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The computer age has bestowed some unforeseen blessings on the sports world. Math whizzes are now using the personal computer to track game results to a level never before possible, and sports are the better for it. The book "Moneyball" chronicled the way Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics used obscure statistical analyses to scout and deal for talent. Now, a variation of this method has spilt over into basketball with a number of NBA teams using statistics in a similar manner. These methods were described in a recent Sports Illustratedarticle titled Measure of Success. Described as simply as possible, these statisticianstrack how well a team does when a player is on the floor, versus how well they do when theyarent.

These measures disregard a players contribution as represented by their scoring, rebounding and assists totals,and simply asks, "Does the team do better or worse when this player is on the floor?" They also in many casescontradict the conventional wisdom concerning the relative worth of certain players. Jason Collins, a fifth-year center for the Nets of little renown gets ranked as the fourth best defensive center in the league. Conversely, high-scoring Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks issuch a disaster on defense that his teams tend to lose with him on the floor, and win while he is on the bench.

While amateur coaches are sure to find these analyses interesting, is there any way in which theycan employ these metrics for their own use? Amateur coaches might be able to get team assistantsto gather the data needed to maintain these stats, but there is a much better way these conceptscan be applied.

Virtually all teams rely heavily on scrimmage play as part of their practice routine. By adoptingwhat I call a Roster Round Robin format during scrimmage play, coaches can get a much clearerpicture of how and when individual players perform better than others. The format simply requiresthat sides be set to 3v3, 4v4, or 5v5, depending on available players. Players are issuedreversible jerseys, and score is kept for each side. Stages are set to 3 or 4 minutes, and atthe end of each stage, a team score is recorded, with each player earning points for themselves on the basis of their team result. Two players are then directed to exchange sides by flipping their reversible jersey, and a new stage is played. This pattern is continued until all possibleroster combinations have been used.

For a 3v3 contest, this would equate to 10 possible combinations, thus requiring a 30 to 40 minutegame. Each player earns a plus/minus score across all stages. As everyone plays under all rostercombinations and points can only be earned on the basis of team results, an individuals resultreflects their team contribution across all stages. In order to maintain game continuity andensure rapid roster rotations, the roster rotations are predetermined and printed on a grid usedfor scoring.

Some may notice that the one thing seemingly not taken into account in this format is positionplay. A roster rotation schedule that disregards position play will likely result in some oddlybalanced sides think 5 guards versus 5 forwards and centers that wouldnt reflect anythingresembling a real-game matchup. This difficulty can, however, be overcome by taking positionsinto account when devising the roster rotations. For a 4v4 game, with players restricted toeither a center/forward or guard position, there would be 9 different roster combinations required.For a full-sided game, a center position could be added, but 18 stages would be required. With three minute stages, this would be a 54 minute scrimmage game. Coaches may wish to splitthis size of scrimmage across multiple practices.

Would the results from any particular scrimmage mean much? For one game, probably not, as we allknow the ball can bounce funny for a time. But if this format were used on a regular basis, theresults should reveal which players are contributing the most to their team. These results willeither confirm or deny a coachs sense of who his best players are, but there are two even biggerbenefits that can come from the use of this format. First, as players come to understand thisas the new measure of their play, they will be more receptive to a coachs instruction on teamplay. As well, players will intuitively respond to the demands of the game, and adjust their playaccordingly. Simply put, the ability to measure team play translates to a better ability to teachand learn it.

The second benefit may be even more important. A system that clearly and demonstrably measuresa player on the basis of their team contribution fosters team chemistry better than any other.The talented offensive player who lets down on defense can be brought to the table when the impactof his lackluster defense can be shown. Players who are frustrated because they think theyshould be playing more can either makes their case in the round robin practice, or be showntheyre not there yet. Regardless of the case, team chemistry is advanced.

The only real barriers to this practice format are logistical. Running this practice formatrequires pre-numbered reversible jerseys, and scoring/rotation grid sheets.

I am sure you know the problem, every month counting the days to pay day, worrying about your finances. I think that just about everyone at some point in their life has experienced this.

Unfortunately, many people hear the adverts from the loan companies talking about debt consolidation and other options and get suckered in without knowing enough to be able to decide if debt consolidation is right for them. The loan companies claim that they want to help you but actually they just want to sell you a debt consolidation package or a loan with a ridiculously high interest rate. Remember, those companies only make money when we are in debt. If you and I sort out our finances, they go out of business.

Whether you have debts or just feel that your finances are controlling you and not the other way around, it is time to fight back!

Your finances are only controlling you because you let them. It is a bit like feeling nervous when speaking to someone who is an expert in their field, you may feel you are unable to talk on the same level and feel intimidated. However, when you are relaxed chatting to your mates about your favourite football team etc you can hold your own and are comfortable. The only difference between those two scenarios is your knowledge. When you have the knowledge and understanding, you can take on the world!

So how do you get knowledgeable about managing your finances?

I will try to share some tips with you. However, a short article like this could never go into enough detail, I will just try to explain the concepts to need to grasp. If you do want more information, visit my website www.moneyinmypocket.co.uk where you will find additional information and my detailed Debt Reduction manual which explains in detail everything that is covered here and much much more.

So what are the core concepts?

1) Know your finances intimately
2) Decrease you expenditure
3) Increase your income
4) Play the interest rate game

Know your finances intimately

The very first thing you need to do is now exactly what money you have and where it goes. So workout your monthly income and detail the sources. Does the income come from an employer, state benefit, interest etc? Then detail out all your expenses.

Decrease you expenditure

You need to cut costs. There is always a way you can do this. By knowing all your expenses you can go through each expense and work out how to reduce it. My manual spends a lot of time on this subject and shares all the tips and tricks that I have learnt, it can show you how you can save thousands of pounds each year and gives examples of people who have done exactly that. Also, dont forget to check out the web site as there is lots of free advice available.

Increase your income

On top of reducing your outgoings you want to maximise your income. Think of ways you can receive more money each year. Again, check out the website and manual for more information. In the manual there are 9 ways of increasing your income. They include getting a job, getting extra work, your own business (this is not as difficult as you may think), getting all the allowances you are entitled to and reducing your tax

Nearly finished

The basic concepts of improving your finances are simple:

Spend less
Earn more

I think just about everyone can understand that. The difficulty is how to do it. That is were the website and manual come in, they (especially the manual) step through your options slowly with examples at every step so that everyone can understand. You do not need to be a rocket scientist to understand this manual

As obvious as spending less, earn more may be, many people are blinded by the magic solutions such as debt consolidation. Dont get me wrong, I am not anti debt consolidation and sometimes it can be the right solution but often it is not. Lets think about it. With debt consolidation you are swapping lots of different debts for one big one. It seems good because your monthly payments are reduced. However, the reason the payments are reduced is because they are secured against your house and the fact you are going to spend the next 25 years paying them off.

With debt consolidation you are address the effects not the problem. The problem is that you are spending more than you earn, that is normally the reason why you are in debt. So after getting debt consolidation you are still going to be spending more as you have not reduced your spending or increased your income. So eventually you will probably need to do more debt consolidation and in extreme cases you will keep going until you cannot get anymore loans and end up bankrupt.

The Money In My Pocket manual addresses the problem as well as the effects for long term financial strength. The manual provides the information the Loan companies do not want you to know!!

Over the years I have assisted many people who have been troubled by debt to overcome it and become financially stronger. Every time, I have given exactly the same advice, or if you like, formulae to beat debt and better manage their finances. It is that formulae that I am sharing with you in the manual.

Whatever your next step in controlling your finances is, I wish you well.

To learn more about this topic, go to www.moneyinmypocket.co.uk