Preparation of the Body

Preparation of the Body Key Concept 3 Physical, Skill Related and Mental Types of Fitness

Physical, Skill related, Mental When attempting to improve your body preparation for performance you will need to carefully plan for improvementstotake place. You must consider the different fitness related requirements of the activity whilst taking account of your ability and experience within the activity. The types of fitness you might want to improve are • Physical • Skill Related • Mental

Physical Fitness • Physical fitness is the basic requirements necessary to complete the tasks of the game. • The player has to cope with the physical demands of the match.

Physical Fitness Aspects Speed Power CRE Strength LME Flexibility

Skill Related Fitness • Skill is the ability to be in the correct place at the correct time and be able to select the correct technique to meet the performance demands.

Skill Related Aspects Agility Timing Balance Movement Anticipation Reaction Time Co-ordination

Skill Related- Definitions • Agility is the ability to quickly change position and direction • Balance is the ability to control balance when body movement is altered. Keeping the centre of gravity above your base of support. • Co-ordination is the ability to perform controlled, smooth and accurate movements • Reaction time is the ability to quickly react to a stimulus e.g. ball flight/starting gun • Timingis the ability to accurately perform skills at the right time e.g. timing the OHC to ensure the point of contact occurs with a straight arm • Movement anticipationis the ability to predict the next set of movements

Mental Fitness • Mental fitness is about the ability to control stress and mange emotions when under pressure. For example, the pressure of playing in front of a large crowd or taking a penalty at a crucial stage in the game can contribute towards a state of stress and anxiety.

Mental Aspects Managing your emotions Mental Rehearsal Level of Arousal

Mental Fitness- Definitions • Managing your emotionsis controlling your feelings in demanding situations. Personal qualities relate to the player’s ability to manage their emotions and cope with the challenges of performance. These include motivation, self-discipline, dedication and commitment to training as well as achieving desirable mental states for the performance itself e.g. through using mental rehearsal, concentration, staying calm under pressure. • Level of Arousalis a players ability tomanage anxiety and ‘state of arousal’. Some people suffer from Cognitive Anxiety- for example, standing off court ready for your next match and saying to yourself “I can’t do this” “what if I miss”. Others suffer from Somatic Anxiety – for example, butterflies in the stomach, increased breathing rate. • Mental Rehearsalis running through in your mind what you need to do to perform well prior to your actual performance. This can be achieved through gaol setting, mental imagery and self talk.

How do we use this information in the exam? You could be asked to • Describe, in detail, the fitness requirements needed to perform effectively in the chosen activity. • Describe the physical, skill related and mental fitness requirements for effective performance within your activity. • These could be 4 or 6 mark questions. • When answering these questions you must cover all types of fitness and refer to several aspects. The aspects must be linked to your chosen activity and your role within the activity. It is crucial you provide various scenarios from the game where these aspects were a strength to your performance.

Examples- Physical • CRE helped me perform effectively as a centre in netball. I had to cover the whole court for the duration of the game supporting the wing attack, goal attack and goal shooter. I was able to make myself available for a pass at all times which enabled us to continually put the opposition under pressure. This was particularly useful towards the end of the game when opponents were tiring and I was still creating space and making accurate, quick passes. My CRE was also useful in defence……….. • Strength helped me perform effectively as a centre half in football. Good upper body strength was crucial for holding off attackers when I was being tackled and also tackling. Forcing my opponents off the ball in shoulder challenges provided me with enough time and space to accurately pass to a team mate and retain possession of the ball. This was also important and corner kicks and set pieces…………… • Choose an activity and a role. Describe how speed, power, flexibility and LME enabled you to perform effectively.

Examples- Skill Related • Agility helped me perform effectively as a right back in football. Attackers would dribble towards me at speed and I would regularly have my back to goal. When they knocked the ball passed me down the line I had to be able to change direction quickly and put them under pressure. My ability to turn and run at speed enabled me to guide them towards the corner flag and prevent a cross or put in a tackle that would break up the attack and provide time for my midfield to get back and offer support. Agility also helped me when overlapping my right midfielder in attack…….. • Timing was crucial for me to perform effectively as a GK in netball. When the GS received the ball I had to be prepared to jump and rebound the ball in case they missed the shot. Timing my jump properly allowed me to take the ball at the highest point and retain position for my team. Once I had possession I had to weight and time the pass accurately to my GD so we could attack the opposition at pace. • Choose an activity and a role. Describe how balance, reaction time, co-ordination and movement anticipation enabled you to perform effectively.

Mental- Examples • Having the ability to control my level of arousal made me an effective performer in my role as a striker. In important game situations I was able to cope with the pressure and expectation placed on me when taking penalty kicks and important free kicks. I am always able to remain calm and focus on the task in hand and as a result I have a very high success rate, particularly with penalties. My team-mates know they can count on me in demanding situations. I am confident in my ability and believe I can score. • Choose an activity and a role. Describe how managing your emotions and mental rehearsal enabled you to perform effectively.

Remember! • Improving performance requires consideration of the different physical, skill and mental related aspects of fitness. Often these aspects of fitness relate to each other. • For example, imagine you are about to hit a smash in badminton at match point. • You will need Power (an aspect of physical fitness) to hit the shuttle downwards at speed, Timing (an aspect of skill related fitness) to contact the shuttle at the correct point and have the ability to control your Level of arousal (an aspect of mental fitness) to stay calm and cope with the pressure of winning the rally at match point.

Homework • Complete HW 3 for Tuesday 16th September 2008

Preparation of the Body