Elite Sports Performance - Report Example

Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………. 2 Performance Profiling…………………………………………………………………. 2 The Athlete…………………………………………………………………………….. 3 The Profiling Process………………………………………………………………….. 4 Testing………………………….………………………………………………………. 4 Speed………………………………………….………………………………………… 5 Result Intervention……………………………………………………………………... 5 Planned Program……………………………………………………………………….. 6 The Preparation Period………………………………………………………………… 7 Transition Phase………………………………………………………………………… 7 Competition Phase……………………………………………………………………… 8 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………. 8 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………... 11 Appendix……………………………………………………………………………….. 12 Elite Sports Performance Introduction This assessment seeks to profile a real performer. The profile will therefore be based on an elite performance athlete. In order to accomplish the task, a good profiling method will be employed so that the whole exercise can be authentic. The profile will be done on the basis of key-performance indicators including technical, tactical, psychological and physiological indicators (Butler & Hardy 1992, p. 260). These key performance indicators will be selected by an elite football player. An intervention program will then be proposed to address the developmental areas noted in the course of profiling. The interventions will be subjected to a hypothetical process lasting for 12 weeks consecutively and a strategic and content justification will be required. The performance profile is based on the performance of a Manchester United central defender whose seems to be underperforming in his present position. The model to be used for profiling is Butler and Hardy’s 1992 discrepancies model. Performance Profiling Performance profiling is a method that coaches and athletes use in order discover and comprehend the areas that need maintenance and more improvement (Crespo & Newman 2008, p. 6). Profiling makes it possible for people to examine skills and those qualities that they think are important for the performance of an athlete. It enables the coach to focus on specific areas of interest and need in the training program. According to Ebben (2002, p. 44) performance profiling gets the athlete involved because it gives them the opportunity to actively take part in the process of making decisions. Its main significance is to help discover the athlete’s weaknesses and strengths. The process effectively raises the awareness of the athlete about his or her present condition and how they can put into practice intervention programs towards improving their performance. It also gives the coach and the rest of the staff to become a ware of the self perception of the individual about their present rating and their views on ongoing performance. The athlete fills the profile but the coach also uses it to rate him so that he can get to understand the views of the coach about his performance. In the implementation of the developed program, the athlete is encouraged to work closely with the coach because this is the best way of making the athlete more committed to practices suggested by the coach (Doyle & Parfitt (1996, p. 168). The athlete The athlete whose performance is being profiled is a Manchester United central defender. He has been playing in this position for a while but it has become evident that his performance seems to be weaker than what is expected of him. In fact, his club coach was thinking of moving him to a different position in which he is believed to be stronger, but this has to be done with sufficient evidence that he can no longer do well in his current position. There are so many games planned for the next season and these should find the footballer in good shape. In order to get ready for the coming season which is almost at hand, there are various areas of improvement that the performer has to improve on if he is to keep his position in the club (Ebben 2002, p. 43). Prior to the commencement of the performance profiling process, the performance received information in advance that this process was being carried out as part of a university assignment on elite performance profiling. According to Weston, Greenlees & Thelwell (2011, p. 175) the player must have prior information about the investigation. Therefore, it was made clear to the performer that it was necessary for him to cooperate with the investigator by giving honest responses because he also stands to gain form the assessment. An assurance had also to be given to him about the confidentiality of the results of the investigation. It was therefore confirmed to him that the details of the investigation which would be carrying important information about him, will only be seen by university lecturers and the students involved in doing the investigation. The lead investigator also confirmed to him that he was free to pull out from the exercise anytime he felt so and he would be permitted to view the outcome of the investigation so far (Weston et al, 2011, p. 180). The Profiling Process The profiling exercise was done using the Discrepancies Model created by Butler and Hardy in 1992 (Appendix 2). This is a method that helps the performer to participate in making decisions on what should be done in order to better his performance. It gives the performer the opportunity to visualize his or her performance and from this, he can make the necessary but rightful decisions. Sport coaching is one of the disciplines that make use of performance profiling because it is an important way of helping athlete’s to improve in various skills (Gleeson, Parfitt, Doyle & Rees 2005, p. 69). The profiling process will help the performer to identify the most suitable program for training, it will maximize the motivation of the participant and how he will stick to the program and it will help in monitoring the changes taking place over a certain time period. The establishment of a workable training program must begin with profiling. Whenever this happens, the resultant training program will be suitable for improving the psychosocial, technical, tactical and psychological skills (Ebben 2002, p. 44). This profiling process in highly authentic because through it many developmental changes have been observed in the performance of athletes subjected to such a process. With performance profiling, it is easy to set goals, carry out a structuring program and even monitor improvements and lapses in performance. Many authors agree that performance profiling is an important process that has been found to bear fruits in areas such as swimming, football, weightlifting, and field hockey among many others. Testing It is obvious that there are certain areas that are very important to a central defender. These areas include the psychological, physiological and technical areas (Appendix 1). It is a very difficult task for a central defender to perform well if he is weak in these areas. The table also displays some areas of strength for the elite performer. A central defender must have a number of attributes on the field that help him to tackle the strikers and keep pace with them (Edizionin 2010, p. 330). Therefore, speed has been found to be of more significance to the defender since his major weakness lies here. This attribute will therefore form the basis of this performance profile. Speed Speed is very critical in any position in the game of football. A player can make a big improvement in his performance if he improves in speed. Speed is necessary for every move because it is one of the best ways of creating competitive advantage against the opposing player. An elite footballer must have this attribute. The central defender needs speed in order to make quick and timely tackles. For example, in order to close down on an attacker, the defender must make a full speed sprint towards the ball (Ebben 2002, p. 45). From Butler and Hardy’s discrepancies self evaluation, speed was found to be wanting. A group 25 people was subjected to speed tests of 30 and 10 m each. Each of the players was supposed to have the accepted sporting attire. They did the test on a very good football pitch. The central defender came out with poor results. In the 10m sprint, he was the fourth slowest while in the 30 m sprint he was the seventh slowest. Result Intervention In order to make an effective intervention that can help the player to register meaningful improvement in his performance, the coach will have to divide the player’s entire training program into different periods of training. Each of the periods created will be used to achieve certain goals and has various methods of training being used by the coach and the player (Doyle & Parfitt 1996, p. 163). The division of the program into periods will help to ensure that the unique needs of the player are given consideration. Each of the periods can be used to address specific needs that may not receive any attention if the program was implemented in its entirety. What works for one player, may not work for another player. Therefore, it is important to have different unique formulas being applied to different players based on their weaknesses and strengths. According to Crespo & Newman (2008, p. 7) the performer should be the focus of the program and therefore every possible consideration according to the player must be put into perspective. Essentially, a training program should be broken into 3 major segments (Ebben 2002, p. 45). These cycles include microcycles, mesocycles and macrocycles. The 12 week period in the training program will effectively be broken down into these three cycles. The whole training program will go through preparation, transition and the competitive periods. The training program has been organized in a manner that it puts into consideration the potential of the athlete, the calendar and performance in competitions. It is also simple and flexible that it can accommodate changes where necessary depending on the progress of the athlete (Dale & Wrisberg, 1996 p. 169). Planned program (Duration-12 Weeks) The whole macro cycle has been broken down into four training periods namely: preparation, competition and transition. In order to have weekly training sessions, the period will be divided into mesocycles. The mesocycles will in turn be divided into micro cycles. A mesocycle will be designed with different training activities in mind. The type of training, the training load and activities vary from one mesocycle to the next (Weston et al. 2011, p. 185). Mesocycles will then be divided into parts to from microcycles. Microcycles will form training periods lasting between 2 and seven days. The Preparation period The preparation period falls within the macrocycle. It will take the four weeks of December. This phase will entail both the general and specific preparation. The general preparation will take the longer time than the specific preparation. Gleeson et al (2005, p. 70) points out that the preparation face is basically the foundational period in which the participant makes general and specific physical gains. The participant will be encouraged to use this preparation phase acclimatize with the training program. When he does this, he will be able to tolerate subsequent training sessions which may come with a high level of intensity. A microcycle will take one week because it is difficult to make a plan for training which is not in line with the weekly calendar. Each microcycle will be planed depending on its position in the entire macrocycle. The microcyle length will be in correspondence with the quantity of workouts used for adapting to the program (Burtler & Hardy 1992, p. 260). In the first week, the microcycle will have four sessions of working out in the gym every week. Microcycles will slowly by slowly increase the intensity and the loads used for resistance training. Depending on the response of the participant the intensity and volume will slowly be increased. The Transition Phase The transition phase will take place in January. It will span for a whole 3 weeks in which the participant will get to relax, regenerate biologically, get psychological rest and be able to maintain a considerable amount of physical preparation. This view is supported by Weston et al. (2011, p. 187). The athlete will use this phase to prepare for the next activity which will be more demanding. The athlete will be subjected to exercises that can increase his power and speed. The routine will begin with a volume of 75% IRM then before increasing to 90%. Anything lighter than this may not bring the power and speed required. The athlete will be allowed to rest for about 2 minutes after every complex exercise and he will not do such exercises on successive days of training. Ebben (2002, p. 42) observes that reasonable time breaks between exercises help to improve performance. The fifth week is also scheduled to have an exercise for development of speed. The athlete will learn the mechanical techniques of sprinting. In week seven, the microcycle will have the exercises on over-speed training. The sledge runs will have an intensity of 10 percent of the weight of the body. The training has been set at a sprint of 20m with the sledge being towed at 100% maximum effort (Lockie, Murphy & Spinks 2003, p. 765). Competition Phase The competition phase is scheduled to take place in February lasting for 4 weeks. The athlete will be focusing on consistent competition. The training load must go down so that the athlete prepares for the coming competitions. The athlete will participate in taxing competitions not less than once in each of the four weeks. Of consideration in this phase will be to avoid fatigue but to keep a balance that ensures no lapse in physical fitness (Ebben, 2002, p. 43). Therefore, the training intensity will be dropped from 90% IRM (in the transition period) to 80% IRM. In the 12th week, the athlete will train on how to maintain his speed. The most important element in this phase will be the reaction time. An athlete can register improvements on reaction time if regular training is observed. Reaction is important because the athlete has to react to the opponent and the ball in a timely manner (Murray, Aitchison & Ross 2005, p. 930). Conclusion To conclude, the paper has presented the profiling process of the performance of a central defender in Manchester United. He has been playing in this position for a while but it has become evident that his performance seems to be weaker than what is expected of him. This calls for a training program to increase his skills, speed, and tactics. The profiling process is based on Butler and Hardy’s 1992 discrepancies model. Through it, the athlete with the help of the coach gets the opportunity to make useful decisions which may lead to improved performance. It is based on major performance indicators including the technical, tactical, psychological and physiological indicators. Through the process, both the coach and athlete get to understand the areas of weakness that need improvement. The performer in this exercise was tested on the attribute of speed. Of the attributes required of him, this was his weakest area. In order to tests him on the attribute of speed, a group of 25 people was subjected to speed tests of 30 and 10 m each. The central defender came out with poor results because in the 10m sprint, he was the fourth slowest while in the 30 m sprint he was the seventh slowest. Various training interventions were implemented whereby; the training program was broken into 3 periods called macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles. With this program, the player was taken through the preparation, transition and competition phases. In the 12 week period, week 1, 5, 7 and 12 have been highlighted in order to show the progress of the program in the entire duration. The first week was for the preparation of the athlete and for building the foundation needed for subsequent tougher exercises. In the fifth week, the player went through some technical training lessons where he gained some running techniques. In the seventh week he worked on over-speed training which helped him gain skills in sprinting by towing sledges and running uphill. The last highlighted week is the 12th which falls in the competition phase. It was basically for maintaining speed and helping the player to avoid fatigue because there were competitions a head of him. To accomplish this, his workload and training intensity and volume were reduced. After passing through this program, the performance of the player is expected to increase especially in the area of power and speed. It is also expected that the implemented training program will be suitable for improving the psychosocial, technical, tactical and psychological skills of the elite athlete. Definitely, the process has effectively raised the awareness of the athlete about his weaknesses and strengths and what he can do every other time to avoid lapses and instead register improvement. References Butler R.J & Hardy L. 1992. The Performance Profile: theory and application. Sport Psychologist 6: 253-264. Crespo M & Newman J. 2008. ‘Performance Profiling in Tennis’, Coaching and Sports Science Review, 44, 1-12. Dale A & Wrisberg A. 1996. ‘The Use of a performance Profiling Technique in a Team Setting: Getting the Athletes and Coach on the same Page,’ Sport Psychologists 10(3), 261-275. Doyle JM & Parfitt G. 1996. Performance Profiling and Predictive Validity. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 8:160-170. Ebben W.P 2002. Complex Training: A brief Review. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 1:42-46. Edizionin L.P 2010. Visual Search Behaviour in Skilled Field-hockey Goalkeepers. International Journal of Sport Psychology, Vol. 41, No. 4. 320-340. Gleeson N.P, Parfitt G., Doyle, J. & Rees D. 2005. Reproducibility and Efficacy of the Performance Profile Technique. Journal of Science Exercise Fitness, 3:66-73. Lockie R.G, Murphy A.J. & Spinks C.D. 2003. Effects of Resisted Sled Towing on Sprint Kinematics in field-sport Athletes. Journal of Strength Conditioning, 17: 760-767. Murray A., Aitchison T.C. & Ross G. 2005. The Effect of Towing a range of Relative Resistances on Sprint Performance. Journal of Sports Sciences, 23(9), 927-935. Weston J.V., Greenlees L.A., & Thelwell R.C. 2011. Athlete Perceptions of the Impacts of Performance Profiling. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Volume 9, Issue 2, Pg. 173-188. Appendix 1 Football attributes Speed Agility Balance Stamina Strength Power Social Group interaction Teamwork Fun Communication Physiological Concentration Confidence Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Composure under pressure Technical Dribbling Heading Passing Tackling Shooting Dribbling Receiving ball Lifestyle Sleep Nutrition Alcohol and drugs Hydration Interaction with friends Appendix 2 Butler and Hardy Discrepancies Model 1992(Performer) Construct (I) ISA SSA (ISA-SSA) Discrepancy (ISA-SSA) XI Stamina 10 10 8 2 20 Speed 10 10 5 5 50 Agility 10 10 8 2 20 Composure & Pressure 10 10 7 3 30 Intrinsic motivation 10 10 8 2 20 Appendix 3 Reaction Training A sprint of 30m to a specified target with a given time frame – 3 times Run for 20m x 3 Opponent with ball, participant expected to react to his movement Ball kicked in one direction. Participant expected to intercept it in shortest time possible x 5 Read More

The athlete The athlete whose performance is being profiled is a Manchester United central defender. He has been playing in this position for a while but it has become evident that his performance seems to be weaker than what is expected of him. In fact, his club coach was thinking of moving him to a different position in which he is believed to be stronger, but this has to be done with sufficient evidence that he can no longer do well in his current position. There are so many games planned for the next season and these should find the footballer in good shape.

In order to get ready for the coming season which is almost at hand, there are various areas of improvement that the performer has to improve on if he is to keep his position in the club (Ebben 2002, p. 43). Prior to the commencement of the performance profiling process, the performance received information in advance that this process was being carried out as part of a university assignment on elite performance profiling. According to Weston, Greenlees & Thelwell (2011, p. 175) the player must have prior information about the investigation.

Therefore, it was made clear to the performer that it was necessary for him to cooperate with the investigator by giving honest responses because he also stands to gain form the assessment. An assurance had also to be given to him about the confidentiality of the results of the investigation. It was therefore confirmed to him that the details of the investigation which would be carrying important information about him, will only be seen by university lecturers and the students involved in doing the investigation.

The lead investigator also confirmed to him that he was free to pull out from the exercise anytime he felt so and he would be permitted to view the outcome of the investigation so far (Weston et al, 2011, p. 180). The Profiling Process The profiling exercise was done using the Discrepancies Model created by Butler and Hardy in 1992 (Appendix 2). This is a method that helps the performer to participate in making decisions on what should be done in order to better his performance. It gives the performer the opportunity to visualize his or her performance and from this, he can make the necessary but rightful decisions.

Sport coaching is one of the disciplines that make use of performance profiling because it is an important way of helping athlete’s to improve in various skills (Gleeson, Parfitt, Doyle & Rees 2005, p. 69). The profiling process will help the performer to identify the most suitable program for training, it will maximize the motivation of the participant and how he will stick to the program and it will help in monitoring the changes taking place over a certain time period. The establishment of a workable training program must begin with profiling.

Whenever this happens, the resultant training program will be suitable for improving the psychosocial, technical, tactical and psychological skills (Ebben 2002, p. 44). This profiling process in highly authentic because through it many developmental changes have been observed in the performance of athletes subjected to such a process. With performance profiling, it is easy to set goals, carry out a structuring program and even monitor improvements and lapses in performance. Many authors agree that performance profiling is an important process that has been found to bear fruits in areas such as swimming, football, weightlifting, and field hockey among many others.

Testing It is obvious that there are certain areas that are very important to a central defender. These areas include the psychological, physiological and technical areas (Appendix 1). It is a very difficult task for a central defender to perform well if he is weak in these areas. The table also displays some areas of strength for the elite performer. A central defender must have a number of attributes on the field that help him to tackle the strikers and keep pace with them (Edizionin 2010, p. 330). Therefore, speed has been found to be of more significance to the defender since his major weakness lies here.

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