RESEARCH PROJECT SUBJECT TITLE: Netball warm-ups
TOPIC: Is it necessary to warm up before netball games?
ASSESSMENT TYPE 1: THE FOLIO
PROPOSAL
My Topic
Ever since we were told about the Research Project I was sure that I wanted to do something about netball because it is something I am heavily involved in. I have been playing since I was 5 and am currently in the 19 and under State Netball team. My initial idea was to create a program for athletes to use which would help reduce their risk of injury. After discussion with my teacher, however, I realised that this was probably too much in the time available to me, particularly with doing Year 12 and all the training I have to do for netball. Instead, we decided on investigating the question, “Do you actually need to warm up before doing physical activity?” This was refined even further to, “Is it necessary to warm up before netball games?” This means that my final product will be a paper about my findings. I hope that I will be able to get sporting bodies to use my research as a resource to help and contribute to the sporting community.
Research Processes
I plan to begin with some secondary research into what is already known about the importance of doing warm-ups. I have found a number of books from the school and local library, and my PE teacher has recommended a number of articles. As well as this I will look up various websites, mostly from sports’ groups to see what is recommended. After I have gained background knowledge I will interview experts in a range of areas. Due to my experiences I have contacts with lots of coaches, at local and state levels. I plan to formally interview these coaches to learn their views. I also will use my contacts with physiotherapists and see if I can interview one or two. It might be possible to interview some personal trainers I know from the gym. I also plan to obtain data from current netballers with whom I play. If possible I will conduct a trial with netballers to see if they feel differently during a match when they don’t warm up, as compared to when they do.
I plan to keep a journal of my thoughts and reflections as I do the research and will keep all my work in a visual diary.
There will be some ethical considerations in this project, particularly with people I want to interview or use in a trial. I will need to explain the purpose of my research to them, and get their consent to participate and have their results used. I believe that it will be necessary to actually write a formal consent form that I will give them before I interview them.
Chosen Capability
The capability I have chosen is personal development. My research topic of warm-ups and how necessary they are for netball, is all to do with an athlete’s personal and physical well being. Also, I know that to do the project to the best of my ability during Year 12 and with all my training commitments will be a real personal challenge which will draw on all my resources and character.
Page 13 of 13 Stage 2 Research Project annotated student work for use from 2011
2rp10-at1-wsann01-a.v0.3 (December 2010)
© SACE Board of South Australia 2010
RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT
Examples of entries in Journal:
Term One: Brainstorm of list of questions to use for Interviews
· Do you believe that warming up before sport is necessary?
· What led you to this opinion?
· Do you think warm-ups contribute to or prevent injuries?
· Do you think that a person’s muscle structure/ DNA affects the likelihood of injuries?
· Do you think that a warm-up consisting of running, stretching etc could be replaced by an alternative method, e.g. massage?
· Do you believe that stretching is a vital part of warming up?
· Does the level of sport affect injury?
· Does the awareness and body control affect risk of injury?
· If an athlete does a regular stretching program throughout the week to help them keep limber, do they need to do a warm-up prior to and during matches?
· In what ways does a warm-up affect performance?
· Could a person’s genetics be the cause for injuries so therefore maybe only certain people need to warm up?
· Does weight and body structure/composition affect the need to warm up?
· Does a warm-up prevent all types of injuries? Or just soft tissue injuries?
· Could warm-ups only be necessary for high intensity exercise?
· What connection do warm-ups have to bio-mechanics?
· What work have you done in relation to warm-ups?
· How long should the ideal warm-up last for?
· What happens to an athlete who does a warm-up with no stretching in it? Is this beneficial or risky?
Critical reflections Term 2, Weeks 1-5 In the past few weeks I have started to approach people to be interviewed for my investigation. I haven’t made any progress on actually doing the interviews which means that I have barely achieved anything at all this term. This is disappointing for me. As a researcher I haven’t been successful this term. I haven’t found much out because I haven’t been doing the work. I am disappointed in myself for letting myself get so far behind but then again I do always enjoy a challenge. I am a strong person. I don’t do well talking to strangers; I become nervous and self-conscious which is why I think I have been putting off my interviews. Now I realise that I may get knocked back by some people but there’s nothing wrong with that as problems allow the mind to find a way through the difficulty.
Critical reflection – Survey.
I have just started making a survey to give to athletes. I decided to do this as it was a simpler way to obtain opinions from a larger group of people. This also makes it easier for the respondents because in many cases athletes don’t actually understand the technicalities of the warm-up, they just get told to do it by their coaches so they do.
It is important to keep in mind certain things when I’m making my survey, for example the way I word the questions can influence the response. If I were to say “do you agree that warm-ups are necessary before playing netball” this question would influence the respondent to reply with a simple yes or no.
When my survey is complete I think it will be beneficial to my research project because it will give me a range of perspectives from different athletes. It’s important to have a range of perspectives so that you can compare and also find what seems to be the strongest opinion to emerge from the results.
The survey could also have a negative effect as I could end up with a lot of irrelevant answers. Surveys are supposed to be kept simple and therefore the respondent doesn’t have room to elaborate into more depth about the topic, whereas if you were interviewing them they would be able to do this.
Critical Reflections at start of holidays (Capability- Personal Development)
I have drafted my survey and handed it out. I have even got some responses back. I have also made progress with the interviews (5 so far). When I know there is something to be done I do it as soon as I can and don’t push it to the back of the pile. I have started to prioritise my work and thought more carefully about what needs to be done before other stuff, rather than just choosing the easier option. I have also found out some really interesting information. I am yet to find a netballer who doesn’t warm up and also no-one that I have interviewed so far discourages a warm-up. I have interviewed a football coach, netball coach, strength and conditioning coach, personal trainer + physio. These interviews are making me think that the people who claim that you don’t need a warm-up are just basing this on their personal opinion and actually don’t have much to back their claims up with.
Critical Reflection – Experimental Research Week One (Research Processes)
I originally thought that I wouldn’t be doing any experimental research due to the fact that I would not have time. Have realised that to really support my investigation and the other research I’ve done I needed to have experiments. The unfortunate part about this is it is too risky to do too much of this type of research. If I ask people to do one of my experiments and they injure themselves, then I am liable.
Critical Reflection – Problem Solving (Interview with JW)
JW is the PE teacher at my school and in the past she has made it clear that she doesn’t believe in warm-ups. She uses the analogy of a rabbit ‘which doesn’t warm-up before they run away from a fox’, so she believes we don’t need to either. JW and I have discussed her doing an interview for my research project several times but nothing has come of it. The problem for me is that I need opinions like hers to gain a range of perspectives of my topic.
Interview with Strength and Conditioning Coach
What education was involved in becoming a personal trainer?
I did Cert 3 in Fitness and Cert 4 Master Trainer at Australian Institute of Fitness. The course was full time for 2 months, 9.30-4.30 Monday – Thursday. It cost $4450 upfront. The course consisted of theory including anatomy, physiology, energy systems, types of exercises, communication, behavioural styles and how to train different types of people and business skills. The course also involved a lot of physical workouts as well, including classes at various Health Clubs around Adelaide.
When you work with a client, what does the warm-up you make them undertake consist of?
My warm-ups generally consist of approximately 5-10 mins of cardio-vascular exercise, on the treadmill, bike or rower. The length and exercises I choose to give them, depend on my client and their specific goals. I tailor every one of my PT sessions to suit my client.
Why did you decide to structure the warm-up this way
At AIF, I was taught that warm-ups should be about 5-10 mins but longer for mature adults and people with special considerations. The warm-up should involve: compound cardiovascular exercises (the use of more than one muscle group at a time) such as walking, jogging, jumping, etc, that gradually get all of the muscles warmed up and heart rate up to where it needs to be for the sport or training they’re about to do. Warm-ups should not consist of static (still) stretching as this cools the muscles back down but dynamic (moving) stretching can be done in some circumstances, for instance, sport specific warm-ups should involve dynamic stretches (you might have seen footie players swinging their legs before a game, to stretch the muscles in their legs, mainly their hamstrings, to ready them for kicking the football).
How beneficial do you think stretching is in a warm-up?
Some stretching is only beneficial during the warm up phase if the stretching is dynamic. Cooling the body’s muscles down before long intense periods of exercise by doing static stretches, causes you to have a higher risk of injury therefore is NOT beneficial.
Do you personally believe that it is necessary to warm-up before sport?
ABSOLUTELY! You MUST warm-up before sport to get the body ready for what you’re about to put it through. Going straight from the warm-up into playing the sport is the nearest thing you can do to prevent injury. DO not stop or sit down between the warm-up and workout phases as your muscles will cool down and you would have just done the warm-up for nothing, it’s just common sense.
Do you think that there’s a possibility that warm-ups contribute to injuries rather than prevent them?
No, there is no way that warming up the body could contribute to injuries rather than prevent them. UNLESS you’re doing the warm-up incorrectly by having poor posture and breathing techniques. Also, current injuries will need to be considered before playing sport as there is a possibility you could further the injury by over exercising it, during the warm-up or work-out/sport.
Example of Interview with state Netball Coach (three interviews were conducted with netball coaches)
How long have you been coaching for?
I started coaching at a low level in about 1990 but started at a high level (SLR) in 1994.
Do you believe that a warm-up is vital before playing Netball?
Important but not vital. It’s dependent on the age and skill level of the athlete. I definitely don’t think that static stretching is important.
What led you to this view/opinion? Was it another coach or say an educator, e.g. Uni lecturer
I think it was more experience than anything although my views are similar to others who work with elite athletes. The warm-up they use at the AIS (very little stretching) is more what I would use.
Do you think that warm-ups contribute to or prevent injuries?
Somewhat but I think a lot of this is mental. I think some players need to stretch and warm-up a particular way to feel better about playing and especially starting the game.
What type of stretching do you think is most beneficial e.g. static, dynamic?
Dynamic stretching definitely although I feel that in younger athletes this is a little overemphasised.
Why has dynamic stretching become more common in Netball warm-ups recently?
Because Netball does not encourage Coaches to think for themselves unless they work for an Institute Programme. If someone at the top of the sport does something we all do.
What kind of effect do you think warming up has on performance?
As I said up to the top, it depends on the athlete, I would never discourage an athlete from doing an activity that they felt was important