The players concentration on getting possession of the ball were overall quite good, she set out to receive the ball and she did this by making her self available and free from her opponent. She did this by being one step ahead of her opponent at all times. She displayed good agility (the power of moving quickly and easily), reaction time (The interval of time between application of a stimulus and detection of a response) and also that she had a good percentage of Type 2b Fast Glycolytic muscle fibres in her legs (these group of muscle fibres tire easily but have a high force and speed of contraction. These factors make them essential in an explosive action such as a short sprint.)
After receiving the ball she continued on smoothly to carry out her task as a forward (which is to score) she took the required amount of steps aloud which is four, she then executed her shot. When doing so she displayed that she had good balance and coordination. The player showed a wide range of motion at the hip joint when she took her shot. This portrayed to me that the performer had good range of flexibility, which had obviously been exercised to bring it to a high level, in a non trained athlete their flexibility would not have been at standard.
She had full extension of the leg, and carried out the score excellently; she took the run-up, looked up at the goal posts, then lined her toe up to where she wanted the ball to go and scored a point. The force behind the kick came from the strong core strength of the player and the leg muscles. The muscles in contracted in two different ways firstly when pulling your leg back towards the Gluteus maximus which is known as a concentric contraction (When the muscle shortens while lengthening) and then pushing it forward again to contract eccentrically (When the muscle lengthens yet still contracts).
A good level of core Stability is evident in this player as she is strong and not easily tired when carrying out a task. Overall I would say that this player performed the skill of scoring a point/goal very effectively and efficiently. In general this was a strong performance from this player she was able to perform the skills of the game constantly and well under pressure for example when running out to receive the ball and dodging her opponent she “kept her cool” and did not hesitate just because she was being closely marked by her defender, sometimes we see when someone is having to work under pressure they tend to perform skills poorly or inconsistently, make a wrong move or even choose not to perform the skill at all.
This was not the case for the performer in question. The run for the ball needs to be precise and accurate and this player showed these skills by timing her move to perfection. When she got her hands on the ball she took her solo run which is running with the ball then tapping it from her foot back into her hands, she then took her shot and the outcome was what was expected from a forward which is to score! Reasons why skill levels are high are due to practice and hard work. The type of practice used is Massed practice; this is used when the individual is experienced, older, fitter and more motivated it is used when the task is discrete, brief and quite simple.
One area I felt the performer could work on is holding on to the ball when receiving it, when receiving the ball in Gaelic football whether high or low it should be caught with two hands. Preferably it should be received at chest height but this is not always the case and we have to adapt out bodies to suit different situations. When catching the ball the performer caught it but her technique was poor, the ball should have been caught with two hands and in a ‘w’ position. With proper coaching and feedback this problem can be easily worked on.
Tactics
Tactically this player is strong, her reading of the game meant she could change her style of play to suit different situations. For example this athlete could time her moves well and “out smart” her opponent, she played low passes when playing into the wind this was so the ball would not be carried into a destination she did not want it to be, also she used low passes to her shot would be more accurate. Also when passing a short distance of space between her team mates the performer used the fist past, this left her with more time to think out her next move, and also using the fist pass means the team being more likely to keep possession of the ball. However to play this game effectively you need to have a reasonable level of fitness, and I feel from watching this player perform that she indeed does!
Fitness levels Gaelic football is a predominantly aerobic activity, a game can last up to 70 min (each half 35min each) and a player needs to perform at a constant level throughout. Aerobic fitness levels are needed to last the whole game and still have energy left afterwards, and also periods of anaerobic activity throughout the game are needed. So a high level of fitness across all areas are required.
The cardiovascular endurance of this player is at a high level, this was shown for the duration of the performance by her ability to out run other opponents on the pitch. And to last a whole 70min without tiring. As was demonstrated by the performance of the point scored this player has a lot of power in her legs to get the ball from the position she was in over the cross bar. She was also able to move quickly of the mark in response to receiving the ball from a fellow team mate. This showed her high level of reaction time, acceleration and power.
Her speed on moving off the mark was paced well as she got there in perfect timing; she also portrayed good speed work when scoring before her defender could block her. She showed suppleness when performing the task, it all ran smoothly without mistakes, she didn’t hesitate or stumble through out the action. She showed first class coordination after she had received the ball from her team mate; she showed this by making the game look easy the way she just flowed through the movements
. This player displayed a good range of balance when she took her shot, because when shooting you are left standing on one leg this requires a good range of balance to stay up right and not fall over. I feel this player had good strength in her core and legs, but her arm strength could be worked on. I found when she caught the ball her grip was weak this could be due to lack of strength in the arm muscles. This could be improved by an action plan.