they want to view based on the criteria selected.
A Heat Map option records statistics for certain players, and has the option of showing statistics for either one game, all games, and even the option to view various stats for any number of specific players selected. In addition, the vast amount of information at the fingertips of coaches and staff, all statistics are tracked and concentrated, making it simpler to stay organized.
As SoccerLAB has continued to grow and progress through recent years, so has their list of clients. FC Dallas, Vancouver Whitecaps, and the Los Angeles Galaxy are just a few of the notable names on a list including 64 different soccer clubs, federations, as well as colleges.
Nate Snell, the Academy Administrator and Youth Operations Coordinator for FC Dallas soccer club, discusses why FC Dallas chose to work with SoccerLAB, and some of the goals he has for the near future.
“We knew that deciding to work with SoccerLAB was an investment for the future, as well as providing us with helpful tools to use at the end of our season”, explains Snell. “We look at statistics such as, if ‘X’ player trained for ‘X’ amount of minutes, how much did he progress at the end of the season? We understood that we had a need for what SoccerLAB could provide, and we are still tapping into the potential of what SoccerLAB can be.”
Both Beyen and Snell will continue to work and help SoccerLAB to progress in all areas, while making sure coaches, staff, and all soccer clubs or federations have the ability to prepare for the future of their teams.
“The most important thing we can do, is connect our ideas with our vision,” says Beyen. “When people think of soccer analysis and data, we want them to think of SoccerLAB.”