Regional competitions or matches, are held between more localised teams which compete to win matches in order to gain points and status within their league. If a team win a majority of their games within their own league and against localised opponents, of inter-county matches, they move on to play against the victors from other leagues in various other counties. Ultimately, the teams that are the best in each area of a country will move into a position where they have to play against each other in order to proceed to the next level.
After all of the county matches have been played the victorious teams may be promoted into a larger more advanced league that caters for the best regional teams. Theses teams will then play against one another in a national league that offers bigger more prestigious rewards. The teams/clubs at this level are the cream of all the inter-county teams and all compete for national recognition. Doping control and testing. Over the years there have been numerous incidents where athletes have been tested for drugs and were found to have been abusing illegal, performance enhancing narcotics.
It is now the norm for most athletes, including footballers, to be tested for doping and drugs that may affect their performance. There are many different ways in which drug testing can be performed, namely, urine samples, hair samples, perspiration and residues found on the athlete or on items of their possession. The urine sample involves the footballer giving a urine sample just before a game, which is tested for the existence of drugs or any evidence of doping.
If the results come back positive then the footballer will be suspended and will not be allowed to play in the match or matches following the test until a governing body tells them they are allowed to play. Hair testing involves the footballer/athlete giving a sample of their hair, which, like the urine is tested for evidence of drugs, again, if the test shows that that person has drugs in their system, then appropriate action will be taken. The perspiration test involves the sweat of the athlete being analysed for the presence of any performance enhancing drugs.
This is an effective way of doping control and testing, as there are not many ways in which you can avoid this sort of test, or any of the others for that matter. Residue testing involves the footballer giving an item of theirs to the drug analyst that may have residue from the footballers body on it, this could include a drinking flask, mug etc. that may have the persons saliva on it, or a towel that may have hair on it that could be analysed, i. e. anything that may have any residue on it that could be analysed in order to prove the existence of drugs or doping.
Here is an example of how the FA intends to deal with the increase in drug abuse in football; The FA is conducting random drug testing of gifted footballers as young as nine years old. These unannounced spot-checks on 9-16 year olds is being carried out at 147 centres of excellence across England and Wales. However, what I find amazing is that each of these drug tests costs the FA i?? 230, but I do think that it is necessary as the drug problems with youth football is escalating. Assessment of development and placement on the performance pyramid.
There are five levels to the performance pyramid, these are: 1. Grass roots. Here, everyone is encouraged to take part in the sport and anyone can play it. At this level young children are the focal point as trying to get children involved and interested in a sport from a young age is essential if they are to develop into a potential professional player. This is the stage that many governing bodies and organisations are now becoming interested in in-order to develop players of the future. 2. The second stage is recreation.
At this stage, players have developed an interest in the sport and are playing quite frequently. This is also the stage where the player will have developed their interest enough to join a club or team. 3. The third stage is sport. This stage involves the person playing at higher levels and their standards have risen to such a point that means that they have become competitive and driven to win. They will also be playing in some sort of league with aspirations of success. 4. If a football player reaches this level they have entered a stage of excellence.
The player probably would have been selected for their talent as a player and will be provided with support so that they can train without much hassle etc. They would be sent to train at a centre of excellence where they will receive professional help from qualified coaches in order to play to the best of their ability. Furthermore, the player will probably be playing at county level with the best players in the area who were also selected for their talent. 5. The final level or stage is elitism. At this stage the player is playing at the highest level and has a desire for winning.
Moreover, the chances are that the player is at a professional level and is getting paid to play for a particular team. This is the highest of levels that you can reach in any particular sport. Considering all of the stages I would place myself at stage three, sport. I play football at a competitive level and at quite a high standard. I would say that my interest for the sport has developed into one that I can play football at a level where I feel that winning is important but losing is an inevitable factor.
With this in mind I can say that there is little chance of moving to the excellence stage and therefore the elitist stage, as I do have other interests and I do not see football as the only sport that I can play. I believe that I am at this level because I have been playing football since I was seven, and I have developed a love for the sport and can appreciate the effort that is put into playing for such a long period of time. Discussion of the effects on my progress.
There are many ways in which I have been helped through my time playing football, there are also many ways in which without extra help, I would not have been able to progress. Without a football organisation such as the FA, there would be little order or organisation in the development of football, such as football clubs at grass root levels. I can also say that the funding that these organisations distribute to various clubs is essential for their survival and maintenance of most equipment and grounds etc.