PE Coursework Rodrigo MacDonagh

Strength – Component of Fitness

The component of fitness I have selected as my strength is speed. Speed is the rate at which
someone is able to move or cover a distance in a certain amount of time. Speed requires
fast powerful bursts of energy by strong contractions in the leg muscles as it is a fast gross
movement, it is anaerobic movement so it can’t be carried out over long periods of time. It
is a movement along a sagittal plane and transverse axis. I perform this aspect of my game
by using correct technique of high knees to create large powerful bursts and also pumping
my arms to gain momentum This specific component of fitness is important in football (the
sport I have chosen) in many different circumstances as it allows you to beat opponents to
the ball and gain possession when there is a loose ball, moreover you can beat players easily
on and off the ball to gain space on the pitch. Overall due to footballs ability to have a fast-
paced tempo it is a key and necessary component of fitness for a footballer. However, in my
specific position (LW) it is extremely important as a key part of my role is to get in behind
and carry the ball with speed past opponents or run into large amounts of space on the
counterattack to create chances. Speed being my strength gives me an easier time finding
space on the pitch and allow me to beat defenders with and without the ball and then carry
the ball either into the box or create a chance for my striker. Additionally, because of the
offside rule my speed gives me the advantage to burst behind the full back and be behind
the defence without risking getting tackled, instead of having to dribble past them.
Moreover, my speed gives me and advantage on tracking back as I can catch up to the
attacker and retain possession for me team. For example, in my last cup game for my
football team I was able to outpace my opposing defender I was matched against and get
into space behind the defensive line giving my team a scoring opportunity with an
advantage of a 3v2 by using my explosiveness to create space between me and the
defender allowing me to receive the ball. Additionally, in the same game the opposing
keeper made a mistake from a goal kick and passed it into an area of the pitch, which was
unoccupied by any players, and my speed allowed me to get there quicker than the other
teams player and win possession of the ball in the attacking third giving my team another
chance at scoring.
Weakness – Component of Fitness
My chosen component of fitness which I have selected as my weakness is cardiovascular
endurance. Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen
to the working muscles. This component of fitness is almost constantly needed in a game of
football as you are running around mostly in the aerobic zone of exercise 60% - 80% of your
maximum heart rate. Therefore, need plenty of oxygen to be supplied to your muscles to
carry out their job to allow you to play to the best of your ability throughout the entire
duration of the match. A full football match has two 45-minute-long halves which only give
players a 15-minute break in between, so you must be able to run constantly for 45min with
some short bursts of sprints in between. Resulting in us needing great stamina to last the
full game and still play at high intensity levels. In my specific position cardiovascular
endurance is extremely important as the winger must constantly make fast and effective
runs behind the back line to create chances and space for the midfielders to attack into.
Furthermore, cardiovascular endurance is needed during the defensive phases of the game
for a winger as they must track back and get behind the ball to help their team win the ball
back and stop the opposition from scoring. Lack of cardiovascular endurance hinders me in
the way that towards the ending of the match my muscles feel fatigued resulting in my runs
being lazy and slow. Moreover, it impedes my ability to keep moving into space and getting
into new positions causing me to get caught out in the wrong position when we lose the
ball, also when we do not have the ball and the other team is counter attacking my lack of
cardiovascular endurance makes it extremely difficult to track back or chase down my
opponent fast enough. For example, in my first game of the season my cardiovascular
endurance has gone down a fair amount due to me not training the off season so in the
second half I had already become to feel extremely worn out, so I was unable to make quick
precise runs behind the back line resulting in a lack of chances being created by me in that
part of the game. Another time cardiovascular endurance became a problem in one of my
games was last week when I had a cup match, and it was the final minutes, and the
opposition team had a counterattack from one of our corners and I couldn’t run back to the
attacker in time allowing them to score. Which could’ve been prevented if my
cardiovascular endurance was greater allowing me to have recovered quicker in the game
and carry on at high intensity for longer.
Strength - Skill
My strength I have selected for my sport is passing, there is many different types of passes
you can carry out such as a regular short pass, a through ball used to play into someone who
is already running to allow them to keep their momentum and run onto the ball, a lofted
pass commonly used when switching the play to avoid being intercepted, a cross which is
generally to put the ball in the box to create heading opportunity, and many others. A cross
which I will be using as an example is performed by being angled towards the by-line
allowing you to plant your non dominant foot to the left or right of the ball and then striking
the ball almost along the side of the ball facing the other side of the goal but underneath
the ball giving it the uplift in the air but then the technique of hitting it along the side gives it
spin, curling it into the box. Passing is an essential skill in football as every play need some
build up which uses passing to shift the defence across the pitch to find gaps and spaces. In
my position you need this skill as it is essential to build up play and is the key attribute to
creating chances as an attacker. It is a skill that is needed on the wing to be able to switch
the play to the other wing build up play in the midfield or most commonly to loft a cross into
the box for a scoring opportunity. I used this skill many times in my most recent game, for
example when I was running with the ball played a controlled light pass to my central
midfielder and then got the ball back after making a run and then precisely crossed the ball
in at head height for my striker to have an open header at the goal which resulted in a goal.
My ability to lift the ball over the defenders and over the goalkeeper takes them out of the
game giving my striker a clear open goal. Another example is when I had the ball on the
wing and was being pressed by two defenders, so I switched the play in the air to the other
side of the field above the other players to allow us to retain possession and play away from
pressure. The technique of lofting the ball over the defenders gives them no chance of
intercepting of tackling the ball off me enabling me to keep possession for my team in tight
situations.
Weakness – Skill
The skill I have chosen as my weakness is heading in football. There are different ways of
heading the ball u can do soft light headers normally used for passing and then there is
powerful headers commonly used when shooting so u generate as much power to be
unsavable for the keeper, there is also just a light flick on usually to flick is behind you to a
teammate or into space for someone. A header used to try and score a goal is performed by
crouching your knees slightly as the ball is approaching you and then explosively jumping
using your quadriceps and calves to launch yourself as high as possible whilst timing this to
reach the apex of your jump when the ball reaches you. As you are in the air you want to
almost pull your head backwards to allow you to catapult your head forward and generate
more power on the ball. This skill is commonly used when trying to gain possession of a
loose ball in the air or from a goalkeeper’s kick. It can also commonly used from corners
trying to get a headed shot on target. However, in my position I use heading most of the
time from goal kicks where the keeper kicks it up to me and I have to try and win the ball
against the defender in the air or another common opportunity is when the opposite winger
crosses the ball in and I head the ball from the back post either onto goal or as a soft pass to
the other attacker in the box. My weakness in heading hinders my football ability as when
the ball is kicked up to me on the wing from the keeper it is difficult to win the header or
correctly place my header to my teammates resulting in us losing possession, moreover
another scenario is when the ball is crossed towards the back post and I can rarely win the
header or get a good enough shot on target to score as they are commonly weak or
misplaced. For example, in my preseason games the ball was crossed by a winger, and I had
made the run into the box however when I won the header my lack of technique and power
made me unable to get a final product and score from the attacking opportunity.
Additionally, in the same game the ball was switched from the right back to me, and I
couldn’t beat my man in the air and win the header, so we lost possession and gave them a
scoring opportunity. The reasoning for my weakness for my skill is a heightened level of
arousal when the ball is coming towards me which brings my performance level of arousal
out of the optimal zone as I lose focus of the ball and misjudge the trajectory of the ball.
SECTION B
Cardiovascular Endurance Training
For my component of fitness weakness, I designed a training routine to help improve my
cardiovascular endurance. The training method it uses is fartlek training the reason being
the intense burst of sprints to jogs to walks and the long duration replicate the football
matches as in football the pace of the game is constantly changing and allows me to train
my cardiovascular endurance at different levels of intensity as I would need to in the game.
Allowing me to be gain stamina for how I would be working during the game. Furthermore,
the repeated change of acceleration and sprints will build speed up and a greater
acceleration which is essential for a winger especially, at the end of games when you are
tired it will help massively. It will improve the cardiovascular system by heart hypertrophy
over the intense workouts, the changes between aerobic workout to anaerobic makes the
heart work hard to constantly supply the muscles with oxygen without a break, resulting in
more muscle to build in the hear allowing it to pump faster and harder, increasing the
overall cardiac output. It will also allow the performer to improve breathing technique and
conservation of breath whilst running to help during matches as it is a similar pacing to a
game like situation.
Example Session
It requires very little equipment and can be performed without any cost. All that is needed
is a field preferably with some markings for a pitch however if there isn’t then place some
cones or coats as markers in a rectangle shape around 80m by 40m.

A stopwatch is also required to record your times

for the long-term progress. However before starting
the actual workout prepare correctly with taping
anywhere needed to support the joints and help
with past injuries, Leave a 1L bottle of water at the
end for the breaks in between sets. Begin with 2 slow laps of the pitch and lunges and other
stretches are to be performed during this time to warm up the muscles that will be used in
the runs such as quads, calves and hamstring and loosen them up to reduce the risk of injury
and to prep the muscles with an increased oxygen flow for the long runs ahead. To begin
the workout, you should start with a sprint along the long side of the pitch and once you
have reached the corner you slow down into light jog and then again slow down to just a
walk at the second corner into a walk. Repeat the action of going around the circuit with the
quick changes of pace for a total of 5min then have a 3min break to catch your breath and
allow your muscles to relax a bit. Repeat this circuit 3 times for a total of 15min running. At
the end keep running at a slow jog for your body too cool down and allow your heart to
repay the oxygen debt to your muscles, this will reduce DOMS and allow your heart rate and
breathing rate gradually decrease. After a slow jog of the pitch begin to stretch which will
improve flexibility in the long run but remove lactic acid to reduce soreness of the muscles.
Make sure that after the workout you take an ice bath this will help with DOMS again so
that you can train more regularly allowing a greater improvement to be made. This training
program is to be carried out 5 times a week with 2 rest days to allow your muscles to
recover and rebuild every now and again to prevent over training. To track your
improvements and keep motivation high set goals to drive you to your next goals
consequently improving you along the way. Once you begin to improve and you don’t find it
as hard to complete 3 sets of 5min you can increase by another set of 5min or gradually
increase each set by another minute so you do 3sets of 6min. Additionally you could also
increase the distances of the sprints and decrease the distance of the walk or jogs to make it
more intense and not leave as much time for rest in between. To reduce the amount of
tedium that could be brought upon from the repetitive method you could listen to music
whilst running or bring a friend to come with you and have a competition trying to run
further in the 5min than each other, this will make the training more enjoyable and result in
you trying harder and performing better.

Heading Skill Improvement

For my skill weakness I selected heading, there are many factors to do with the reasoning
for my weakness such as lack of co-ordination and power while performing the skill, which
doesn’t allow me to generate speed and accuracy on the ball. Composure is the main factor
though, as when the ball is lifted into the area for a header, I get nervous and become
scared of attacking the ball properly, furthermore when the ball is close to me in the air, I
lose all composure so my technique is lost, and I cannot hit the ball with speed or power.
When I go up for the header, I become too aroused and do not focus on the things I should
be focusing on such as the flight of the ball ect this is shown by the inverted U theory which
shows the higher the arousal the level off the optimal the worse the performance. My lack
of composure when the ball is lobbed in the air to me results in me not focusing on key
things such as the flight of the ball and where the goalkeeper is positioned so my shot is
weak and poorly placed. Additionally, is hinders me in my games as my technique becomes
sloppy and this leads to weak and bad headers. My lack of focus takes my mind of the ball
and consequently my co-ordination suffers, and I can sometimes miss the ball or not hit the
ball cleanly in the middle. However, to combat this problem I can begin to apply a co-
ordination drill to my schedule which would allow for better connection with the ball, I can
do this by simply throwing the ball up to myself and concentrate on a clean connection.
Furthermore, I can practice my technique before games and at training to improve my
confidence and possibly allow me to keep my head better in those situations. However, to
decrease my arousal levels back to the optimal levels for performance I will play relaxing
music and use positive thinking to act out the actions and game situations. Moreover,
before the game starts, I will go through the movements of heading to get familiar with
them on the day and prepare my technique in the game. By using this training program, I
can bring my arousal levels down and aim them towards the optimal levels for heading
allowing me to perform to the best of my abilities. Another thing is to use SMART goals to
gradually help with my performances and experience when it comes to header to become
more familiar with these chances to gradually improve my composure with the ball in the air
in games. Starting with small manageable goals let me gradually get into heading more and
eventually feel no pressure when going up for a header. Start with just heading the ball
down to a teammate 2 times in a game or heading the ball on target 1 time to allow the feel
of heading become more natural and improve composure in situations by getting the
opportunities more frequently. Get someone to agree with your targets to make sure you
are not going too easy or too hard for your level and then gradually work your way up by
heading the ball more often. Overtime this should allow you to gain your composure in
heading situations after being put in the opportunities more and more giving you more
chances.