Football requires health and skill related components. The health related components I require are strength, balance and endurance. I will be focusing mainly on lower body strength but I will also train my upper body. Lower body strength is important in football as football involves running up and down the pitch for 45 minutes a half and your legs need to be able to carry you (muscular endurance). Footballers also need lower body strength, as they go to strike a ball, for either shooting or passing. Footballers also require endurance this is, as you need to be able to run around for long periods of time.
A distinction can be made between components, which are considered to be health related and skill related, although both affect participation in sport. Health related factors are usually physiologically based and determine the ability of an individual to meet the physical demands of the activity; the skill related factors are based upon the neuromuscular system and determine how successfully a person can perform a skill. Both are required in all activities, but the significance of each differs.
Footballers require both balance agility and balance for skill related fitness, for example a midfielder such as myself will have to have a combination of the two to dribble with the ball to lose a marker and to be able to stay on my feet. Analysis of Health Related components Speed- is the ability to put body parts into movement quickly, or the maximum rate that a person can move over an exact distance. This is important in football for my position (midfield), but more so for strikers. For example in football, a midfielder needs speed to be able to make forward runs with the ball to support the strikers or to try and create either a goal scoring opportunity for themselves or for their team mates. I do not feel that I have to work too much on this aspect of my game as I feel that this is one of my strengths.
Cardio respiratory endurance- is the ability to provide and maintain energy aerobically, in other words it is reliant upon the ability of the cardiovascular system to transport and use oxygen during continual exercise. Football is a game of two halves, both of which consist of 45 minutes. This requires running around continuously for long periods of time, in doing this you need cardio respiratory endurance. I feel that this is a side of my game that I need to improve in order to make myself a better player, as it would benefit my performance. For example, in football a central midfielder has the hardest job on the pitch, as they need to run up and down the field all the time either supporting the defence or the attack.
Muscular endurance- the ability of a muscle or a group of muscles to sustain frequent contractions against a resistance for an extensive period of time. Slow twitch muscles will make sure they will receive a rich supply of blood to allow the most efficient production of aerobic energy. This allows the muscles to contract repeatedly without fatigue due to the cause of lactic acid. This is important as well as allowing an athlete to carry on for an extended period of time; good muscular endurance decreases the chance of injury to the muscle.
Body composition- is the physiological make up of the body regarding to, amount and distribution of fat and muscle. A footballer should be between ectomorph and mesomorph this is, as they need to be strong and fast. But it isn’t too important about the body composition of a footballer as they can be of all somatotypes. Usually defenders are big and strong but not in all cases, defenders need to be strong so that they can use it as and advantage to stop attackers.
Strength Is the ability of the body to apply a force using a muscle or group of muscles, whether this is to carry out daily tasks or during exercise. The reason this is important for footballers and more importantly for my position is as I am required to stay strong on the ball when I am trying to lose my marker or to stick to my marker, during a game situation. Flexibility Flexibility is the ability to carry out a range of movement at a joint or number of joints; it can also be defined as the elasticity of the tendons and ligaments. This can be quite useful for a football during a game if I am going to stretch to make a tackle, the more flexibility I have the less chance I will have of getting injured while trying to perform this movement.
Analysis of Skill Related components
Agility- is the ability to change the direction of your body at speed whilst under control. This is important in football for strikers and midfielders, for example, if a corner is being taken the striker will need to try and lose his marker by either changing direction or dodging him by using these techniques. Another example is if a player is dribbling with the ball he/she will have to avoid being tackled by running with the ball to try and lose the marker.
Balance- Is the ability of the body to maintain support while under pressure. This can be while the body is static or dynamic. It is important in football as you need to be able to stay on your feet, when tackles are coming in during a game, otherwise you run the risk of losing possession of the ball. Co-ordination- Is the ability to use two or more parts of the body at the same time. A player in football needs to be able to combine effectively, passing, dodging, dribbling etc using co-ordination. I would say that my co-ordination is of a satisfactory level.
Reaction time- Is how fast an athlete or performer reacts to a stimulus. This isn’t too important for outfield players but can be more important for goalkeepers, for example when a shot is fired in from close range and the keeper hasn’t got enough time to think of what to do, or when going to save a penalty. Power- is the ability of the muscles to contract with speed and force in one action. This is required for me when I go to strike a ball, as you need the sufficient amount of power to get the contact needed when taking a shot.