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An Introduction to Performance
Analysis of Sport

Performance analysis has become an essential tool for coaches, athletes, sports organi-
sations and academic researchers. Collecting and interpreting performance data enables
coaches to improve their training programmes, athletes to make better tactical decisions,
sports organisations to manage teams more effectively and researchers to develop a bet-
ter understanding of sports performance. This fully revised new edition is an essential
introduction to the fundamental principles of performance analysis of sport and how to
develop and operate performance analysis systems.
Containing worked examples from real sporting events as well as new content examining
innovations in determining what to analyse, advances in feedback technology, performance
profiles, principles for delivering feedback and telestration within video sequences, An In-
troduction to Performance Analysis of Sport reviews the different types of data and information
that performance analysis can generate and explains how to test for reliability.
This cutting-edge book presents a step-by-step guide to developing both manual and
computerised analysis systems and writing up and presenting findings from performance
analysis programmes. Representing the most up-to-date, concise and engaging introduction
to sports performance analysis, this book is an ideal course text for all introductory perfor-
mance analysis courses, as well as an invaluable primer for coaches and practitioners in sport.

Adam Cullinane is Senior Lecturer in sport performance analysis at Cardiff Metropol-

itan University and Programme Director of the BSc Sport Performance at the university.
He has 12 years’ experience in the design and delivery of learning and teaching material
within the area of performance analysis. He actively supports students undertaken prac-
tical work-based learning. He also contributed heavily to the enterprise initiatives of the
Centre for Performance Analysis, where he has provided a range of consultancy services
to professional sports teams and NGBs.

Gemma Davies is a Senior Lecturer in sport performance analysis at Cardiff Metropol-

itan University. She has coupled her academic career with practising as a performance
analyst for an NGB, supporting teams at major competitions. This allows her to support
students with current applications of analysis from the field. She has experience in lead-
ing performance analysis modules and developing learning and teaching material, where
she has aligned professional and academic qualifications to enhance a student’s portfolio.

Peter O’Donoghue is a professor in sports science at Reykjavik University and general

editor of the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport. He has written, co-­
authored and edited several books on sports performance analysis and is the editor of the
Routledge Studies in Sports Performance Analysis series. He has more than 100 peer-reviewed
journal publications and has delivered keynote presentations at several world congresses
of performance analysis in sport and the world congress of science and racket sports.
Routledge Studies in Sports Performance Analysis

Routledge Studies in Sports Performance Analysis is designed to support students,

lecturers and practitioners in all areas of this important and rapidly developing
discipline. Books in the series are written by leading international experts in
sports performance analysis and cover topics including match analysis, anal-
ysis of individual sports and team sports, technique analysis, data analytics,
performance analysis for high performance management, and various meth-
odological areas. Drawing on the very latest research, and introducing key
concepts and best practice, the series meets a need for accessible, up-to-date
texts at all levels of study and work in performance analysis.

Series Editor
Peter O’Donoghue
Reykjavik University

Available in this series:

Performance Analysis in Team Sports

Pedro Passos, Duarte Araújo and Anna Volossovitch

Doing a Research Project in Sport Performance Analysis

Peter O’Donoghue, Lucy Holmes and Gemma Robinson

Professional Practice in Sport Performance Analysis

Edited by Andrew D. Butterworth

An Introduction to Performance Analysis of Sport, Second Edition

Adam Cullinane, Gemma Davies and Peter O’Donoghue

For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.

com/Routledge-Studies-in-Sports-Performance-Analysis/book-series/
RSSPA
An Introduction to
Performance Analysis of Sport
Second Edition

Adam Cullinane, Gemma Davies

and Peter O’Donoghue
Designed cover image: Fanatic Studio / Getty
Second edition published 2024
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2024 Adam Cullinane, Gemma Davies, and Peter O’Donoghue
The right of Adam Cullinane, Gemma Davies, and Peter O’Donoghue
to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance
with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by Routledge 2015

ISBN: 978-1-032-45115-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-032-45114-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-37546-3 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781003375463
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
Adam Cullinane
To my family and friends, thank you for your love and continual sup-
port. I would like to express my thanks to all the people who helped me
during the writing of this book. In particular, my co-authors Dr Peter
O’Donoghue and Gemma Davies, and colleagues in the School of Sport
and Health Sciences at Cardiff Metropolitan University.

Gemma Davies
To my family and friends, you have given me the opportunity and time
to do what I love. Thank you also to colleagues at Cardiff Metropolitan
University and at Wales Netball. It is this partnership that has enabled
me to couple life as an academic and applied practitioner, a partnership
that has kept me current and armed me with experiences I can forever
share with aspiring performance analysts.

Peter O’Donoghue
I made my contributions to this book while working for Cardiff Met-
ropolitan University and Reykjavik University. I wish to dedicate my
contributions to my colleagues at both universities. Thank you. Diolch.
Takk fyrir.
Contents

List of figures viii

List of tables xi

1 Introduction to sports performance analysis 1

2 Sports performance data and information 21

3 What to analyse? 38

4 Manual notation systems 53

5 Developing a computerised system 70

6 Analysing performances using computerised systems 89

7 Sports video telestration 117

8 Communicating feedback 137

9 Performance profiles 154

References 173
Index 189
Figures

1.1 Analysing coaching behaviour using Focus X2 6

1.2 Frank’s (1997) coaching process 9
2.1 Data and information within sports performance analysis 22
2.2 Representation of balls faced by a cricket batsman 29
2.3 Conceptual model of passing and success in soccer 36
3.1 Illustration of how technical effectiveness of the tennis
serve can be measured in terms of success into the
advantage court (wide, body and T zones) 41
3.2 Six-step model, developed to gather quality information on
sports performances 48
3.3 Six-step model presenting and explaining the array of KPIs
that can be calculated 50
3.4 A simulated multidisciplinary team infrastructure to
demonstrate a connection between roles 51
4.1 An example of a sequential system used to gather data on
the tennis serve and the rally outcome 56
4.2 A blank sequential system to evaluate punches thrown in a
boxing bout 57
4.3 An extract of data collected using a sequential system on
bowling performance in cricket 58
4.4 A worksheet setup for data validation, whereby all variable
options must be listed under column headings 59
4.5 Illustrating the setup of data validation lists and the
inclusion of all variable options 60
4.6 Example of a frequency table for use in netball 61
4.7 An extract on data collection in netball using a frequency table 61
4.8 An example of a scatter diagram used to collect shot
locations in soccer 62
4.9 An example where two input methods have been
combined (sequential and scatter) to analyse a doubles
squash match 63
4.10 (a) Illustrating the approaches to setting up a pivot table.
(b) Illustrating the approaches to setting up a pivot table64
 Figures ix
4.11 Presentation of a pivot table with multiple variables selected
to generate detailed KPI results 65
4.12 An example of a frequency table used in netball with
results totalled 66
4.13 An example of processing data collected using a scatter diagram 67
5.1 Basic principles of a soccer possession template in Hudl
SportsCode 74
5.2 Input of event data in Hudl SportsCode, Angles and Nacsport 76
5.3 x and y coordinates for ball event data in soccer 78
5.4 Matrix data for basketball player 82
6.1 Summary analysis from the netball system 93
6.2 Summary sheet for the manual version of the system 95
6.3 Spreadsheet to determine number of passes per possession 101
6.4 The percentage of possessions leading to scoring
opportunities for different teams in the Euro 2022 soccer
tournament 105
6.5 A system to analyse decision-making performance in
Australian Rules football (adapted from Lorains et al., 2013) 108
7.1 Chroma keyer: in the example, the Chroma keyer has
been set manually using the “segment” keyer to show the
detection of the dominant colour (e.g., Pitch) 122
7.2 Pitch Calibration: the 3D pitch model can be changed
according to sport (e.g., Football, Rugby, Gaelic Football)
and parameters such as pitch length and width can be
adjusted if the size of pitch is known 122
7.3 Manual Keyframing: by dragging and dropping a graphic
(e.g., 3D Cursor) for a specified amount of time, the user
creates a keyframe pathway. Graphic inpoint and output
can easily be set using keyboard shortcuts 123
7.4 Player Detection: a bounding box is added around each
player and motion (keyframe) paths are added. If a graphic
(e.g., 3D cursor) is added to a player, it will automatically
follow the player until an outpoint is set. This alleviates the
need to manually track the player 124
7.5 (a) Davies (cursor and player tag) initiating counterattack
and teammate moving towards centre of pitch (region tool,
directional arrow and cursor). (b) Forward run of Davies
tracked (cursor with trail), position of wingers highlighted
(linked cursor and distance) and attacking player and
defender connected (linked cursor).
(c) Potential player movements (directional arrows) towards
highlighted ­areas (region tool). (d) Counterattack evolved
into 4–3 attacking situation. Attacking players identified
(player tags) and opposition defensive structure highlighted
(linked cursor) 125
x Figures
7.6 (a) Visualisation of defensive structure with region, cursors
and directional arrows.
(b) Penetrative pass between midfield and forward line.
(c) Physical performance parameters to add contextual
information 127
7.7 (a) Initial phase of play developing outside of the
opposition 22. The number 10 (f ly half ) is highlighted
(spotlight) as well as the four attacking players/options
(directional arrows and numbers).
(b) Magnifier tool showing the raised hand (subtle action)
of the winger. The rest of the image is masked/greyed out,
drawing attention to the circle in the top right corner.
(c) A region graphic has been used to highlight the space
behind the defensive line and a 3D arrow has been added
to indicate the kicking option and trajectory required for a
kick in behind the defensive line 129
7.8 Use of touchscreen by player during team meeting 132
7.9 Tablet Control in RT Tactic 133
8.1 Performance analysis in coaching context (adapted from
O’Donoghue and Mayes, 2013)139
8.2 A grounded theory of the delivery of video-based
performance analysis feedback (adapted from
Groom et al., 2011) 140
9.1 A profile of fictitious player’s performances in a tennis
tournament 161
9.2 A profile of a fictitious player’s performances in including
opposition variables 169
9.3 A profile presented as a line graph 170
Tables

3.1 Five approaches to quantify performance with examples

(Hughes, 1998) 40
3.2 Examples of generic and detailed KPIs 46
3.3 A summary KPIs related to centre passes in netball 48
4.1 Example of a pivot table 58
4.2 Eight principles to consider when developing a manual
notation output dashboard 69
5.1 Summary of data input features and terminology 80
5.2 Summary of throughputs and analysis facilities 83
5.3 Interactive data visualisation and video playback 85
5.4 Video presentation features 85
6.1 Replays shown during live ball-in-play time during BBC
television coverage of the UEFA Euro 2022 tournament 97
6.2 Inter-operator agreement for possession type 98
6.3 Inter-operator agreement for event type within possessions 99
6.4 The percentage of restart possessions that led to attempts on goal 104
6.5 Direction scores between each value from the quarter-
finalists and each value from the eliminated teams 104
6.6 Agreements and disagreements between two independent
operators for the disposal variable 111
6.7 Agreements and disagreements between two independent
operators for the number of options 112
6.8 Weights used in the calculation of weighted kappa for the
number of options 113
1 Introduction to sports
performance analysis

Introduction
This chapter is roughly divided into two parts. The first part is concerned
with sports performance analysis and its purpose within coaching. The first
section does touch on other application areas such as uses of performance
analysis in the media and officiating. The second part of this chapter is more
concerned with the academic discipline of sports performance analysis and
discusses research into sports performance and also covers research processes
in sports performance analysis as well as writing up sports performance anal-
ysis research.

Sports performance analysis in practice

The first edition of this book asked the following questions about sports per-
formance analysis:

• What?
• Why?
• Who?
• When?
• Where?
• How?

This led to different versions of the question “What?” for What is perfor-
mance analysis? What are the application areas of sports performance analy-
sis? and What information is required? Indeed, when we consider why we do
performance analysis, we are also discussing what it is being used for and by
whom. So, rather than trying to discuss the what, why, who, when, where
and how of sports performance analysis, the second edition of this book will
answer a longer list of questions. So, let’s begin.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003375463-1
2 Introduction to sports performance analysis
What is sports performance analysis?
Sports performance analysis is primarily a support activity within coaching.
Performances are analysed in order to identify areas of good performance
as well as areas of performance requiring attention during training. Perfor-
mances of individuals, teams, opponents and referees can be analysed. The
performances can include training as well as match performances. The anal-
ysis of performance provides information and valuable insights for coaches
and players to support decisions they make about preparation. Performance
analysis should not be seen as a threat to players or coaches. Instead, it should
be viewed the same way as management information systems are viewed
within major businesses and industry. The information is produced for use by
the coaches and players, and it is very much a service in this respect to allow
more informed decisions to be made.

Why do we analyse sports performance?

As mentioned above, performance analysis produces information to inform
coaching decisions. However, the rationale for performance analysis support
comes from the knowledge of coach recall in the absence of such informa-
tion. Detailed recollection of events is difficult in many areas of life. Studies
of eye-witness testimony have highlighted limitations in the ability of hu-
mans to accurately recall events (Benton et al., 2006; Bornstein, 2017; Loftus,
2019; Wixted and Wells, 2017). I want you to think about somebody you met
and spoke to today. What were they wearing? What colour were their shoes?
What colours were the other items of clothing they were wearing? There is
nothing unusual about struggling to remember such details, even when it is
important to remember such details. We are very efficient in our use of infor-
mation in our daily lives, that we sometimes only recall what we really need
to recall to do what we need to do or get where we need to go? Now I want
you to think of somewhere you travelled in recent days, perhaps shopping,
or to work or college, or to your home. Think about some landmarks on the
journey that you must have passed on the route you took. Can you remember
passing these landmarks on this particular journey? Can you remember what
was happening at these landmarks? Can you remember whether it was busy
with people or quiet at the different landmarks? Again, if you are struggling to
recall some of this information, there is nothing unusual about this. This also
applies in coaching. An early study by Franks and Miller (1986) found that
novice coaches only accurately recall 42% of critical incidents from matches
on average. They also found that the accuracy of recall varied between dif-
ferent events, with details of set pieces being recalled more accurately than
details of other events. Laird and Waters (2008) did a similar study finding
that 59% of critical incidents were accurately recalled by qualified soccer
coaches. This improvement may be due to the more qualified coaches used in
Laird and Waters’ (2008) study and advances made in continuous professional
 Introduction to sports performance analysis 3
development for coaches since the 1980s. While there has been improvement
between 1986 and 2008, coaches still have an incomplete and inaccurate rec-
ollection of the match. There are a number of reasons for this, including bias
and favouritism inf luencing coaches’ perceptions of events. Fatigue may also
play a role in coaches’ ability to concentrate during the match. They may be
distracted from key events during the match if their attention is focused on
other areas. This is understandable, especially in team sports where it is not
possible to observe all of the players all of the time. Simply looking down to
write something in a notebook can cause a coach to miss something impor-
tant that occurs. A further reason for inaccurate recall of events is emotional
involvement in the game. This can be experienced by spectators as well as
the coaches and players involved. While the outcome of a contest may be un-
certain, viewers may consider the chance of a successful outcome to be lower
than it actually is. The first edition of this book described the author’s percep-
tions of a professional boxing match he was watching live at the venue. The
author felt that the boxer he was supporting was losing the contest up until
the point when he won on a stoppage. Subsequently, the author was able to
view a video recording of the contest in full knowledge of the result and, on
this occasion, he felt the boxer was leading on points from the end of the first
round. Readers will probably be able to compare their own perceptions of
sports contests they have watched both live and on video afterwards. Timing
of feedback can also impact the accuracy of recall. For example, Jones et al.
(2004) suggested that the accuracy of recall decreases over time and that de-
lays in providing feedback may result in inaccurate feedback being provided.
Given the misperceptions of performance that can result from bias, emotion,
fatigue and the limited ability of humans to remember detail, there is a strong
rationale for having an accurate record of a sports contest. This can take the
form of video recording, match statistics or a combination of both.

Who uses the sports performance information?

The previous subsection of this chapter concentrated on coach and player use
of the information generated by performance analysis. The information is
also of use to other management and support staff in the coaching context.
High-performance managers can use the information from multiple matches
to identify trends and make strategic decisions that are at a higher level than
day-to-day coaching decisions. Performance analysts can also provide in-
formation to other members of the sports science support staff. For exam-
ple, performance analysts may work closely with strength and conditioning
coaches, helping them analyse movement data. This may be data from GPS
devices or other player tracking technology. There have also been exam-
ples where sports psychologists have requested video sequences of periods of
play they wish to discuss with the squad or individual players. It is typically
the performance analyst who deals with the match videos and who may do
some ad hoc analyses of these videos to provide the necessary sequences to
4 Introduction to sports performance analysis
the sports psychologist. Some large performance analysis departments within
professional clubs may have “recruitment analysts” who may liaise with
scouts as well as coaches. A detailed discussion of performance analysis
within multidisciplinary teams and interdisciplinary teams can be found in
Butterworth’s book (2023b). The distinction between multidisciplinary and
interdisciplinary approaches is where collaboration between sports science
support services happens. Within multidisciplinary approaches, these ser-
vices tackle common problems and eventually discuss the problem from their
different perspectives. By contrast, the collaboration between sports science
support services commences from the outset of dealing with a problem in an
interdisciplinary approach. This chapter of Butterworth’s book describes the
types of problems in sport that benefit from an integrated use of performance
analysis and other sports science support services. It also recognises the barri-
ers that exist to multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sports science support
as well as the importance of establishing frameworks to manage integrated
sports science support. The integrated use of information streams from mul-
tiple sports science support services is also important in the strategic manage-
ment of high-performance sport (Wiltshire, 2013). Wiltshire describes how
high-performance management systems should be holistic covering physical,
psychological, medical, performance lifestyle as well as the technical and tac-
tical information used in coaching.
Besides the use of sports performance information within coaching, there
are other uses of the information. There are broadcast and media uses of match
statistics to help commentators and enhance the viewer experience by pro-
viding additional talking points. Kirkbride (2013) used the term “infotain-
ment” to cover the broad spectrum of performance analysis activity within
broadcast coverage of sport as well as social media. In recent years, there has
been an increase in the availability of data about sports events targeting the
betting market. Apps providing such data rely on data being collected using
special purpose systems live during matches. Thus, we can see coders work-
ing live at matches using special purpose data entry systems. The authors have
personally met students they have taught who collect data for these platforms.
The need for reliable coders has meant that some have been recruited before
completing their undergraduate degrees and they code matches as a week-
end job. Sometimes, an analyst may be recording more than one match per
day where the matches commence at different times but in the same general
locality. Sports performance data can also be analysed by those concerned
with “sports integrity”. Data analysis, in itself, cannot prove that match fix-
ing, for example, has occurred, but it can alert interested parties to where
it may have occurred. Omoigui (2022) interviewed Jake Marsh, the global
head of integrity at StatsPerform (Stats Perform Group, Chicago, IL) about
the range of work they do including monitoring of sports performance and
the integrated analysis of performance data and betting patterns. A challenge
for detecting match fixing is that the performances of teams and individual
players vary. Indeed, variability in sports performance has been an important
 Introduction to sports performance analysis 5
area of research over the last 20 years (Bliss et al., 2022; Gregson et al., 2010;
Hopkins and Hewson, 2001; Malcata and Hopkins, 2014). Therefore, there
is a need to understand normal variability in sports performance in order to
be able to detect potentially abnormal performances. This can be quite so-
phisticated given that some performers may be more consistent than others.
An example of this was Henry Stott’s predictive modelling of the 2002 FIFA
(Fédération Internationale de Football Association) men’s World Cup where
he found that the opening match between France and Senegal was one of
the five matches most likely to be an upset. An upset was counted as a match
where a team lost against a lower ranked team according to the FIFA World
rankings (Mayfield, 2022). This match was actually an upset with Senegal
winning 1–0. Stott included “patchiness” (or inconsistency) of teams’ perfor-
mances within his model. This meant that a match between two relatively
inconsistent teams could be more likely to be an upset than a match between
two more consistent teams who were closer to each other in the FIFA World
rankings. UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) are conducting
research into variability in soccer performance in collaboration with Middle-
sex University (Parmar, 2023). Specifically, they are profiling performance
to analyse “change in performance”. Whether or not this is to be applied in
the detection of match fixing is unknown by the author of this chapter at the
time of writing, but it would be a potential application area.
Those who judge sports performances would not consider themselves to
be performance analysts. Certainly, referees and umpires have a different role
to performance analysts. They observe contests in order to apply the rules
rather than discover useful insights for the performers. Nonetheless, there
are activities within the officiating of sports contests that are similar to what
performance analysts do in coaching scenarios. One only has to think of
some of the images shown of VAR (Video Assisted Refereeing) rooms dur-
ing the 2022 FIFA men’s World Cup to appreciate the use of technology to
review play for this purpose. The criteria used to assess sports like trampoline,
gymnastics, diving and figure skating require judges to analyse performance
in a similar level of detail to analysts working with athletes and coaches.
This subsection is more concerned with analysis of referee, umpire and judge
performance rather than the observational analysis activity of the officials
themselves. Governing bodies in sport can monitor referee performance and
give feedback to them after matches. Research has found gymnastics judging
to be sufficiently valid and reliable (Bučar et al., 2012; Pizzera et al., 2018),
while research into diving scoring has been evaluated against performance
variables determined from video observation (Luedeker and McKee, 2023).
Johns and Bourner (2013) compared trampoline judge performance with an
observational approach applying scoring criteria to lapse-time video observa-
tion. Statistics on refereeing performance are now provided for some sports
(Whoscored, 2023) and may be useful to teams playing in matches where the
referees are in charge. Performance analysis research has considered the accu-
racy of refereeing decisions in team games (García-Santos et al., 2020) as well
6 Introduction to sports performance analysis
as the physical demands of refereeing (Blair et al., 2022). Physical demands
can be analysed using a combination of distance, speed and heart rate varia-
bles (Bester et al., 2019). Some research has investigated the decision making
of officials in team games, considering their positioning on the field of play
(Lima e Silva et al., 2020; SantaAnna et al., 2021). SantaAnna et al. (2021)
concluded that referees may move in energy efficient ways during the second
half of matches. Observational analysis of referee behaviour during matches
also permits communicative behaviours and interaction with players to be in-
vestigated (Lewis et al., 2023). Another area of interest is the additional time
awarded by referees in soccer and how this relates to relevant stoppages that
occurred during matches (Prüßner and Siegle, 2015).
Coach behaviour can also be analysed during coaching qualifications or
continuous professional development (Franks et al., 2001). There are systems,
such as the Arizona State University Observation Instrument (Lacy and Darst,
1989), that have been used in research but which can also be used to provide
feedback to coaches about their use of demonstrations, silent monitoring, in-
struction and other behaviours during coaching. The set of behaviours used
in the Arizona State University Observation Instrument is relatively simple
and the system does not include additional descriptor information about the
context of the behaviours or audience for communication events. Cushion
(2018) discussed some of the complexities of coach behaviour that can be
addressed by those seeking to use observational analysis within coach de-
velopment programmes. Coach behaviour analysis systems have been used
to tag coach behaviour allowing interactive viewing of coach behaviour to
help coaches ref lect on their coaching style (Brown and O’Donoghue, 2008).
Figure 1.1 is an example of such a system.

Results

Grid cross-tabulating chosen categories

Event List
Event Video time Audience Behaviour Content Player behaviour ….

Video display

Categories
Audience Individual Team Group
Behaviour Verbal Demonstration Reconstruction
Content Skill-related Non-Skill-related
Player behaviour Effort Organisation Behaviour Other

Video time Type Positive Negative Neutral

Appropriateness Appropriate Inappropriate
Style Interrogative Evaluative Descriptive Affective Prescriptive

Figure 1.1 A nalysing coaching behaviour using Focus X2.

 Introduction to sports performance analysis 7
Who analyses the performances?
The obvious answer to this question is that performance analysts analyse
performances and produce information for coaches, players and other users.
There are performance analysts who are employed directly by sports squads
and governing bodies. Some of these analysts may have specialist roles within
analysis departments. For example, recent job adverts in professional soccer
have included “recruitment analyst”, “set piece analyst”, “opposition analyst”,
“individual development coach/analyst”, “video scout”, “academy analyst”,
“coach analyst”, “lead analyst”, “head of performance analysis” and “assistant
analyst”. An inspection of the Twitter account of the Association of Profes-
sional Football Analysts (APFA, n.d.) gives an indication of how frequently
such positions are advertised. These positions are typically for specific squads
or age groups.
Some squads may have links with universities allowing students to gain
work experience as performance analysts. Academic credit can be accu-
mulated for such work where university programmes have placement or
work-experience elements. There are clear benefits for students taking on
such placements but also concerns about potential exploitation of unpaid
interns (Butterworth, 2023d; Butterworth and O’Donoghue, 2023). But-
terworth (2023d) describes the importance of having experience in sports
performance analysis when applying for professional roles in the area. De-
veloping technical skills, intellectual ability and academic knowledge about
sports performance are all important. However, an applicant for a profes-
sional analyst role who has demonstrated that they can gather valid data using
reliable methods and provide statistical and video sequence feedback in an
efficient manner will have an edge over applicants with no such experience.
Thus, most performance analysis programmes now include work experience
modules.
There are freelance analysts who may work with squads in a number of
sports as well as teach part-time in college or university. Where squads use
the services of freelance analysts, they have the advantage of not needing to
purchase the analysis software or hardware needed. It may help if a squad
working with a freelance analyst does have its own copies of the analysis
software so that coaches and players can interactively view and discuss video
sequences that the analyst has tagged. Indeed, there are coaches who are well
skilled at using the software systems for review tasks. Where squads don’t
have copies of the software systems, video sequences can be shared using nor-
mal file sharing processes or the squads may elect to use coach information
management packages such as CoachLogic (CoachLogic, Edinburgh, UK)
or My Team Performance (My Team Performance, Hertogenbosch, Nether-
lands) to share video sequences with players.
It has already been mentioned that some coaches operate match analysis
software themselves when reviewing performances. This is typically after
an analyst has tagged the match and provided the match statistics and key
8 Introduction to sports performance analysis
take home messages. There are some coaches who analyse matches without
the use of an analyst (Martin et al., 2018). This is typically due to budget
constraints, but where the coach is still keen to use performance information
to help players develop. Players have also been provided with facilities to tag
elements of their own performances (Flick, 2016). This process of tagging
videos of performances can help players recognise areas of the game where
they can improve and facilitate discussions with other players and coaches.
This also gives them control of the quantity, timing, pace and content of the
feedback.
Sports performances are also analysed by analysis companies that serve
multiple squads in the same sport. This type of analysis is a much larger scale
operation than what is done by freelance analysts. Freelance analysts might
not be able to work with more than one squad in a single competition due to
their knowledge of discussions with coaches and players. Larger scale analysis
companies, like StatsPerform, who provide Opta data to multiple sports (Stats
Perform Group, Chicago, Il), and Statsbomb (StatsBomb Inc., Bath, UK), are
able to provide data services to multiple squads within the same competitions
because their analysts do not work directly with the squads. The analysis that
is done is typically using standard variables, in some cases allowing all teams
in a competition to use data from all of the matches in the competition, not
just the matches the teams participate in.

Where? And when?

Another “What?” question (“What is sports performance analysis research?”)
is deferred until the second part of this chapter. A further question is “What
should be analysed?” which is the subject of Chapter 3 of the current book.
How to do the analysis has been touched upon when answering some of the
questions asked so far. However, more detail of manual and computerised
methods is provided in Chapters 4–7. This leaves us considering the where
and the when of sports performance analysis activities. Once performance
analysis systems have been developed and are in operation, the main activities
of performance analysis can be broadly grouped into data collection, data
analysis and communication of information. The classic coaching process
models of Franks (1997) for analysing broad tactical and technical events in
game sports and Irwin et al. (2013) for more detailed analysis of technique
intensive sports show these activities performed in a cycle. Figure 1.2 shows
Frank’s (1997) model where the performance analysis activities typically oc-
cur between matches. Thus, the game is played, performance data are col-
lected live or post-match, analysed and then feedback takes place informing
preparation for the next match. In Irwin et al.’s (2013) model, analysis activ-
ities are performed in a cycle between performances which could be train-
ing or competitive performances. Thus, developing technique is monitored
over time through data collection and analysis. Advances in technology have
permitted highly efficient data gathering and data processing allowing live
 Introduction to sports performance analysis 9

Game Select events Edit

Analysis based on results tape

Coaching Prepare
practice presentation

Coach presents Modify Present

feedback presentation to coach

Figure 1.2 Frank’s (1997) coaching process.

feedback to be provided during competition ( Jayal et al., 2018: 18–20). The

concurrent provision of information to coaches and players during competi-
tion, while data are still being gathered and analysed, is a characteristic of the
analytics era. An example of such a process can be observed during television
coverage of Formula One motor racing where in-race decision making is in-
formed by simulation of tactical options requiring large volumes of data and
high-performance computer processing. These processes require such levels
of f lexibility, staff expertise and multiple data streams that they cannot be
represented by traditional models of performance analysis in coaching.
The locations where sports performance activities occur are similar to
those described in O’Donoghue’s (2010) first book. Where data are collected
live during competitions, this can be done at the competition venue or away
from the competition venue if the performance is being displayed live on
television or through web-streaming. The use of IP cameras allows data to
be collected from anywhere with internet access. There are occasions where
match events can be recorded using a palm-top computer and then the event
list can be synchronised with a video of the match later. There are also sit-
uations where some data are collected live during competition while other
data are added post-match. Technological advances allow more data to be
gathered during matches. An example of this is where additional analysts
can enter data on iPad devices and these events are sent to the main analyst’s
computer and added to the main timeline. This not only allows for more data
to be gathered live during the match but also means that more data can be
entered at the venue before the team depart after the match.
Once data have been collected, they can be analysed. The fact that events
have been tagged and are stored on computer disk permits very efficient
processing using the features of the video analysis package. These features
include matrices allowing events to be cross-tabulated with descriptor values.
These matrices or the raw event lists can be exported for further analysis in
10 Introduction to sports performance analysis
packages such as Microsoft Excel (Microsoft, Redmond, WA). Spreadsheets
can be programmed to process the exported data meaning that the same
spreadsheet template can be used with multiple matches, making data anal-
ysis particularly efficient. This analysis is typically quantitative, determining
frequencies and percentage conversion rates, possibly classifying the resulting
values based on norms for the given level of competition. Decisions need to
be made about video sequences to use within feedback to players. This is
a different process to the preceding quantitative analyses of tagged events.
Analysts and coaches need to decide on the video sequences using expert
knowledge of the sport. Telestration tools can be used to highlight important
areas of key video frames. These analysis activities can be done at a variety of
locations including the match venue, the analyst’s office, a performance anal-
ysis laboratory, hotel room, the analyst’s home or anywhere else a computer
can be operated.
Once data have been analysed, the resulting statistics and video sequences
can be presented. This can be done collectively or individually. Internet-based
coaching management systems such as CoachLogic and My Team Perfor-
mance allow players to engage with the information at times and locations
that suit them. This allows online discussions to take place before players
meet at training sessions. The importance of this is that it allows more time
for actual training when players do meet up. Communications technologies
used in social media are very familiar to players today and can be used for
sharing information, again supporting more f lexible and convenient feedback
to players. Thus, players can engage with feedback anywhere where they can
use their own devices that support the communications platforms being used.

Sports performance analysis research

What is research?
This second part of this chapter discusses sports performance research rather
than performance analysis in the coaching context. Before getting into sports
performance research, it is worth brief ly introducing research in general.
Research can be performed in many different contexts and in many different
ways. Research can be done by lawyers or detectives investigating cases, jour-
nalists, industrial research and development departments, market research for
commercial organisations or by academics studying their fields of interest.
Research can be applied to a direct real-world problem or it can be purely
to generate knowledge without a direct real-world application at the time of
the study. This range of research studies has been described as a “continuum”
by some authors of research methods textbooks (Thomas and Nelson, 1996:
5–7). Research can be considered in terms of communication, evidence and
quality.
Communication is an essential stage of research. When a study is com-
pleted, the authors should communicate their findings so that the knowledge
 Introduction to sports performance analysis 11
can be used by others and we continue to learn. Consider the fact that we
live in buildings with running water, sanitation, electricity, furniture, and
heating. All of this is possible because of discoveries being made over time,
communicated, exploited, integrated with other knowledge and applied. It is
not possible for any one person to make all of the discoveries that we benefit
from in our everyday lives. So, researchers often work in niche areas using
existing knowledge as a starting point for their own research. The commu-
nication of knowledge to others takes many forms, for example, articles in
scientific research journals, technical reports within organisations as well as
oral or poster presentations at conferences. It is this ability to communicate
that makes what we have discovered available to others, and a reason why
we live more comfortable lives than other species who do not have human
communication skills. Publicly funded research comes with a duty to publish.
This has led to some tensions from what is referred to as the “open access”
era. Completing and publishing research does not come for free because peo-
ple’s time is not free. Those undertaking the research as well as staff within
the publishing companies who produce scientific journals all perform activ-
ities that have costs. On the one hand, there is a view that publicly funded
research should be freely available rather than behind the “pay wall” of a
commercial publisher’s journal. There would be some merit to this argument
if the public funding fully covered all publication costs as well as the research
itself, but this is rarely the case. The other side of the argument is that there
must be some incentive to doing research in order to encourage research to
continue. Piracy has been a problem with research material, that some access
as paying subscribers to journals, being made freely and illegally available to
others. Other tensions arise from research audits that inform funding deci-
sions for university research. Specifically, for papers to be included in national
research audits, they often have to be made available on university research
repositories. The availability of research articles in such repositories can make
some universities question whether they need to subscribe to certain journals.
The previous paragraph was getting increasingly controversial, so we will
turn to evidence. Research should be a systematic process of studying the
subject of interest, gathering and analysis data and drawing conclusions that
are supported by the data. This is in contrast to non-scientific ways of gener-
ating knowledge such as intuition, speculation and hunches (Martens, 1987).
Those using research should not blindly accept the findings of studies but
should consider how the research was done and whether studies have limi-
tations. This would be the same with any other evidence trail from which
conclusions are being drawn. Readers of research studies should be critical
and question the variables that were used, when the data were collected,
how the data were collected, who participated in the study and how the data
were analysed. Research should be rigorous and transparent if it is to contrib-
ute to knowledge. Valid and relevant variables should be used, data should
be gathered and analysed using trustworthy and reliable processes. There is
also something for scholars to consider when they refer to research in their
12 Introduction to sports performance analysis
own studies. The evidence of a research study comes from what was found
and how the study was done. Scholars should not be referring to a paper as
evidence of a comment made in the introduction section of the paper or
the discussion. These comments are more speculation and discussion points
rather than the real evidence provided by the paper. It is fair to say that much
of what has been discussed here is about empirical research and the authors
of the current book recognise the value of other types of research including
philosophical research.
The previous paragraph about research evidence has already covered some
elements of research quality. Research quality can be judged on originality,
rigour and impact. Originality is an interesting research quality to discuss.
Where a study is essentially repeating a study that has already been done, but
perhaps with different participants, it may not be contributing new knowl-
edge. However, there is a role for studies to confirm or refute the findings
of previous studies based on the conclusions drawn from the data. As sport
develops, it is important to keep research up-to-date because of rule changes
and other developments. It may be necessary for a study to be repeated with
a larger sample, involving multiple countries, in order to give the necessary
confidence for policy makers to consider the findings of the research. Find-
ings of research which may have been done in one level, or age group, or
gender might not be generalisable beyond these groups prompting the need
for further research which is not entirely original, but nonetheless needed.
Rigour is to do with the care that has been taken in gathering and ana-
lysing data for a research study. Some variables can be measured more accu-
rately than others; this is sometimes aided by the use of precise measuring
equipment. Validity is the first measurement issue to be considered. A hyper-­
accurate variable is not going to be of interest to readers if it is a “so what?”
or “who cares?” variable. However, a clearly relevant variable that cannot be
reliably measured can be considered invalid if the values recorded are com-
promised by subjective data collection processes. An example of a validity to
reliability trade-off is the number of forced and unforced errors made in ten-
nis performances. Errors can be distinguished from winners relatively easily
and with a high level of reliability. If a ball lands in the opponent’s court and
cannot be played by the opponent before it bounces for a second time, then
the shot is a winner. If the ball lands outside the opponent’s court or strikes
the net, failing to make the opponent’s court, then the shot is an error. Dis-
tinguishing between forced and unforced errors is more difficult and requires
knowledge of the sport by those gathering the data. Counts of unforced er-
rors are of interest to practitioners and are also provided in media coverage of
tennis matches. However, when a shot is returning a previous shot that is well
placed, with high velocity and played with spin, it can be difficult to class an
error as an unforced error, especially at elite levels of the sport.
The impact of research is concerned with its real-world application. Real-
world benefit of research has become more important in recent years. An
example of this is the UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) requiring
 Introduction to sports performance analysis 13
impact case studies for universities to make submissions in different subject
areas. While research can be argued to have real-world benefit, it is often
difficult to evidence that research has informed policies or practices in the
real-world. Hence, the impact case studies submitted to the REF show where
research has been used, how it has been used, by whom and with evidence of
any benefits. This requires minutes of meetings or other evidence showing
that real-world action was supported by the research that had been done.
To complete this general section on research, it is worth considering the
quality of research that is necessary for publication in a scientific journal.
Shore (1991) listed seven sources of scientific dishonesty, one of which was
non-publication of data. Shore was specifically talking about situations where
dishonest researchers may remove data from a study so that the remaining
data supports some conclusion they wish to make. There are valid reasons for
excluding data from studies and these reasons are stated within the methods
sections of research articles. For example, one might not wish to include
matches where players have been dismissed from studies of team game per-
formance. The exclusion of data referred to by Shore (1991) is a different type
of removal of data and should not be done. This leads to a wider question
of whether a study that has been completed and written up in a transpar-
ent manner should ever be rejected. Rejecting such a paper is essentially
non-publication of data on a larger scale, concealing the paper from the pub-
lic as though the study does not exist. There has been speculation that papers
where effects or relationships are found to be statistically significant are more
likely to be published than papers where analysis of the data has not produced
statistically significant results (Schmucker et al., 2014). However, any bias to-
wards publication of studies with significant results could be due to research-
ers not submitting papers where the results were not significant (Dickerson
et al., 1992). Publication policies in sports performance analysis are illustrated
by the 646 papers submitted to the International Journal of Performance
Analysis in Sport in the calendar year 2022. Only 46 of these papers were
actually published, suggesting 13 papers are rejected for every paper that is
selected. However, there are papers rejected from the journal because they
are not sports performance analysis papers, outside the scope of the journal,
and that needed to be sent elsewhere. The remaining papers were ultimately
rejected for the following reasons:

• The results were achieved through a misuse of statistics, for example,

treating events from a small number of matches as though they are
independent.
• The reliability of the variables used has not been established.
• Data have been gathered from secondary sources, such as internet sites, in
violation of the terms of use of these data sources.
• Data have come from a single squad, possibly a convenience sample, and
possibly collected for reasons other than research, and cannot be gener-
alised beyond the squad.
14 Introduction to sports performance analysis
• Lack of transparency in the description methods.
• Lack of impact where the study is too specific to be of general interest to
the journal’s subscribers,
• The data are out of date and there may have been substantial rule changes
in the sport since the data were collected.
• The research work may not represent a substantial research effort and
could be done in a weekend.
• Misinterpretation of data and apparent lack of knowledge of research in
the area based on the discussion section.
• Poor scientific writing, including lack of supporting references for argu-
ments made in the introduction and discussion.

Some of these reasons are straightforward, but others are worth further con-
sideration. Should single squad studies ever be published? Yes! There is a
serious need for evidence that feedback based on sports performance data
has an impact in coaching. In-depth case studies about experiences of using
performance analysis in sport are time consuming, complex and with ethical
issues to be addressed. These difficulties are one reason for so few case studies
being published or even being attempted.
Consider a study that has been done efficiently in a short amount of time,
using data with proper permissions, from a secondary source, with evidence
provided that the secondary data are valid and reliable. The decision for the
paper to be published or not needs to consider the originality and need for
the study, the novelty of the analysis of the data, theoretical development
and interest in the paper. Thus, publishing such a paper is not ruled out.
However, the research community needs to be mindful of standards set for
journal publication, especially when there are other outlets for presenting
smaller scale research. The kind of thing that can be problematic is where
a researcher conducts four such studies, without having to make the efforts
other researchers need to in order to gather data. It is highly questionable
whether such a programme of research is substantive enough to be awarded
a doctorate, yet publishing this number of papers from postgraduate research
would typically be seen as evidence of doctoral level research. In the UK, a
doctorate would be the equivalent of three years of level 8 research work;
this is 540 credit points or 5,400 effort hours of work at this level. So, we are
looking for thousands of hours of research activity rather than tens of hours
of research activity for a research project to be considered substantial enough
for journal publication.
One of the reasons given for rejecting a paper was “lack of impact”. An
example of this is where research teams are undertaking a programme of
research in an area that may well be very interesting and worthwhile. How-
ever, they attempt to get the reliability study of their analysis system pub-
lished as a journal article. The issue here is that the system is a very specific
system that might only ever be used in their programme of research. An
editor’s response to this might be to use the system to do a research study and
 Introduction to sports performance analysis 15
incorporate the certification of reliability into the methods section of that
paper. Typically, the authors have intended to use the system for useful and
interesting research, but are attempting to “salami slice” a paper into more
than one paper. Indeed, some authors also attempt to publish the background
section of a research paper as a separate paper calling it a “systematic review”.
There is a place for systematic reviews in well-developed areas of research.
However, some systematic reviews submitted to the International Journal of
Performance Analysis of Sport have been in very narrow areas or areas where
research has not developed sufficiently to justify a review article.
The penultimate bullet point seems to contradict an earlier point in this
chapter where we stated the real evidence of a study comes from what was
found and the methods used in the research. The type of thing that research
journals need to avoid is where somebody from an unconnected field, who is
lacking in knowledge of the field of interest to the journal, is able to analyse
some data and produce results to answer some question because they are good
at statistics. Imagine, for example, someone comparing tennis matches played
on different court surfaces, not knowing that different ball types are used on
different court surfaces, and drawing inappropriate conclusions about a sur-
face effect. This would be a good reason to reject the paper.

What are the purposes of sports performance analysis research?

Sports performance analysis is an area of sports science where actual sports
performance is being investigated. This could be performance during com-
petition or training, or possibly performance of game related skills under
more controlled conditions. Examples of the latter are where things like the
serve in tennis or a golf swing are analysed in laboratory experiments. While
this is not actual sports performance, the actions being performed are key
parts of the sports and it may not be feasible to collect detailed data about
technique during actual sports performance. The kind of research that would
normally not qualify as sports performance analysis research are analyses of
fitness tests, interview and questionnaires. The issue with performing fitness
tests is that the tests and measurements are not actual sports performance.
It is possible that test results might be correlated with variables from actual
sports performance. The variables derived from actual sports performance
need to represent enough performance analysis research for the study to be
considered within the scope of a performance analysis journal. Interviews
and questionnaires are useful for gathering data from participants about their
attitudes and beliefs. However, sports performance analysis is about what
players actually do rather than what they report that they do. In saying this,
there are occasions where survey research makes welcome contribution to
sports performance theory. Later in this section, we will discuss research into
the effectiveness of performance analysis support in coaching. Such studies
use interviews and questionnaires in the investigation of coach and player
attitude towards and use of performance analysis services.
16 Introduction to sports performance analysis
The main purposes of sports performance analysis research are in the areas
of technical effectiveness, tactics, physical demands of sports and effectiveness
of performance analysis support services. The first three types of study can
be done in a descriptive way where independent variables are hypothesised
to have an inf luence on dependent variables which may be about the skills
performed, tactics or physical demands. Starting with the dependent varia-
bles, technical effectiveness can be distinguished from more detailed analysis
of technique. In technical effectiveness, we simply record that players per-
formed skills like passes, shots, forehand strokes, backhand strokes, etc. and
whether those skills were performed successfully or not. These data are then
used to determine variables such as the frequency of techniques of different
types as well as the percentage of applications of each technique that are
performed successfully. Examples of such studies are Timmons et al.’s (2022)
study of kickouts in Gaelic football and Liu et al.’s (2022) study of strokes in
table tennis.
Tactical analysis tends to analyse the same skills as when we are analysing
technical effectiveness. However, tactical analysis is more concerned with
what teams do than how well they do it. The profile of skills performed is
often not enough to indicate tactics, and so additional information about the
pitch locations where skills are performed, timings and players involved can
also give an indication of tactical decisions. Ultimately tactical decisions are
made by players during games, considering the options they have and the
relative advantages and disadvantages of these. Such decisions are not directly
observable to researchers, but inferences can be made about these decisions
using information about what players ultimately do in different situations.
Tactical analysis can be applied to broader passages of play rather than indi-
vidual skills that are performed. Examples are possessions of the ball in team
games where the locations and timings of individual skills can indicate that
particular tactics have been chosen. While tactical analysis is more about
what has been done rather than how well it has been done, there are many
studies that have also looked at how well alternative tactics are performed
based on success rates. Examples of research into tactics include O’Donoghue
and Beckley’s (2023) study of possessions in the Euro 2022 soccer tournament
and Laxdal et al.’s (2022) study of Icelandic league handball.
Decision making is related to tactics but there is a subtle difference between
performance analysis research into decision making. In tactical analysis, we
are ultimately investigating the chosen tactics that are represented by observ-
able behaviour. Analysis of decision making goes beyond this to also consider
the quality of decision making. Specifically, the analysis of decision making
not only analyses decisions made, but considers decisions that could have
been made (Lorains et al., 2013; Parrington et al., 2013). In netball, expert
players have more options available to them when passing than novice players
do (Bruce et al., 2009). In order to draw this conclusion, it was necessary for
Bruce et al. (2009) to analyse video frames for each pass in their study and
assess the number of realistic options the passing player had. The number of
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Heikko ääni kuusen alta kaikui Jannen korvissa hänen

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kauempana on toinenkin oikotie, jota on parempi ajaa.» — »Mikähän
oikotie se mahtaa olla?» kysyi Janne. »Sitä en koskaan ole nähnyt.»
— »Maltahan vaan, niin saat nähdä.»

Lars alkoi pyrkiä suoraan vaaraa ylös. Mutta Börjekin piti Jannen
puolta, ja silloin Larsin täytyi antaa perään. Joka tapauksessa oli
kulunut aikaa hukkaan heidän kiistellessään, ja Janne tunsi, miten
tuo musta tyhjyys levisi koko hänen ruumiiseensa. Käsivarret ja
kädet tulivat niin ontoiksi ja kohmettuneiksi, että tuskin saattoi niitä
liikutella. »Samapa se», tuumi hän. »Me tulemme kuitenkin liian
myöhään. Fallan Erik ei kaipaa enää meidän apuamme, kun
pääsemme perille.»

Vanha hevonen ponnisteli eteenpäin metsätiellä niin hyvin kuin

saattoi, mutta sillä ei ollut kylliksi voimia sellaista matkaa varten. Se
oli huonosti kengitetty ja kompastui kerta toisensa jälkeen, ja
ylämäissä täytyi miesten nousta pois reestä ja astua jalan.
Poikettuaan raivaamattomaan metsään oli hevosesta melkein
enemmän haittaa kuin hyötyä.

Vihdoin he kuitenkin tulivat perille ja huomasivat, ettei Fallan Erik

ollutkaan kovin pahoin vioittunut. Ei mikään jäsen ollut murskautunut
eikä taittunut. Oksa oli repäissyt toista reittä, ja siinä oli kyllä vaikea
haava. Mutta ei sekään ollut kuolemaksi.

Seuraavana aamuna, kun Janne tuli työhön, sai hän kuulla, että
Erikillä oli korkea kuume ja kovia tuskia.

Hän oli vilustunut maatessaan maassa niin kauan aikaa. Tauti

kääntyi keuhkokuumeeksi, ja kahden viikon kuluttua hän oli kuollut.
PUNAINEN LENINKI.

Kun Skrolyckan nuori tyttö oli seitsemäntoista vuoden vanha, tuli hän
eräänä kesäisenä sunnuntaipäivänä vanhempiensa kera kirkkoon.

Astuessaan tietä myöten oli hänellä hartioillaan saali, jonka hän

riisui yltään saavuttuaan kirkkomäelle, ja silloin kaikki näkivät, että
hänellä oli yllään leninki, jommoista ei kukaan koko pitäjässä ennen
ollut nähnyt.

Kuljeksiva kauppias, joka kiertää pitkin pitäjiä laukku selässä, oli

kerran eksynyt aina Askedaliin saakka, ja kun hän oli nähnyt Klara
Gullan kukoistavan nuoruuden, oli hän ottanut repustaan esille
kankaan, kehoittaen vanhempia ostamaan sen tytölle. Kangas oli
punaista ja välkkyi aivan kuin silkki.

Kangas oli yhtä kallista kuin kaunistakin, eivätkä Janne ja Katrina

mitenkään olisi kyenneet ostamaan sellaista leninkiä tyttöselle,
vaikka varsinkin Janne olisi ohut hyvinkin halukas siihen.

Mutta ajatelkaahan, kun kauppias oli hyvän aikaa turhaan

tyrkyttänyt sitä, joutui hän aivan suunniltaan, kun ei saanut tahtoaan
läpi! Hän oli päättänyt, sanoi hän, että Jannen tyttären tuli saada tuo
kangas.
 Hän ei ollut nähnyt ketään koko pitäjässä, jota se niin hyvin olisi
pukenut kuin häntä.

Ja sitten kauppias mittasi siitä sen verran kangasta kuin yhdeksi

puvuksi oli tarpeen, ja lahjoitti sen Klara Gullalle. Hän ei huolinut
mitään maksua siitä. Hän pyysi vain saada nähdä hänet puettuna
punaiseen leninkiin ensi kerralla, kun hän saapui jälleen
Skrolyckaan.

Sitten pitäjän paras ompelija oli sen ommellut, hän, joka muuten
ompeli vain Lövdalan neideille. Ja kun Klara Gulla sai sen ylleen,
näyttivät he yhdessä niin kauniilta, että olisi voinut luulla tytön
puhjenneen esiin orjantappurapensaasta mäellä.

Sinä sunnuntaina, jolloin Klara Gullan oli määrä näyttäytyä

uudessa puvussaan kirkolla, ei Janne eikä Katrina malttanut pysyä
kotona, niin uteliaita he olivat kuulemaan ihmisten arvostelua.

Ja kävikin siten, että kaikki ihmiset huomasivat punaisen leningin,

ja nähtyään sen kerran, he kääntyivät taaksensa ja katselivat sitä
vielä uudestaan. Mutta toisella kertaa he eivät katselleet vain
leninkiä, vaan myöskin nuorta tyttöä, jonka yllä se oli.

Toiset olivat kuulleet jo aikaisemmin tästä leningistä puhuttavan,

toiset tahtoivat tietää, mitenkä mäkitupalaisen tytär saattoi esiintyä
niin koreana mäntymäellä kirkon edustalla. Janne ja Katrina saivat
kertoa koko jutun kauppiaasta ja kaikesta muusta moneen kertaan.
Ja kun ihmiset saivat kuulla asian perin pohjin, eivät he voineet enää
harmitella sen johdosta. He iloitsivat kaikki, että onni oli kerta
eksynyt köyhään mökkiinkin kaukana Askedalissa.
 Olipa joukossa rikkaiden talojen poikia, jotka sanoivat aivan
suoraan, että jos tyttö olisi ollut sellaista sukua, että olisi käynyt
päinsä naida hänet, niin olisi hän ollut jo kihloissa kirkolta kotiin
palatessansa.

Ja olipa talontyttäriä, rikkaiden tilojen ainokaisia perijättäriä, jotka

tuumivat itsekseen, että he olisivat olleet valmiit antamaan koko
vuoden tulon väliä, jos he olisivat voineet saada omakseen tytön
punoittavat, nuoruutta ja terveyttä loistavat kasvot.

Mutta sattuipa nyt siten, että sinä sunnuntaina olikin Bron rovastilla
saarnavuoronsa Svartsjössä, eikä tavallisella papilla. Ja rovasti oli
ankara vanhanajan mies, joka paheksui kaikenlaista ylellisyyttä, niin
hyvin puvuissa kuin muussakin.

Kun hän näki nuoren tytön punaisessa leningissänsä, luuli hän

varmaan sitä silkiksi, ja lähetti lukkarin kutsumaan sekä tytön että
hänen vanhempansa puheillensa.

Huomasihan hänkin, että leninki ja tyttö sopivat erinomaisesti

yhteen, mutta siitä huolimatta herätti se hänen paheksumistaan.

»Kuulehan, tyttöseni, minäpä sanon sinulle jotakin», sanoi hän

Klara Gullalle ja laski kätensä hänen olkapäälleen. »Ei mikään
estäisi minua pukeutumasta piispan pukuun ja ripustamasta
kultaristiä kaulaani, jos mieleni tekisi. Mutta sitä minä en tee, sillä en
tahdo näyttää enemmältä kuin mitä olen. Ja samoin ei sinunkaan
pitäisi pukeutua yhtä hienoksi kuin herraskartanon neidit, koska olet
vain köyhän mäkitupalaisen tytär.»

Ne olivat ankaria sanoja, ja Klara Gulla tuli niin ymmälle, ettei

osannut vastata mitään. Mutta Katrina kiiruhti kertomaan, että tyttö
oli saanut kankaan lahjaksi.

»Niin, voihan se olla», sanoi rovasti. »Mutta ettekö te vanhemmat

ymmärrä, että jos te sallitte tyttärenne koreilla tuolla tavalla kerran tai
kaksi, niin ei hän sitten enää tyydy sellaisiin yksinkertaisiin
vaatteihin, joita te voitte hänelle hankkia?»

Rovasti kääntyi pois heistä, sillä nyt hän oli selvästi lausunut
mielipiteensä. Mutta Jannella oli vastaus valmiina, ennenkuin rovasti
ennätti poistua.

»Tämän tytön pitäisi olla hieno kuin aurinko, jotta hän olisi
sopivasti puettu, sillä meidän aurinkomme ja ilomme on hän ollut
aina syntymästään saakka.»

Rovasti palasi takaisin ja katseli vakavasti kaikkia kolmea. Sekä

Janne että Katrina näyttivät vanhoilta ja kuihtuneilta, mutta heidän
silmänsä loistivat keskellä ryppyisiä kasvoja, kun he kääntyivät
katsomaan kukoistavaa tyttöä keskellänsä.

Silloin rovasti varmaan tuumi mielessänsä, että olisi sääli häiritä

noiden vanhusten iloa.

»Jos sinä todellakin olet ollut köyhien vanhempiesi valona ja ilona,

niin voit kantaa koreuttasi kunnialla», sanoi rovasti lempeällä
äänellä. »Sillä lapsi, joka voi tuottaa onnea isälleen ja äidilleen, on
parasta mitä me silmiemme edessä voimme nähdä.»
UUSI ISÄNTÄ.

Kun Skrolyckan väki palasi kotiin kirkosta sinä samana sunnuntaina,

jolloin rovasti oli lausunut nuo kauniit sanansa Klara Gullalle, istui
kaksi miestä aidan harjalla aivan veräjän luona.

Toinen oli Lars Gunnarsson, joka nyt oli perinyt isännyyden Fallan
Erikin jälkeen, toinen kauppapalvelija eräästä Brobyn
kauppapuodista, josta Katrinalla oli tapana ostaa sokeria ja kahvia.

He näyttivät niin välinpitämättömiltä ja vierailta istuessaan siinä,

ettei Janne uskonut heillä olevan asiaa hänelle. Hän nosti vain
lakkiansa ja astui heidän ohitseen tupaan sanaakaan sanomatta.

Miehet istuivat edelleen paikoillansa, ja Janne toivoi, että he pian

olisivat valinneet jonkun muun istumapaikan, jotta hänen ei olisi
tarvinnut nähdä heitä. Hän tunsi vaistomaisesti, että Lars
Gunnarsson kantoi kaunaa häntä kohtaan metsässä tapahtuneen
onnettomuuden jälkeen. Useampia kertoja hän oli kuullut hänen
sanovan, että Janne alkoi jo olla vanha eikä tehnyt enää täyttä
hyötyä päiväpalkastaan.

Katrina asetti esille päivällisruoan, ja pian syöminen olikin

suoritettu. Lars Gunnarsson ja puotilainen viipyivät edelleen pihalla
vilkkaasti keskustellen keskenänsä. Jannen mielestä he istuivat
siellä kuin kaksi haukkaa. He odottivat siinä aikaansa ja tekivät pilaa
pikkulinnuista, jotka luulivat voivansa päästä heitä karkuun.

Nyt he vihdoinkin laskeutuivat alas aidalta, avasivat veräjän ja

lähestyivät tupaa. Jannelle heillä siis sittenkin oli asiaa.

Janne aavisti aivan selvästi, että heillä oli paha mielessä, ja hän
katsoi ympärilleen ikäänkuin etsien paikkaa, jonne hän olisi voinut
piiloutua. Mutta sitten hänen silmänsä osuivat Klara Gullaan, joka
myös katseli ulos ikkunasta, ja hän sai jälleen rohkeutta.

Mitäpä syytä hänellä oli pelätä, kun hänellä oli sellainen tytär?
Klara Gulla oli viisas ja neuvokas eikä pelännyt mitään. Ja onni
häntä kaikessa suosi, mihin ikänä hän tarttui. Lars Gunnarssonin ei
olisi helppo saada häntä taipumaan.

Kun Lars ja puotilainen astuivat sisään, näyttivät he taaskin yhtä

välinpitämättömiltä ja vierailta kuin äskenkin. Lars sanoi, että he
istuessaan ulkona olivat niin kauan katselleet tuota sievää pikku
mökkiä, että heidän lopulta teki mieli tulla sisään.

He kehuivat kaikkea, mitä siellä oli, ja Lars sanoi, että Jannen ja

Katrinan tulisi olla kovin kiitollisia Fallan Erikille, sillä hän se kai oli
pitänyt huolta siitä, että tupa oli tullut rakennetuksi ja että he olivat
menneet naimisiin.

»Tulin ajatelleeksi erästä asiaa», sanoi hän heti sen jälkeen ja

käänsi pois silmänsä, niin ettei hän nähnyt Jannea eikä liioin
Katrinaa. »Kyllä kai Fallan Erik oli siksi viisas, että hän kirjallisesti
luovutti teille tämän maan, jolla mökkinne seisoo?»
 Ei Janne enempää kuin Katrinakaan vastannut tähän mitään. He
ymmärsivät heti, että nyt Lars oli tullut varsinaiseen asiaansa.
Parasta oli antaa hänen ensin selittää kaikki perin juurin.

»Olen kuullut sanottavan, ettei teillä ole papereita», sanoi Lars,

»mutta en tahtoisi uskoa, että asiat olisivat niin huonolla kannalla.
Sillä silloin voisi sattua, että koko tupa lankeaakin maan omistajalle.»

Janne ei sanonut vieläkään mitään, mutta Katrina suuttui niin

silmittömästi, ettei voinut enää olla vaiti.

»Fallan Erik on antanut meille sen maan, jolla mökki seisoo»,

sanoi hän, »eikä kellään voi olla oikeutta anastaa sitä meiltä.»

»No, eihän se tarkoitus olekaan», sanoi uusi omistaja

sovinnollisella äänellä. Hän tahtoi vain saada asian järjestetyksi. Ei
mitään muuta. »Jos Janne voisi antaa hänelle sata riksiä lokakuun
markkinoihin mennessä ‒ ‒ ‒»

»Sata riksiä!» huudahti Katrina, melkein kirkuvalla äänellä.

Lars ei sanonut sen enempää. Hän kohotti vain päätään taakse ja

puri huulensa yhteen.

»Sinä et sano sanaakaan, Janne!» sanoi Katrina. »Etkö kuule, että

Lars tahtoo ottaa meiltä sata riksiä?»

»Ehkäpä ei Jannen ole niinkään helppoa saada sata riksiä irti»,

sanoi
Lars Gunnarsson. »Mutta täytyyhän minun tietää, mikä on omani.»

»Ja siksikö teidän pitää varastaa meidän tupamme?» huusi

Katrina.
 »Ei, sitä en minä suinkaan halua. Mökki on teidän. Minä tahdon
vain saada maan takaisin.»

»No, silloinhan on mökki myös siirrettävä teidän maaltanne pois»,

sanoi Katrina. — »Tokko teidän kannattaa siirtää pois sellaista, jota
ette kuitenkaan voi pitää.» — »Vai niin», sanoi Katrina, »te tahdotte
siis sittenkin anastaa sen itsellenne?»

Lars Gunnarsson teki kädellään torjuvan liikkeen.

»Ei, en minä tahdo anastaa teidän mökkiänne, mitä vielä?» Olihan

hän jo sanonut, ettei hän sitä halunnut tehdä, mutta Brobyn kauppias
oli lähettänyt tänne puotilaisensa kera muutamia laskuja, jotka olivat
vielä maksamatta.

Puotilainen otti nyt esille laskut. Katrina työnsi ne Klara Gullan

eteen ja pyysi häntä katsomaan, minkä verran velkaa oli.

Velka ei ollut sen vähempi kuin sata riksiä, ja Katrina aivan kalpeni
penkillänsä. »Teidän tarkoituksenne on karkoittaa meidät talosta, sen
minä näen», sanoi hän. — »Ei suinkaan», vastasi Lars, »se ei ole
lainkaan meidän tarkoituksemme, jos te vain maksatte velkanne ‒ ‒
‒». — »Teidän pitäisi toki ajatella vanhempianne, Lars», sanoi
Katrina. »Heillä ei ollut niinkään hyviä päiviä ennenkun te pääsitte
talolliseksi.»

Katrina johti puhetta kaiken aikaa. Janne ei sanonut mitään. Hän

katseli vain Klara Gullaa, katseli ja odotti. Hän oli aivan selvillä siitä,
ettei koko tällä asialla ollut muuta tarkoitusta, kuin että tyttö saisi
näyttää mihin hän kelpaisi.
 »Kun köyhältä riistetään hänen tupansa, on hän myös mennyttä
kalua», sanoi Katrina.

»Enhän minä tahdo ottaa tupaa», puolusteli Lars Gunnarsson

itseään.
»Minä tahdon vain, että asia tulisi selväksi.»

Mutta Katrina ei kuunnellut häntä. »Niin kauan kuin köyhällä on

mökkinsä, tuntee hän olevansa yhtä hyvä kuin kaikki muutkin. Mutta
se, jolla ei ole omaa kotia, ei ole edes ihminen.»

Jannen mielestä kaikki, mitä Katrina sanoi, oli aivan oikein. Tupa
oli rakennettu hylkyhirsistä ja oli kylmä talvella, sen perustus oli
kallellaan, ja ahdas ja pieni se oli, mutta sittenkin heistä tuntui, että
he olisivat mennyttä kalua, jos he sen menettäisivät.

Janne puolestaan ei hetkeäkään voinut epäillä niin huonosti

käyvän. Tuossahan Klara Gulla istui, ja hän huomasi, miten tytön
silmät alkoivat loistaa. Pian hän varmaankin sanoisi jotain, joka
karkoittaisi pois nuo kiusanhenget.

»Niin, te tarvitsette kai aikaa tehdäksenne päätöksenne», sanoi

uusi omistaja. »Mutta muistakaa, joko te muutatte pois täältä
lokakuun ensimäisenä päivänä, tai maksatte velkanne Brobyn
kauppiaalle! Ja minä olen saapa sata riksiä tontista!»

Katrina väänsi vanhoja, työssä kuluneita käsiänsä. Hän oli niin

poissa suunniltaan, että hän puhui itsekseen välittämättä siitä,
kuunteliko kukaan hänen sanojaan.

»Miten minä menen kirkkoon, miten minä näyttäydyn muitten

ihmisten parissa, jos minun käy niin huonosti, etten omista enää
omaa tupaakaan?»

Jannen ajatukset olivat muualla. Hänen mieleensä muistuivat

kaikki ne kauniit muistot, jotka liittyivät tupaan. Täällä kätilö oli
laskenut lapsen hänen syliinsä. Tuossa kynnyksellä hän oli seisonut,
kun aurinko kurkisti esiin pilvien lomasta antaakseen tytölle nimen.
Tupa oli kasvanut kiinni häneen, Klara Gullaan ja Katrinaan. He eivät
voineet menettää sitä.

Hän huomasi, miten Klara Gulla puristi nyrkkiin toisen kätensä.

Kyllä hän varmaan nyt aivan heti tulisi heidän avuksensa.

Lars Gunnarsson ja puotilainen nousivat penkiltä ja lähestyivät

ovea. He heittivät hyvästit poistuessansa. Mutta ei kukaan tupaan
jääneistä vastannut heidän tervehdykseensä.

Niin pian kuin he olivat menneet, heitteli nuori tyttö kopeasti

päätään ja nousi ylös.

»Kunpa antaisitte minun lähteä maailmalle!» sanoi hän.

Katrina lakkasi mutisemasta ja vääntelemästä käsiään. Nuo sanat

olivat herättäneet hiukan toivoa hänessä.

»Eiköhän sitä voisi ansaita kaksisataa riksiä lokakuun

ensimäiseksi päiväksi», sanoi Klara Gulla. »Jos vain saan lähteä
Tukholmaan ja hankkia itselleni palveluspaikan, niin lupaan teille,
että saatte pitää tupanne.»

Kun Skrolyckan Janne kuuli nämät sanat, kalpeni hän ja pää

painui taaksepäin, ikäänkuin hän olisi mennyt tainnoksiin.
 Miten kaunista se oli pikku tytön puolelta. Tätä hän koko ajan oli
odottanutkin. Mutta miten, miten hän saattaisi elää, jos tyttö lähtisi
pois hänen luotaan?
STORSNIPA.

Skrolyckan Janne asteli samaa metsäpolkua pitkin, jolla hän pari

tuntia sitten oli kulkenut naisväkensä kanssa iloisin ja onnellisin
mielin palatessaan kotiin kirkosta.

Katrina ja hän olivat kauan neuvotelleet ja tulleet siihen

päätökseen, että ennenkuin he lähettäisivät tytön pois kotoa tai
ryhtyisivät johonkin muuhun toimenpiteeseen, lähtisi Janne Storvikiin
kysymään valtiopäivämies Karl Karlssonilta, oliko Lars
Gunnarssonilla oikeutta riistää heiltä heidän tupansa.

Ei kukaan koko Svartsjön pitäjässä tuntenut niin hyvin lakia ja

säädöksiä kuin Storvikin valtiopäivämies. Ken vain ymmärsi pyytää
hänen apuaan jakoasioissa ja kaupanteoissa, pesäkirjoituksissa ja
huutokaupoissa sekä testamenttien laatimisessa, se saattoi olla
varma siitä, että kaikki kävi laillisesti ja oikeudenmukaisesti, ja ettei
jälkeenpäin ollut mitään mahdollisuutta rettelöihin eikä
oikeudenkäynteihin.

Mutta Karl Karlsson oli ankara ja arvostaan kiinnipitävä mies, joka

näytti kovin tylyltä ja puhui kovalla äänellä, eikä Jannesta ollut
lainkaan mieluista mennä hänen puheillensa. »Kaikkein
ensimäiseksi, kun astun sisään, pitää hän minulle nuhdesaarnan sen
johdosta, ettei minulla ole minkäänlaisia papereita», tuumi hän.
»Useita hän heti alussa on niin pahasti peloittanut, etteivät he ole
lainkaan uskaltaneet tuoda esiin varsinaista asiataan.»

Janne oli lähtenyt kotoa niin kovalla kiiruulla, ettei hän ensinkään
ollut ennättänyt ajatella, miten peloittavan miehen puheille hän aikoi
mennä. Mutta astuessaan Askedalin hakamaiden poikki korpimetsää
kohti, sai entinen pelko hänessä vallan. Miten tyhmää, ettei hän ollut
ottanut Klara Gullaa mukanaan.

Hän ei ollut nähnyt koko tyttöä kotoa lähtiessään. Ehkäpä hän oli
mennyt metsään johonkin yksinäiseen paikkaan itkemään suruaan.
Hän ei koskaan tahtonut näyttäytyä kellekään ollessaan alakuloisella
mielellä.

Juuri kun Janne aikoi poiketa metsään, kuuli hän jonkun

rallattelevan ja laulavan vuorella hänen oikealla puolellaan.

Hän pysähtyi ja kuunteli. Nainen siellä lauloi. Mutta ei suinkaan se

voinut olla se ääni, jota se hänen mielestään muistutti?

Joka tapauksessa hän tahtoi ottaa asiasta selkoa, ennenkun astui

edemmäksi. Laulu kuului aivan selvästi, mutta laulaja oli metsän
peitossa. Janne poikkesi tieltä ja tunkeutui pensaikkojen läpi
tullakseen häntä vastaan.

Mutta hän ei ollutkaan niin lähellä kuin Janne oli luullut. Ei hän
seisonut myöskään paikoillaan, vaan siirtyi yhä kauemmaksi pois,
mitä pitemmälle Janne kulki. Yhä kauemmaksi ja korkeammalle,
joskus Janne oli kuulevinaan laulun äänen aivan yläpuoleltaan.
 Varmaankin laulaja pyrki ylös Storsnipan laelle.

Janne arvasi, että hän astui tietä myöten, joka nousi vaaran
rinnettä pitkin melkein äkkijyrkkänä ylös. Tien reunoilla kasvoi niin
tiheää koivumetsää, että sen takaa oli tietenkin aivan mahdotonta
häntä nähdä. Mutta vaikka tie olikin kovin jyrkkä, niin reippaasti hän
sittenkin astui ylöspäin. Jannen mielestä hän kohosi kuin lentävä
lintu yhä ylemmäksi kaiken aikaa laulaen.

Janne sen sijaan kulki viistoompaan vuoren rinnettä ylös. Mutta

innossaan hän oli eksynyt tieltä ja puut hidastuttivat hänen kulkuaan,
niin että hän tietenkin jäi kauaksi jälkeen. Sitä paitsi hän tunsi
raskaan painon rinnallaan ja hengitti yhä vaivalloisemmin
kuunnellessaan tuota laulua.

Lopulta hän astui niin hitaasti, että hän töin tuskin liikkui
paikaltaan.

Mutta ei ole niinkään helppoa tuntea ääniä, ja metsässä on se

vieläkin vaikeampaa kuin muualla, sillä siellä on niin paljon
suhisevaa ja rasahtelevaa, joka ikäänkuin laulaa mukana. Hänen
täytyi välttämättä päästä niin pitkälle, että hän saattoi nähdä tuon
nuoren ihmisen, joka oli niin iloinen, että miltei lensi jyrkkää rinnettä
ylös, muuten ei hän ikinä voisi vapautua epäilyksistään.

Tiesihän hän pääsevänsä selvyyteen, niin pian kuin hän ennättäisi

ylös vaaralle, sillä se oli aivan paljas ja tyhjä, siellä ei kukaan voinut
hänen katseiltaan piiloutua.

Olihan aikoinaan Storsnipan laellakin kasvanut metsää, mutta

parikymmentä vuotta sitten oli metsäpalo riehunut siellä ja sen
jälkeen oli leveä vuorenharju paljaana. Kanervaa ja
variksenmarjanvartta ja jäkälää oli hiljalleen levinnyt paasien yli,
mutta ei ainoatakaan varjostavaa puuta ollut kasvanut sijalle.

Korea näköala avautui sieltä ylhäältä, sen jälkeen kuin metsä oli
kadonnut. Sieltä näkyi Lövenin pitkä järvi koko pituudessansa, järveä
ympäröivä vihreä laakso, kaikki laaksoa suojaavat sinertävät vaarat.
Kun Askedalin nuoriso nousi ahtaasta laaksostansa Snipavaaralle,
tuli heidän mieleensä se vuori, jolle kiusaaja johdatti Herramme
Jeesuksen näyttääkseen hänelle kaikki maailman valtakunnat ja
niiden loiston.

Kun Janne vihdoin oli selviytynyt metsästä ja saapui vuoren laelle,

näki hän heti laulajan. Kaikkein korkeimmalle nystyrälle, josta
näköala oli avarin, oli pystytetty kivistä rajapyykki, ja korkeimmalla
kivellä Klara Fina Gulleborg seisoi punaisessa leningissään. Hän
kohosi selvästi vaaleaa iltataivasta vasten, ja jos ihmiset alhaalla
laaksoissa ja metsissä hänen jalkojensa juuressa olisivat
kohottaneet katseensa Storsnipaa kohti, niin olisivat he varmaan
voineet nähdä hänet korkealta paikaltaan.

Tyttö silmäsi kauas avaruuteen peninkulmien laajuisten maitten yli.

Hän näki valkeita kirkkoja järvien jyrkillä rantatörmillä, hän näki
tehtaita ja herraskartanolta puistojen ja puutarhojen siimeksessä,
talonpoikaistaloja pitkissä riveissä metsien reunassa, peltomaita,
pitkiä, kiemurtelevia teitä, loppumattomia metsiä.

Aluksi hän lauloi, mutta pian hän vaikeni ja katseli vain

lakkaamatta avaraa, aukeaa maailmaa edessään.

Lopulta hän levitti käsivartensa. Näytti siltä, kuin hän olisi tahtonut
syleillä kaikkea, koko suurta, mahtavaa rikkautta, josta hän aina
tähän saakka oli ollut erossa.
 *****

Vasta myöhään yöllä Janne palasi kotiin, eikä hän tullessaan

kyennyt tekemään mistään selkoa. Hän väitti käyneensä
valtiopäivämiehen luona ja puhuneensa hänen kanssaan, mutta
minkä neuvon tämä oli antanut, sitä hän ei enää muistanut.

»Ei maksa vaivaa tehdä mitään», sanoi hän yhä uudestaan. Muuta
ei
Katrina saanut hänestä lähtemään.

Janne kulki kumarassa ja näytti kuoleman sairaalta. Takki oli

sammalten ja mullan tahrassa. Katrina kysyi oliko hän kaatunut ja
loukannut itseään.

Ei, sitä hän ei ollut tehnyt, hän oli vain levännyt hetken aikaa
maassa.

Sitten hän oli varmaan sairas?

Ei, ei sitäkään. Jokin vain oli pysähtynyt.

Mutta mikä oli pysähtynyt sinä hetkenä, jolloin hän käsitti, ettei
pikku tyttö ollut tarjoutunut pelastamaan tupaa rakkaudesta heihin,
vaan siksi, että hän ikävöi ulos maailmalle, sitä hän ei tahtonut
sanoa.
LÄHTÖILTA.

Iltaa ennen kuin Skrolyckan Klara Gullan oli määrä lähteä

Tukholmaan, oli Jannella, hänen isällänsä, niin paljon puuhaa, ettei
hän mitenkään tahtonut saada kaikkia töitään tehdyksi. Palattuaan
päivätyöstään hänen täytyi heti lähteä metsään polttopuita
hakemaan. Sitten hän rupesi laittamaan uutta sälettä veräjään, joka
puoli vuotta oli ollut rempallaan, ja kun se oli tehty, alkoi hän korjata
ja järjestää kalakojeitaan.

Koko ajan hän ajatteli vain sitä omituista seikkaa, ettei hän
tuntenut oikeaa surua. Nyt hänen laitansa oli aivan sama kuin
kahdeksantoista vuotta sitten. Hän ei voinut iloita eikä surra. Aivan
kuin kello saadessaan kovan sysäyksen, oli sydän pysähtynyt sinä
hetkenä, jolloin hän näki Klara Gullan ojentavan käsivarsiaan
Snipavaaralla ja syleilevän koko maailmaa.

Kaikki oli nyt aivan kuin kerran ennenkin. Sillä kertaa ihmiset
tahtoivat, että hän iloitsisi pikku tytön tulosta. Mutta hän ei ollut
välittänyt siitä hituistakaan. Ja nyt he kaikki odottivat, että hän olisi
epätoivoissaan ja suruissaan. Mutta ei hän sitäkään ollut.
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