Performance development process

Question 1

What are mental approaches?

Answer 1

• Visualisation
• Positive self-talk
• Deep breathing

Question 2

What are emotional approaches?

Answer 2

• Positive self-talk
• The 3 Rs
• Trigger words

Question 3

What are social approaches?

Answer 3

• Role models
• Team building exercises
• Communication drills

Question 4

What are physical (fitness) approaches?

Answer 4

• Continuous training
• Fartlek training
• Interval training

Question 5

What are physical (Skill) approaches?

Answer 5

• Conditioned games
• Repetition drills
• Shadow practice

Question 6

What are physical (Tactics) approaches?

Answer 6

• Conditioned games
• Passive defence
• Unopposed play

Question 7

What can visualisation develop?

Answer 7

Visualisation can be used to develop a range of different mental factors such as:

-control of anxiety
-concentration
-motivation

Question 8

What is visualisation?

Answer 8

Visualisation is a very popular approach amongst elite level athletes.

It is initially performed at home with no distractions. It involves imagining yourself being successful in a high pressure moment, over and over again. The situation should include all of the senses relevant to your scenario.

To progress visualisation, you would gradually decrease the reps so you can get calm quicker and then use it in match situations.

Question 9

Benefits of Visualisation?

Answer 9

• Requires no equipment so you can focus on carrying out this approach rather than setting things up.
• Elite level athletes use it, therefore you are more willing to trust it.
• You use it both at home and in game situations, which helps you at beginner and more advanced stages.

Question 10

Limits of Visualisation?

Answer 10

• Game situations can be very fast paced and you may struggle to use it effectively in a short space of time.

Question 11

What should you do when carrying out visualisation?

Answer 11

1. Try visualisation at home on your own first so you can perform it without any distractions, such as watching teammates. This will ensure you do not get embarrassed, will take it seriously and go on to master it.
2. You should include all of the senses in your high pressure situation, to make it realistic. This will help relax you in these moments as you will feel like you have been there before.
3. Progress this approach by reducing the number of times you go over it, so it helps relax you more quickly. This will help you in game situations where time is limited and you need to gain focus quickly.

Question 12

What is Deep breathing?

Answer 12

Deep breathing is one of the most used approaches amongst athletes. It is used to help control a range of emotions including anger and fear.

Deep breathing can be used at home and in the performance environment. It should initially be carried out at home on your own with no distractions:

1. Start by breathing in through your nose for 4 seconds.
2. At the top of this breath, you hold it for 2 seconds.
3. Then breathe out through your mouth for 4 seconds.
4. Repeat this 4 more times if you were doing 5 reps.

It is progressed by reducing the number of breaths taken before you feel in control, so it becomes realistic to the short time frames available during matches.

Question 13

Benefits of Deep breathing?

Answer 13

• Requires no equipment so you can really focus on carrying out the approach rather than setting things up.
• Elite level athletes use it and so you are more willing to trust it.
• Can use it both at home and in game situations which helps at beginner and more advanced stages.

Question 14

Limitations of Deep breathing?

Answer 14

• Game situations can be very fast paced and you may struggle to use it effectively in such a short space of time.

Question 15

What should you do when carrying out deep breathing?

Answer 15

1. Complete deep breathing with all devices (eg your mobile phone) turned off, so you can fully concentrate when carrying it out. This will ensure you do not get distracted and so this decreases the time you take to master the approach.
2. First practise the deep breathing approach at home on your own so you avoid getting embarrassed in front of others. This will ensure you take the approach seriously, which will help you master it.
3. Once you have mastered deep breathing on its own, tense your muscles when breathing in and relax them when breathing out. This will help you get rid of any somatic fear and tension in your body just before performing, which will ensure your movements are smooth and fluid.

Question 16

What are Team building games?

Answer 16

This approach is used to develop multiple social factors including:

-communication
-leadership
-relationships

There are many different variants of team building games.

Question 17

What is the blindfold obstacle course?

Answer 17

One variant is the blindfold obstacle course. This is when you have to guide a blindfolded partner from one side of the room to the other.

You rely on your communication skills to direct them, mainly by stating directions. In the space between is a range of obstacles on the floor. Your blindfolded partner is not allowed to touch any of the obstacles or they return to the start. Once they reach the other side, you switch roles and complete the course again.

You can progress this approach by making it competitive with other members of your team; first pair to reach the other side wins.

Question 18

Benefits of Team building games?

Answer 18

• Requires you to communicate with one another so is relevant for social factor.
• Develops leadership skills so can help the coach pick a suitable captain.
• Fun and engaging, which motivates you to try your hardest.

Question 19

Limitations of Team building games?

Answer 19

• Some variants of team building games require a lot of equipment to set up which takes time away from training.

Question 20

What should you do when carrying out Team building games?

Answer 20

1. Add a competitive element to the approach as it motivates you and your teammates to take it seriously. This will ensure no one messes around and stimulates everyone to communicate and work together.
2. Ensure that any variant you select of team building games has a problem that needs to be solved. This will encourage you to communicate and collaborate with your teammates, which will aid development in the social factor.
3. Work with a variety of different partners in your team so you get to know all your teammates. This will ensure you build relationships with everyone on your team, which will help the whole team work together more effectively on the court or pitch.

Question 21

What is Shadow practice?

Answer 21

Shadow practice is carried out when you are learning the basic movements of a skill at the cognitive stage of learning. It is often the first approach used in skill development plans.

It simply involves mimicking the movements of your identified skill over and over again. No equipment is required.

While doing this, you could have a partner observe you against a model performer checklist and give you feedback after each attempt.

This feedback determines which sub-routine you focus on shadowing in the next attempt. This is normally carried out as 3 sets of 10 reps.

To progress this approach, you would increase the number of reps.

Question 22

Benefits of Shadow practice?

Answer 22

• Does not require any equipment so can maximise training time on skill development.
• Feedback is provided after each attempt so you can make progress throughout sessions.
• Easy to progress which ensures you do not hit a plateau.

Question 23

Limitations of Shadow practice?

Answer 23

• Can be extremely boring as no game elements are involved.

Question 24

What should you do when carrying out Shadow practice?

Answer 24

1. Set a very specific goal for these sessions as it helps your partner know what sub-routines you need to focus on. This will ensure you focus on specific weaknesses within the skill and make progress.
2. Select a partner who has high knowledge levels of your activity so they know what they are looking for. This will ensure that the feedback you receive is accurate and can help you move forward.
3. Ensure you add in game movements before performing the skill in order to make it more interesting and game realistic. This will prevent boredom as well as familiarise you with the sub-routines of the skill within a game context.

Question 25

What are Unopposed practices?

Answer 25

Unopposed practices are used when trying to learn a new tactic or strategy. It involves setting up in a shape as requested by the coach and then slowly working through a series of different plays. It is performed with no opposition or pressure.

Throughout the practice, the coach can stop the set play and provide feedback.

Once you and your teammates become more confident in using the approach, you can progress by swithcing to an opposed practice and adding in opposition to increase the difficulty.

Question 26

Benefits of Unopposed practices?

Answer 26

• Suitable when learning a new strategy as no pressure is applied.
• Can receive continuous feedback from coach to improve performance within session.
• Can be easily broken down to clearly focus on elements of the performance.

Question 27

Limitations of Unopposed practice?

Answer 27

• Can be very boring as no opposition and lots of stop-starting from the coach.

Question 28

What should you do when carrying out unopposed practices?

Answer 28

1. Your coach should provide ongoing feedback during the unopposed practice as you are at the beginner’s stage of learning a new strategy. This will ensure no bad habits are picked up, as mistakes are corrected immediately.
2. Your coach should combine unopposed practices with digital analysis to give you two sources of incoming feedback. This will help consolidate your knowledge of how to perform the strategy as you can see where something was good and/or poor.
3. You should try to add in points systems for completing the unopposed practice to certain levels to make it more exciting. This will ensure you stay motivated and continue to concentrate throughout the approach.

Question 29

How does concentration impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 29

1. “Good concentration levels really helped our team when our coach was explaining how to perform the fast break in an unopposed practice.”
2. “This meant we were able to focus fully on the instructions of how we should perform the fast break and where each of us should move to.”
3. “This resulted in our unopposed practices flowing really well and improved our use of this strategy.”

Question 30

How does mental toughness impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 30

1. “Being mentally tough can really help you when starting the last set of a circuit training session.”
2. “This means that even though you are tiring and want to give up as you approach the next exercise, you will continue to persevere and push through these negative thoughts.”
3. “This means that even though you are tiring and want to give up as you approach the next exercise, you will continue to persevere and push through these negative thoughts.”

Question 31

How does motivation impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 31

1. “Being highly motivated can help when trying to move from the associative to the autonomous stage when developing the overhead clear in badminton.”
2. “This means you will do extra practice outside of your training plan and test yourself against opponents of similar ability to you at the local sports centre.”
3. “This results in you getting more practice in game situations and developing your overhead clear.”

Question 32

How does anger impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 32

1. “Failing to control your anger could have negative consequences when trying to develop your lay-up through repetition drills in basketball.”
2. “This means you could get really frustrated after missing several shots.”
3. “This results in you losing all focus in your session and not improving.”

Question 33

How does fear impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 33

1. “Fear of others judging you could hinder your ability to carry out deep breathing properly when trying to control your fears in football.”
2. “This means you could become aware and embarrassed by your teammates laughing at you when initially trying deep breathing in the changing room before a game.”
3. “This could result in you abandoning the approach and not learning to control your fears.”

Question 34

How does resilience impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 34

1. “Being resilient can help you and your teammates when trying to untangle yourselves in the Human Knot for the social factor.”
2. “This means that when you make mistakes like going under when you should have gone over, you can bounce back from it.”
3. “This results in you moving on and trying out new solutions to eventually untangle the knot.”

Question 35

How does communication impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 35

1. “Good communication skills can aid your delivery of feedback to your partner when they are learning how to do a lay-up in repetition drills.”
2. “This means you can clearly tell them the strengths and areas of development of their lay-up after each attempt.”
3. “This can result in your partner taking this feedback on board and improving their performance.”

Question 36

How does co-operation impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 36

1. “Having good co-operation skills can help your partner when they are trying to develop their CRE during continuous training.”
2. “This means you will jog with your partner in order to motivate them through their session.”
3. “This results in your partner completing the session to the best of their ability and reaching their short-term goal.”

Question 37

How does working in isolation impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 37

1. “Being able to work in isolation can really help you when your training partner is unavailable for an interval training session.”
2. “This means you will still be able to push yourself to sprint during the relevant sets despite having no form of partner competition.”
3. “This results in you giving your all during your session and developing your CRE levels.”

Question 38

How does consistency impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 38

1. “A lack of consistency in your chest pass can negatively impact your team’s performance when trying to learn the fast break during an unopposed practice.”
2. “This means if your outlet pass does not always find your teammate, the whole strategy can break down before it even starts.”
3. “This results in your team not fully developing the fast break and not reaching the short-term goal of the session.”

Question 39

How does creativity impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 39

1. “Being creative can really help your group when trying to develop a new choreography.”
2. “This means you will offer innovative and different ideas about what choreographic devices and movements your group should use.”
3. “This can result in your group identifying what works best for them and developing a better routine.”

Question 40

How does muscular endurance impact your development? (example answer)

Answer 40

1. “High levels of muscular endurance can be really helpful when developing your smash in repetition drills.”
2. “This means that as you approach the final set of your practice, the muscles in your shoulders and arms will still feel fresh.”
3. “This results in you continuing to perform the sub-routines to the desired standard that would allow you to improve.”

Question 41

Method of continuous training?

Answer 41

• Continuous training involves a performer working continuously, without stopping.
• For the performer to ensure that they are working within the aerobic training zone they must ensure that they stay within 70-85% of their maximum heart rate.
• This can be monitored throughout the run by using a heart rate monitor.
• Throughout the training program, the performer will progressively increase the time spent on the continuous activity, eg, running.
• The performer should also vary the running route and incorporate some uphill and downhill to increase the intensity of the run.
• The performer should complete continuous training for a minimum of 20 minutes.

Question 42

Method of fartlek training?

Answer 42

• Fartlek training, also known as ‘speed play ’, is a highly effective approach that can be used to develop CRE.
• The approach involves the performer sprinting, walking, and then jogging.
• The periods of sprinting, walking, and jogging will be determined by the performer but they will usually last for 30 seconds each. The pattern is then repeated for the full duration of the session.
• The Fartlek approach is very specific and relates to people who play team sports due to the variation of running that is involved as this replicates what usually happens during a match, for example, football or rugby.

Question 43

Evaluation of fartlek training?

Answer 43

Fartlek training is useful as it incorporates different speeds into training that are useful during games. By training using different speeds, a performer will be much more used to doing this during matches, allowing them to use these paces more effectively when under pressure during a full performance.