Fitness
Fitness physical refers to capacity of an athlete to meet the varied physical demands of their sport without reducing the athlete to a fatigue state. In football, players need all different types of psycho-motor skills, they include the following:
- cardiovascular endurance
- muscular endurance
- Explosive strength
- Flexibility
- Agility
- reaction time
- Power
Cardiovascular endurance
Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of the lungs to provide oxygen to the blood and the heart to transport the oxygenated blood to the cells of the body. It is also the ability of the body to sustain an activity for an extended period of time. In football this is important as you need to be able to
Muscular endurance
Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to sustain repeated contractions against a resistance for an extended period of time. In football this is
Important because in a typical competition/league e.g. Premier League, footballers run for a total of 10-11 kilometres at fairly modest speed.
Explosive strength
Explosive strength is energy used effectively for a short burst of muscular effort. In football this is important when it comes down to scenarios such as sprinting to chase the ball before the defender or sprinting on a counter attack on the opposing team. Also during competitive matches especially in the professional leagues, footballers are constantly changing speeds from light jogging to explosive sprinting and on average football sprint a distance of between 800metres to 1200metres a match
Flexibility
Flexibility is the ability to move a joint smoothly through its complete range of motion. Footballers need this component of skill especially the defenders and goalkeepers. Goalkeepers need to stretch when diving to save the ball when hit in bottom and top corners and below the crossbar. With defenders they need to be able to stretch when doing slide tackles.
Agility
Agility is the ability to change the body's position, and requires a combination of balance, coordination, speed, reflexes, and strength. Agility is usually achieved when a person is using his lactic acid (anaerobic) systems. As said in football, players are constantly changing there speeds and directions during a competitive match. Agility is a skill that is need because during fast breaks or counter attacks defenders need to be able to push back and defend their goal. Also players dribbling with the ball need to be able to change directions while maintain balance in order to get pass the opposing team/players.
Reaction time
Reaction time = response time + movement time, and is defined as the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to it. This skill is needed by goalkeepers in particular as they are needed to be able to react in a short span of time when the ball is shot towards the goal. A good example where a goalkeeper needs reaction time is a penalty kick; goalkeepers only really have seconds to react to a ball travelling at approx. 50-60mph.
Power
Power is defined as the ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movements. The two components of power are strength and speed. In football, players need power especially when shooting; they need to be able to create explosive power within a short period of time when kicking a ball towards a goal. A good example would be in a free kick where the player aims to hit the ball as fast and as accurate as possible in order to get the ball in the net.
