Stamina or Endurance- This is the body’s ability to keep going for long periods without tiring. There are two parts that make up Endurance: – 1. Cardiovascular Endurance – This is the ability for the heart to deliver oxygen to the muscles over a long period(s) of exercise. As the lungs also pay a part in this it can also be called: ‘Cardiorespiartory Endurance’ 2. Muscular Endurance- The ability of the muscles to maintain and repeat contractions.
This kind of stamina is important in rugby, as the muscles contract a lot in the same way, as you play for long periods of time with very short recovery time i. e. at breakdowns of the game. If this didn’t occur, you would not be able to last the whole match, as you would quickly tire, from the same and repeating contractions made by the muscles, also stamina is required as the muscles need to work at a high performance rate for long periods of time. You must also have the stamina to release short quick actions.
Also you wouldn’t be able to maintain a high skill level throughout the game. Which in the game of Rugby when skill level drops it may lead to injuries. Strength- this is the force exerted by your muscles when they contract. This force gives the forward and backward movement wanted by the muscles when they contract. This is vital to a game of Rugby, as Rugby is a full contact sport lower and upper body strength is vital to oppose those who may be bigger and stronger. E. g. In a scrum strength is vital to push the opposition of the ball, and also in rucks and tackles.
Strength in the legs can help with driving and tackling to over power the opposition, also strength helps when kicking , whether it be goal kicking or clearance, strength may help in the distance gained. Flexibility/ Suppleness- this is the movement range found at a joint in the body. This is an important factor within the game of rugby because the flexibility is used to perform various movements and actions. E. g. the flexibility is important in rugby as the body can often occur in not normal positions so the flexibility of the body has to be great.
I. e. when tackled/tackling sometimes your body will have to adjust to perform the tackle but not in the standard way. The body needs to be flexible to perform a huge range of actions within the game. Speed – This is the time taken to fulfil a certain movement / action to move the body part into place or body over a distance. It is important in Rugby, as speed is vital in rugby. Speed in the sense of quickness over distances may help you as a player to run quickly to score or to make a try saving tackle.
Also speed is essential as ‘quick hands’ may make space or quick rucking and ball release may give your team an advantage over the opposition by catching them unaware. Specific fitness: – As with general fitness it helps with your game but specific fitness really helps the player become better. It involves a number of qualities, which are needed to play the sport at a higher level of skill. The following areas of specific fitness help the game of hockey for the player.