Python

This chapter introduces the programming language Python and its relevance for computer science in sport. The need for programming languages in sports analytics is based on the variety of tasks from data import, pre-processing and visualization, to statistical modelling. Python is a dynamic, object-oriented, high-level programming language and especially popular among Data Scientists. Consequently, it also has made an impact in sports analytics. The variety of functionalities provided by Python’s libraries enables implementing the analysis process completely in Python. This process contains data import, pre-processing by means of filtering, grouping and aggregation, visualization as well as modelling by either “traditional” inferential statistics of Machine Learning and it is illustrated alongside the required libraries in this chapter.