PowerPlay Magazin

One Can Make a Difference   
(Examination of Highest Player OR vs. Team Performance)

"In a gentle way, you can shake the world," strong words spoken by a man who changed the world.  Mahatma Gandhi spoke and lived by those words as he led Indians in challenging the British-imposed taxation on salt.  He is considered by many to be the Father of the Indian Nation.  One man can make a difference, so I am left considering my handball team entering season 2.  Can one man (one player) make a team better, maybe even a champion?  Does the team with the best player finish first in most leagues?  Does the team with the best goal keeper win more often?  Asking more and more questions, but, really what it comes down to is how important is it to have the best player in the league? This article will examine all of the leagues in USA handball season 1, looking for the best goalkeeper, best offensive player, and best overall (based 100% on Overall Rating) in each league and compare how those player's teams finished in the first season's playoffs.  Before the Boo birds begin singing, the article realizes that there are good and bad built players and some players may have arrived too late in the season to truly have been a factor in the season.  However, realizing that there are a lot of other factors to consider, the comparison is still appealing and curiosity has fueled the energy to complete this task.  By looking at a fairly large group of leagues, the effects of other factors on the study data should be at least somewhat minimized.

There were 20 leagues in the USA for season 1.  Looking at players in each league became an interesting and time investing challenge.  Some leagues were well balanced and a few had one or two completely dominating teams.  After numerous hours of comparisons, the data was complete and it was time to compile results and make conclusions.  As expected, not every league provided identical data and a few instances of the bizarre occurred during the study.  However, when the dust had settled, the evidence could be discerned.  The data will be examined in three categories, best goalkeeper in the league, best offensive rated player and best overall rated player in each league.

Points from Best Goalkeepers in League:  Conclusions/impacts were hard to discern.
#1:  Not as many highest overall rated goalkeepers were on successful teams.  (45% of them were in the best 4 teams as determined by the playoffs and only 15% finished first on in the top spot).
#2:  Forty five percent (45%) of the best goalkeepers didn't even make the playoffs.
#3:  It is difficult to conclude that the having the league's best goalkeeper led to a successful team.

Points from Best Offensive Player in League: Gamechangers and Playmakers.
#1:  Most of these players made a serious impact on their team.  (65% finished in the final 4 playoff teams and 30% of these teams won their league championship).
#2:  Only 10% of these players failed to make the playoffs.
#3:  Having a quality offensive player, or more precisely having the best offensive player in the league tended to led to a successful season.

Best Overall Player in League:  Looks a lot like the "Best Offensive Player in League".  Really only one change from Offensive Player Listing (remove Rob Rainey from the list and insert goalkeeper, William Jack). 
#1:  The very best players aren't necessarily in League I (The top 4 overall rated players were in divisions 3 and 4). 
#2:  The best players are generally not goal keepers (Only one league's best player was a goalkeeper).  #3:  The team with the best player was generally competitive.  (70% of the players with the best OR played in one of the best 4 teams in their league.  30% of these players were on the best team in the league.)
#4:  Having the best overall player did generally make an impact on a team's performance.  For most situations, those teams finished in the final four in their leagues.

So can one player make a difference?  Absolutely!  Will one player make a difference?  It depends on how they affect your team.  If the player fits your needs, they will improve your team.  If they drastically improve your abilities at any position, they can make a difference.  Based on this study, having the best offensive player in a league will not guarantee success, but, will often lead to a positive outcome.  Having a great goalkeeper on the other hand, may not be enough.  So, keep building that sports academy and treading the free agent wires waiting for that magic ticket.  Keep looking for that "One Player Who Can Make a Difference".