Preparation of the Body
Homework Question 1
There are a number of fitness factors associated with Basketball, which are important for an effective performance. There are three types of fitness that should be considered: physical, skill and mental fitness.
The main physical factors of fitness that are required are Power and C.R.E.
(Pick either Power or CRE)
Power affects performance in a number of ways. It is the ability of your muscles to contract strongly and quickly and is evident in skills which involve jumping and throwing. It is required for effective performance in rebounding, as the higher you can jump, the earlier you can claim the ball. This will help your team retain possession, which in turn can stop the other team scoring in defence and in attack can lead to your team scoring more points. It is also required when taking a jump shot as again the higher you can jump the better, as it gives an advantage over a defender. Power is also required for lay ups as the closer you can get to the basket, the less distance the ball has to travel after leaving your hand to the basket. In passing power will improve your performance by delivering a faster, flatter pass, which will be less likely to be intercepted. This in turn will allow you to pass in closer to the basket increasing your chances of scoring. Having more power will increase your effectiveness in all these skill increasing your contribution to your teams overall performance in basketball.
Having good C.R.E. enables you to be effective in both attack and defence throughout the duration of a game of basketball. Poor CRE would see your performance decrease clearly over the duration of a game. Some examples of this would be, if your team are playing man-to-man defence then you require high levels C.R.E. to stick with your marker wherever they go. You would do this throughout the whole game. In attack while other players were tiring you are still able to get up in attack and make bursts to get free and score. Skill level often decreases as you get fatigued. With good CRE your skill level in shooting, dribbling, etc should also remain more consistent throughout he game. A clear indication of CRE levels is recovery from bursts of high intensity or anaerobic exercise. In Basketball bursting up court in a fast break attack, then recovering quickly to get back into your zone defence and to do this repeatedly would show high levels of CRE. Having better CRE will allow you to make a bigger contribution to your teams overall performance in basketball. By maintaining a high work rate throughout the game and being able to recover quickly from high energy burst.
There are a number of skill related fitness factors relevant to basketball. Having good agility enables you to change direction quickly without losing speed. This is useful in attack in trying to beat an opponent. Being able to dribble quickly and change direction can allow you to get passed a defender to score. Similarly in changing direction to get free from your maker can create scoring opportunities for your team. Also this is important while playing man to man defence in staying close to an attacker as they try to get free and cutting down space for them to score. In basketball agility is as or often more important than pure speed, in that the nature of the game involves moving quickly and precisely in tight spaces.
Mental fitness is also relevant to basketball. Concentration in both open play and in set skills is important for effective performance. For example in free play when defending it is important not to lose concentration on all aspects of play. “Ball watching” where you follow the ball and lose sight of other players can allow an attacker inside the defence to score. Over a long game it is important to keep concentration and improving this can be the difference between winning and losing. There are key points in a game where it is important to keep your focus. At the start of a game when excitement can be high or just after half time when you have just come back from a break are times when you need to keep your concentration. There are also skills in a game where concentration is an important factor such as a free throw. Players need concentrate on executing a successful performance of the skill and to help them do this they will have set routines. These routines, like bouncing the ball 5 times before shooting, are an example of mental rehearsal. This is a technique, which increases concentration and hopefully success. Scoring your free throws can often be the deciding factor in a game.
All three areas of Fitness, Physical, Skill-related and Mental are all important for effective performance in basketball.
Preparation of the Body
Homework Question 2
To gather information on the specific demands required for successful performance in basketball, I decided to focus on Power. Power is an important factor in a number of skills within the game. I decided to focus on rebounds, as they occur frequently during a game and are heavily influenced by power and not on aspects such as lay-up which are more influenced by factors like skill.
In this way I can gather information on the fitness demand of basketball within a whole performance situation.
I gathered information on the influence of Power in a game of basketball by firstly playing games with reduced sized teams. Whilst playing 3 v 3 cross-court, players were matched up according to height and ability as a height or ability difference would affect the results. Man to man defence was also used so that there were more opportunities for players to all rebound. We made sure the game was competitive and all players equally motivated. The game lasted 20 minutes to give us enough data but not too long to be influenced by endurance.
We also videod the game to help with reliability of the analysis. Players could go back after the game and look at the video to check that the data collected from the game was accurate. From the video we completed an analysis sheet on the effectiveness of players rebounding.
Attack / DefenceName / Won / Lost / Won / Lost
Peter / P /
X X X X X
/ PPP /X X X X X
Each time a rebound is either won or lost a Por X should be used to fill in the sheet. This sheet gave us a permanent record, which we could keep and use for comparison in future.
The video enabled us to analyse each rebound and discount those rebounds where poor position had been the main factor in an unsuccessful rebound other rebounds that were discounted were ones where there was a mismatch of players in terms of height, or when a rebound was won without the need for power e.g. not jumping to collect above head height. The data would then be a more valid measurement of power. We also split the data into defensive and offensive rebounds.
The results from the general game analysis indicated that my power was a weakness. To confirm this I decided to collect further focussed data by completing 2 standardised fitness tests. These tests are recognised as measures of leg power are simple to perform and give accurate results.
The fitness tests that I used to back up the information collected from the general game analysis were the standing long jump and standing vertical jump.
Vertical Jump Test (Sergeant Jump)
The athlete stands side on to a wall and reaches up with the hand closest to the wall. Keeping the feet flat on the ground, the point of the fingertips is marked or recorded. The athlete then stands away from the wall, and jumps vertically as high as possible using both arms and legs to assist in projecting the body upwards. Attempt to touch the wall at the highest point of the jump. The difference in distance between the reach height and the jump height is the score. The best of three attempts is recorded.
The second fitness test done was:
Standing Long Jump Test (Broad Jump)
The athlete stands at a line marked on the ground with feet slightly apart. A two-foot take-off and landing is used, with swinging of the arms and bending of the knees to provide forward drive. Measure the longest distance jumped, the best of three tries. The jump must be repeated if the athletes falls back or uses a step at take-off.
Once both tests were done, a class average was taken for both jumps and my distances were compared.
Following my analysis I was able to identify my development needs in basketball. From the general analysis my data showed that in rebounds where I was in a position to win rebounds I was winning less than a 1/3 overall and less than ½ of my defensive rebounds. I should have been winning more than these and the video showed that I was not jumping powerfully enough. When I compared my score to others in my team I was ranked lowest. Only winning 30% of my rebounds compared to some players who were wining 60 – 70% clearly showed that me power in a game situation was poor. This put our team at a disadvantage, particularly when playing man to man defence.
From my fitness tests, my results were as follows:
SCORES VERTICAL JUMP BROAD JUMP
MYSELF 43 cm 1.90 m
TOP SCORE 65 cm 2.62 m
Average 50 cm 2.08 m
From these scores it is clear that my leg power is poorer than the rest of my team. I am clearly well below the class average in both the SVJ and the SLJ. This information helped back up the data gathered from my general analysis. Having the results from both sets of data has help me decide that clearly I have a lack of power in my legs which is affecting my performance in the game. I will therefore carry out a training programme which focuses on improving leg power within basketball.
Preparation of the Body
Homework Question 3
To ensure the methods by which I gathered information on my CRE were appropriate I had to ensure they were valid (measured CRE) and reliable ( collected as accurately as possible).
To ensure my general data was appropriate, I played a competitive game of basketball resulting in the data coming from a whole performance context. The data was valid as I focussed on an aspect of performance that would be affected by CRE. By looking at work-rate and movement throughout the game I could see if there was any change over time as this would be an indicator of CRE. Also using man to man defence and matching up players in terms of ability ensured that there was plenty of data as there is more movement involved compared to playing zone defence.
To ensure that the data was reliable and accurate, the game was videoed. This enabled me to go back and look at the game in more detail, using pause and rewind to look at the aspects of play more closely. If there were any instances of change of pace for reasons other than a lack of C.R.E. then they were discounted. These included when ball goes out of play, the player I was marking stood still or there was a free throw.
In splitting the sheet up into 5 minute sections, I would be able to make a clear comparison between the different stages of the game and to compare work-rate. I also had a space to record pulse and by wearing a pulse meter I was able to get an average over the 5 minutes. This would tell me if I was working anaerobically.
When doing my focussed analysis, I also did a number of things that ensured that the tests were appropriate, valid and reliable. Firstly the test was appropriate as it is a recognised test that is used for measuring C.R.E. The test has been proven as a predictor of VO2 max an important indicator of CRE. It is also reliable as the same results are gained each time the tests is repeated. Finally it is a practical test to carry out as it is easy to administer. This information can then be kept for future reference and used for comparisons.
Having gathered my data on CRE and discovered that I had a specific weakness I used the information to set goals for my future development. Because I had a weakness I needed to carry out a training programme to improve my work-rate. Setting clear targets that are Specific, Measurable, Appropriate, Realistic with a Timescale (SMART) can help make your training effective. Targets can help keep your training focussed on your needs as an individual and they set a benchmark by which you can measure success. If the targets are challenging but achievable they can help motivate you to keep working hard.
From my general analysis I set myself a target to increase the number of sprints I made in the last quarter of the game to at least 66% of those I made in the first quarter. This was measurable and quite challenging. From the focussed analysis I wished to improve my score in the Multi Stage Fitness test up to the class average, over 6 weeks. This gave me a clear target in a set time. By using targets in this way my training would be clearly focussed and at the end I would have something by which I could measure success.
4. How did you apply the Principles of Training to your training programme to improve Power? Give an example of a programme you used.
6-Week Training Plan for Power
Power – Using weight training and plyometrics as methods of training. The emphasis is on powerful movements in both methods.
Week
/ Monday / Wednesday / Friday /Saturday
1 /Plyometrics
80 jumps40 low impact
(e.g. backboard jump)
40 medium impact
(e.g. barrier hop) /
Weights
4 exercises3 sets
6 reps x 70% 1RM
(e.g. leg press, leg extension, leg curl)
2 /
Plyometrics
/ /Weights
3 /Plyometrics
100 jumps40 low impact
40 medium impact
20 high impact
(e.g. depth jump) /
Weights
5 exercises4 sets
7 reps x 80% 1RM /
Plyometrics
100 jumps40 low impact
40 medium impact
20 high impact / Games
4 /
Plyometrics
/Weights
/Plyometrics
/ Games5 /
Plyometrics