NSFL Scouting Rubric: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zz_...dit?usp=sharing (Make a copy if you wish to use)
This has been a project in the back of my brain for a little bit. People have always wondered how I rate prospects, and the answer is actually really complicated. So, I put together a sort of rubric of what values I consider important when evaluating prospects. There are a couple notes about this process though:
First and foremost, 100 is not the best. The rubric is out of 100, but in some categories a 10/10 also implies a greater risk than value. This wasn’t an oversight. Every category is standalone and should be looked at as such. The goal is to break down the 10 most important factors to consider when scouting, When added together, they present an accurate evaluation of ‘value’ for said player. This brings us to the second point:
Grades and values are subjective and context based. Given that all scouts belong to a team, it’s almost impossible to be objective when scouting. On top of that, this rubric is built from my personal experience and values when scouting. I am someone who weighs the intangibles quite heavily – which is why they make up 70/100 of the available points. Grades will be different for every scout because it’s going to be based on context and their personal evaluations. While some may say that is a flaw to this grading mechanism, those are usually the same people who believe sending a questionnaire to be filled in is equivalent to having a real discussion with the prospect.
Lastly, I want to make clear that this is by no mean a ‘finished’ product. The art of scouting is constantly evolving. I am very open to hearing constructive criticism, and this is very likely a version 1.0 of what I hope to be a very long running line of editions. Without further ado, let us begin!
I will be following the following format:
Category – Brief description of what the category measures
What is a 0; What is a 5; and What is a 10?
Current TPE: This one feels pretty self-explanatory with some caveats. The biggest one is that the basis for comparison is within the draft class. So if the draft class doesn’t have a ton of high earners, or the highest earner isn’t actually earning amazingly well, a 9/10 may only be 200 TPE come time of the draft. Secondly, there will only ever be 1 10/10 per draft class given the context of the rating.
0/10: Player is at the base 50 TPE given during player creation
5/10: Player is right in the middle of the draft class in terms of TPE
10/10: Player has the maximum of TPE possible and leads their class in TPE
Earn Rate: This category refers to the rate at which a player is earning TPE. This is an area of particular importance for late creates as it could bring them level with players who created at the trade deadline and have a 1/3 season head start on TPE. While I wish there was a formula to calculate how well a player was earning, I’m not good enough to figure one out. Instead, I rely on tracking weekly activity, and seeing what is being done on a regular basis.
0/10: Player has not earned a single point of TPE
5/10: Player consistently does AC and training every week
10/10: Player has earned as much TPE as available to them from their time of creation
Current Build: Now, let me preface this by saying that you should be able to build you player anyway that you want to. The build templates always leave room for success, even at base 50 TPE. That being said, there is an ‘optimal’ way to build. This optimal way is usually based on team need, and positional need within the team - which can cause a wild array of scores depending on the scout.
0/10: Player has a 'troll' build - a build intentionally designed to be an inefficient as possible
5/10: Player build is exceedingly average with no key strengths, but no major weaknesses either
10/10: Player has a build that is fully functional and effective at the NSFL level
General Knowledge: Ironically, this is not my broadest category. General knowledge applies to anything involving the NSFL, and the intricacies behind it. This can be from system experience (such as banking), to sim testing knowledge, to even prior GM experience.
0/10: Player has absolutely no knowledge of the game of football, let alone the aspects of the NSFL
5/10: Player has knowledge of the game of football, and knowledge of how sim leagues function
10/10: Player has exceptional knowledge of all fields and brings a wealth of experience
Attitude: I hope this one is self-explanatory. No one wants a player that tears down others for fun.
0/10: Player is actively hurting others with their attitude, and is on track to be banned or regularly punished
5/10: Player is often indifferent or holds no real opinion
10/10: Player has an exceptional attitude that positively impacts all those around him, and has the potential to become a key figure head around the league
Ambition: This is a category where you actually might not want a 10/10 player. While no one wants a player who cares for nothing, and just wants to coast for their career, the higher the rating, the higher the flight risk. In a league where retention is key, this makes this category very important.
0/10: Player has no interest in being in the NSFL to begin with
5/10: Player is interested in the NSFL without being pushed
10/10: Player has ambitions and goals for themselves and the league that much outweigh their player's career duration
Bank Account: This is one of the few things that will be consistent across reports as it refers to a tangible value. This is important in estimating what sort of rookie contract is should take to tie them down or to assist them with being the best that they can be.
0/10: Player is at the maximum debt level, and cannot spend any more
5/10: Player has less than $1M but has pending income
10/10: Player has enough processed funds to purchase equipment and full training for several seasons
Locker Room (LR) Presence: This is something that always gets talked about as being important, but in my opinion is a little more inflated than required. While everyone wants someone who is an active locker room contributor, no one wants a cancerous presence in the LR. Which is why my scale specifically measures both activity level, and activity impact in the same rating.
0/10: Player is an active locker room cancer, and will quickly turn the locker room against each other
5/10: Player is often absent from the locker room, occasionally chiming in when called upon
10/10: Player is a key figure in their DSFL locker room and is always around. They are generally well respected, and has earned that
Team Fit: Now some may say that Team Fit directly correlates LR Presence and Attitude, but I would very much disagree. Sometimes a great player who checks the boxes in Attitude and LR presence doesn’t fit into the team very well. This could be for a number of reasons, or it could be for no other reason than a gut feeling. Having an open LR usually helps judge this, but a thorough interview should tell you whom the player will and won’t mesh well with.
0/10: There are members on our team that actively hate this player. Adding this player would cause others to leave.
5/10: The majority of the team are indifferent towards the player.
10/10: Player would be an immediate boost to the locker room atmosphere. Said player has established themselves within the LR structure and has several friends already.
Other: And of course, I had to leave a spot for miscellaneous factors that while important, are not important enough to warrant their own spot on the rubric. The notes should dictate what is being rated, and the score will measure impact.
0/10: This factor has a significant negative impact on how we view the player
5/10: This factor neither benefits or detracts from our perception of this player
10/10: This factor has significant positive impact on how we view the player
This has been a project in the back of my brain for a little bit. People have always wondered how I rate prospects, and the answer is actually really complicated. So, I put together a sort of rubric of what values I consider important when evaluating prospects. There are a couple notes about this process though:
First and foremost, 100 is not the best. The rubric is out of 100, but in some categories a 10/10 also implies a greater risk than value. This wasn’t an oversight. Every category is standalone and should be looked at as such. The goal is to break down the 10 most important factors to consider when scouting, When added together, they present an accurate evaluation of ‘value’ for said player. This brings us to the second point:
Grades and values are subjective and context based. Given that all scouts belong to a team, it’s almost impossible to be objective when scouting. On top of that, this rubric is built from my personal experience and values when scouting. I am someone who weighs the intangibles quite heavily – which is why they make up 70/100 of the available points. Grades will be different for every scout because it’s going to be based on context and their personal evaluations. While some may say that is a flaw to this grading mechanism, those are usually the same people who believe sending a questionnaire to be filled in is equivalent to having a real discussion with the prospect.
Lastly, I want to make clear that this is by no mean a ‘finished’ product. The art of scouting is constantly evolving. I am very open to hearing constructive criticism, and this is very likely a version 1.0 of what I hope to be a very long running line of editions. Without further ado, let us begin!
I will be following the following format:
Category – Brief description of what the category measures
What is a 0; What is a 5; and What is a 10?
Current TPE: This one feels pretty self-explanatory with some caveats. The biggest one is that the basis for comparison is within the draft class. So if the draft class doesn’t have a ton of high earners, or the highest earner isn’t actually earning amazingly well, a 9/10 may only be 200 TPE come time of the draft. Secondly, there will only ever be 1 10/10 per draft class given the context of the rating.
0/10: Player is at the base 50 TPE given during player creation
5/10: Player is right in the middle of the draft class in terms of TPE
10/10: Player has the maximum of TPE possible and leads their class in TPE
Earn Rate: This category refers to the rate at which a player is earning TPE. This is an area of particular importance for late creates as it could bring them level with players who created at the trade deadline and have a 1/3 season head start on TPE. While I wish there was a formula to calculate how well a player was earning, I’m not good enough to figure one out. Instead, I rely on tracking weekly activity, and seeing what is being done on a regular basis.
0/10: Player has not earned a single point of TPE
5/10: Player consistently does AC and training every week
10/10: Player has earned as much TPE as available to them from their time of creation
Current Build: Now, let me preface this by saying that you should be able to build you player anyway that you want to. The build templates always leave room for success, even at base 50 TPE. That being said, there is an ‘optimal’ way to build. This optimal way is usually based on team need, and positional need within the team - which can cause a wild array of scores depending on the scout.
0/10: Player has a 'troll' build - a build intentionally designed to be an inefficient as possible
5/10: Player build is exceedingly average with no key strengths, but no major weaknesses either
10/10: Player has a build that is fully functional and effective at the NSFL level
General Knowledge: Ironically, this is not my broadest category. General knowledge applies to anything involving the NSFL, and the intricacies behind it. This can be from system experience (such as banking), to sim testing knowledge, to even prior GM experience.
0/10: Player has absolutely no knowledge of the game of football, let alone the aspects of the NSFL
5/10: Player has knowledge of the game of football, and knowledge of how sim leagues function
10/10: Player has exceptional knowledge of all fields and brings a wealth of experience
Attitude: I hope this one is self-explanatory. No one wants a player that tears down others for fun.
0/10: Player is actively hurting others with their attitude, and is on track to be banned or regularly punished
5/10: Player is often indifferent or holds no real opinion
10/10: Player has an exceptional attitude that positively impacts all those around him, and has the potential to become a key figure head around the league
Ambition: This is a category where you actually might not want a 10/10 player. While no one wants a player who cares for nothing, and just wants to coast for their career, the higher the rating, the higher the flight risk. In a league where retention is key, this makes this category very important.
0/10: Player has no interest in being in the NSFL to begin with
5/10: Player is interested in the NSFL without being pushed
10/10: Player has ambitions and goals for themselves and the league that much outweigh their player's career duration
Bank Account: This is one of the few things that will be consistent across reports as it refers to a tangible value. This is important in estimating what sort of rookie contract is should take to tie them down or to assist them with being the best that they can be.
0/10: Player is at the maximum debt level, and cannot spend any more
5/10: Player has less than $1M but has pending income
10/10: Player has enough processed funds to purchase equipment and full training for several seasons
Locker Room (LR) Presence: This is something that always gets talked about as being important, but in my opinion is a little more inflated than required. While everyone wants someone who is an active locker room contributor, no one wants a cancerous presence in the LR. Which is why my scale specifically measures both activity level, and activity impact in the same rating.
0/10: Player is an active locker room cancer, and will quickly turn the locker room against each other
5/10: Player is often absent from the locker room, occasionally chiming in when called upon
10/10: Player is a key figure in their DSFL locker room and is always around. They are generally well respected, and has earned that
Team Fit: Now some may say that Team Fit directly correlates LR Presence and Attitude, but I would very much disagree. Sometimes a great player who checks the boxes in Attitude and LR presence doesn’t fit into the team very well. This could be for a number of reasons, or it could be for no other reason than a gut feeling. Having an open LR usually helps judge this, but a thorough interview should tell you whom the player will and won’t mesh well with.
0/10: There are members on our team that actively hate this player. Adding this player would cause others to leave.
5/10: The majority of the team are indifferent towards the player.
10/10: Player would be an immediate boost to the locker room atmosphere. Said player has established themselves within the LR structure and has several friends already.
Other: And of course, I had to leave a spot for miscellaneous factors that while important, are not important enough to warrant their own spot on the rubric. The notes should dictate what is being rated, and the score will measure impact.
0/10: This factor has a significant negative impact on how we view the player
5/10: This factor neither benefits or detracts from our perception of this player
10/10: This factor has significant positive impact on how we view the player
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