Skill

Skill is a learned ability to bring about the result you want, with maximum certainty and efficency

BASIC OR COMPLEX:

Basic

We learn a lot of basic skills at an early age
Basic skills are transferable between lots of different sports and situations
You have to master the basic skills before moving on to the complex skills
Examples of basic skills are running, hopping, dodging an opponent

Complex

These require more coordination and control
They tend to be specific to a particular sport (i.e. non-transferable)
They take a lot of practice to master
Examples of complex skills include a smash shot in badminton, a tennis serve or a volley in football

FINE OR GROSS MOTOR SKILLS:

Fine

These are small movements that only involve small muscle groups and isolated body parts
An example of a fine motor skill is a shot in snooker

Gross

These are large movements which involve bigger muscle groups
Gross motor skills often involve a whole-body action
Examples of gross motor skills are a goal keeper diving to make a save in football or doing the high jump in athletics

OPEN OR CLOSED:

Open

An open skill is affected by external factors
it may be different each time you perform it
For example a football pass will be affected by your position, the position of your opponents and your team mates as well as playing conditions e.g. wind/wet pitch etc

Closed

A closed skill is not really affected by the environment, or other people
These skills are unchanging
For example in darts, the aim a lot of the time is for a triple 20 and there are few environmental factors to consider

Factors affecting variation in skill level:

age and maturity
motivation
anxiety
facilities
environment
teaching and coaching

Learning a new skill:

brain only has limited capacity so cannot overload it
break skills down and learn a little at a time
keep instructions simple
keep demonstrations simple
when you first complete a movement it goes to the short-term memory
with practice, that movement is committed to the long-term memory

Information processing

model

This model shows the process of using information when playin sport. For example:

Input - the ball is passed to you in football

Decision making - pass/shoot/dribble, what type of pass to use, who to pass to,

Output - your action, such as lofted pass to team mate

Feedback - was the pass successful? Did they get the ball?

Feedback is the most important part. Without feedback an athlete won't know the outcome of their performance and they cannot learn from it or improve.

Motivation and mental preparation

Motivation is a desire to do something. This is often linked to the amount of effort put into the task

There are 2 types of motivation:

Intrinsic - this is personal to the athlete, for example they play the sport for the satisfaction of it. They feel proud of their skills
Extrinsic - means you do sport to win money from it, win a medal or trophy or do it to please another person

Intrinsic motivation is more beneficial to an athlete as you will stick with your sport regardless of rewards. Coaches must ensure that athletes enjoy their sport, so if the rewards stop, the athlete doesn't.

Arousal is a state of readiness to perform

When an athlete experiences arousal before an event, their body demonstrates some physiological responses:

sweating
production of adrenaline
heart rate increases
respiration increases
muscles become tense in readiness

Arousal can be positive - when an athlete is at the optimum level of arousal, they are focussed and their muscle are tense and ready. However, athletes can have too little or too much arousal.

Inverted U Theory

(Yerkes & Dodson)

As this model shows, too little arousal and the athlete is laid back and not focussed.

But too much arousal and the performer becomes over-aroused or anxious. This can lead to panic or agressiveness and the athlete's level of performance will decrease.

Over-arousal and anxiety:

anxiety is negative feelings of worry and stress
causes of over-arousal and anxiety are: fear of failing/fear of competitior's skill/pressure from coach or parents/preparation for the event is ineffective
ways to conrtrol anxiety are: relaxation, deep breathing, using visualisation, seeing yourself succeed, mental rehearsal of the event

Goal setting can also be used to control anxiety (SMARTER):

Specific - goals that are specific and clear on the outcome

Measurable - goals that can be meausred so you can track progress (e.g. time, distance, reps)

Agreed - goals that both the athlete and coach think should be met

Realistic - goals that can be achieved with the time and resources available

Time phased - goals that have a start and end point so the athlete knows what they're aiming towards

Exciting - goals that interest the athlete so they don't get bored

Recorded - goals that can be recorded so you can track progress and see when you've achived the goal

Watch this video to learn more about visualisation and mental rehearsal and how it can control anxiety

Fitness

Fitness is the ability to meet the demands of the environment.

There are 12 components of fitness which fall into 2 categories:

Health Related Fitness

Cardio-vascular endurance (aerobic endurance)

Body composition

Flexibility

Muscular endurance

Speed

Stamina

Strength

Skill related fitness

Agility

Balance

Coordination

Speed of reaction

Timing

There are a variety of tests you can use to measure these components of fitness. Follow this link to learn about fitness testing.

What factors affect fitness? Click here to find out!

Maximal Oxygen Uptake

Maximal oxygen uptake (or VO2 max) is the measure of the peak volume of Oxygen (VO2) you can consume and use in a minute. The fitter you are, the higher your VO2 max. Follow this link to read about the effect of VO2 max on your fitness and how it is linked to anaerobic and aerobic respiration. Follow this link to read about how VO2 max can be improved.

Physique

Physique is the build and shape of an individual's body. There are three main body types that are used the categorise people of different physiques: endomorph, ectomorph and mesomorph.

Each body type has different characteristics which makes them more or less suitable for particular sports. Read this article to find out more.

Body systems

Skeleton and joints

The four major functions of the skeleton are:

1. Shape and support

The bones form a framework to support your body. The different length and thickness of the bones determines our individual shape.

2. Movement

Your muscles are attached to your skeleton. When muscles contract they pull on your bones which creates movement. For example, when the bicep contracts it pulls on the radius, to bend the arm.

3. Protection

Bones surround the areas that are delicate and could get damaged. For example the skull protects the brain and the ribs protect lungs and heart etc.

4. Blood production

Bones make blood cells in the marrow - this is mostly in the long bones e.g. femur.

Protection Movement Shape and support Blood production

Bones - click on this link to name the major bones in the human body.

Types of joint

There are 3 main types of jont in the body. They are fixed or immoveable (fibrous), slightly moveable (catilaginous), freely moveable (synovial).

Fixed/immoveable (fibrous)

These joints cannot move at all. They interlock or overlap and are held together by tough fibre.

An example is the joints between the plates in the cranium

Slightly moveable (cartilaginous)

The bones at these joints can only move a little. They are held together by ligaments and joined by cartilage, which stops

the bones from knocking together. An example is the vertabrae in your spine.

Freely moveable (synovial)

These bones can move quite freely. There is an outer sleeve called the joint capsule, which holds the bones together.

Then a synovial membrane which holds the synovial fluid. The joint cavity is the gap between the bones which is filled

with synovial fluid and there are also ligaments and cartilage in these joints. An example is the knee.

The synovial joints are most important for sports as they allow the most movement. See the link

(highlighted yellow) below to learn more about ball & socket, hinge, gliding and pivot joints.

Actions

The range of movements that the skeleton can create are:

- Flexion (bending)

- Extension (straightening)

- Rotation (circling)

- Abduction (moving away from the body)

Adduction (moving toward the body)

Click here to read about which synovial joints allow which movments in the body.

Muscles and tendons

Types of muscle and muscle fibres

Muscles

There are 11 main muscles that you should learn. You also need to know what movement those muscles help to create. Follow this link to learn the major muscles in the body and test yourself.

Key information:

A voluntary muscle usually works across a joint - it is attached to the bones by strong cords called tendons. Tendons are non-elastic to allow movement when the muscle contracts. When the muscle contracts just one bone moves the other is stationary. The origin is where the muscle joins the stationary bone, the insertion is where it joins the moving bone. When a muscle contracts the origin moves towards the insertion. The diagram on the right is an example at the elbow joint.

Muscles work in pairs to create movement, these are called antagonistic pairs. The muscle that is contracting is called the prime mover (or agonist) and the muscle that is relaxing is the antagonist. The prime mover is also helped by other muscles which we call synergists. These contract at the same time and hold the body in position so the prime mover can work smoothly. See the diagram on the right for an example.

Can you think of other examples using different joints such as the knee??

Circulatory and Respiratory systems

The circulatory system is made up of the heart, blood and blood vessels. It's 3 functions are transport (of substances such as O2 and CO2), temperature control (blood moves towards the skin to cool us down) and protection (white blood cells make up our immune system which fights disease and illness). Follow this link to read more about the heart and system of blood circulation.

Blood - our blood has four main components. They are:

- Red blood cells - these carry heamoglobin to combine with oxygen

- White blood cells - these fight against disease usinf antibodies and antitoxins

- Platelets - these are fragments of cells which helps blood to clot at wounds

- Plasma - this liquid carries blood cells as well as waste products, hormones and digested food

Altitude - when at high altitude (high above sea level), the air contains less oxygen. As a result of this lack of oxygen the body's volume of red blood cells will increase. Many athletes choose to train at high altitude as it has a range of benefits for sports training:

- body compensates for lack of oxygen and produces more red blood cells

- more oxygen delivered to muscles

- greater muscular endurance

- efficient use of oxygen

- improved performance at sea level

However there may be some disadvantages to altitude training too:

- could make the blood too thick

- increased blood pressure

- weight loss may occur at high altitude

- altitude sickness

- muscle repair takes longer

Blood conditions/illnesses

Anaemia: this is a decrease in the normal number of red blood cells or less haemoglobin. This can lead to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) in the organs. This is a very common illness and may also be referred to as an iron deficiency.

Symptoms - weakness, fatigue, poor concentration, shortness of breath, nausea.

Impact on sport - anaemia is easily treated and so should not affect sport. However it is interesting to note that when athletes first start training, they may develop low blood haemoglobin for a while, and likely reflects a normal adaptation to physical training. While true anaemia requires treatment, the temporary reduced red blood cell count seen early in training goes away by itself after a time.

Haemophilia: this impairs the body's ability to perform blood clotting or coagulation. Therefore if a vessel is cut, scabbing does occur, but at a slower rate. This is more likely to occur in males than females.

Symptoms - prolongued internal or external bleeding.

Impact on sport - exercise is encouraged for heamophiliacs as it promotes healthy blood production. However they should stick to activities such as swimming or walking and should not participate in any contact/adventure sports due to the risk of injury.

Effects of exercise

When you exercise regularly, you gain more and more benefits - this is also true for the respiratory and circulatory systems. Click on the key terms in the list below, to learn the definition

Benefits on respiratory system:

More efficient gaseous exchange

increased vital capacity

increased tidal volume

better oxygen debt tolerance

Benefits on circulatory system:

Bigger and stronger heart (hypertrophy)

lower resting heart rate

increased stroke volume

increased cardiac output

Drugs in sport

A drug = any chemical introduced to the body which affects the way the body works

Doping = a term used to describe the use of drugs to enhance sports performance

Performance Enhancing Drugs

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have a list of banned substances, as do most other governing bodies of all different sports. The following drugs are on the IOC's list:

Anabolic agents (steroids)

These are used by athletes who want to bulk up and increase their muscle mass and strength. They also allow the athlete to train harder
They have many side-effects, including high blood pressure; heart disease; infertility and cancer. They can also cause women to take on male characteristics such as facial hair!

Stimulants

Stimulants reduce pain, improve reaction time and raise aggression
They are highly addictive and have side effects including high blood pressure, strokes, heart and liver problems. They can also increase the risk of injury as pain is suppressed, causing the athlete to continue to train or compete

Diuretics

Athletes use diuretics for one of two reasons. Either to loose weight quickly (such as a boxer or jockey needing to meet weight) through the effect of increased urination, or to clear traces of other substances from their urine
They cause dehydration which can seriously affect your performance in a negative way!

Narcotic analgesics

These are pain killers which athletes use to mask pain from an injury or overtraining
These are highly addictive and cause withdrawal symptoms when you stop using them. Constipation and low blood pressure are other side effects

Peptide hormones

These include EPO (Erythropoetin) which works a bit like blood doping. Most other peptide hormones have similar effects to anabolic steroids
They can cause strokes and abnormal growth patterns

Click here to read more about these drugs and test yourself

Blood Doping

Blood doping involves:

Removing red blood cells from the athlete and freezing them
Over the next few weeks the athletes body makes more red blood cells to replace those removed
A few days before a competition the athlete injects the stored red blood cells back into their body
This means they now have the capacity to carry more Oxygen which improves cardiovascular performance
This has possibly dangerous side effects such as allergic reactions, kidney damage, stroke and transfer of viruses and infections

The above drugs are completely banned from use under the IOC. However, other substances are restricted, usually meaning they have a genuine medical use in some cases. In order to use one of the following drugs in competition (with the exception of alcohol) you must have a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) certificate.

Beta blockers

These are used to lower the heart rate, but also have the effect of reducing anxiety and steadying shaking hands
They're banned in some sports where they may cause an advantage, such as shooting

Corticosteroids

These are used to reduce pain and inflammation from injuries and also in inflammatory conditions like asthma
They can side-effects including diabetes and brittle bones

Alcohol

Alcohol is sometimes used by athletes to calm nerves.
It can however reduce coordination, judgment and reactions. Long term use has more serious side-effects such as liver, kidney and heart failure

Local anaesthetics

These are usually in the form of an injection to an injured area to reduce pain
They may be allowed in some sports for medical purposes

Why would an athlete take drugs?

- desire to win/be the best/maintain title
- to overcome an injury
- pressure from coach/family/country
- reduce anxiety about a competition
- to increase strength and power

Socially acceptable drugs

Click here to read about drugs that are socially acceptable, but can still have negative effects on health and sports performance

IGCSE PE