Example of Sportsman:
An example of a sportsman who excels in this skill-related fitness factor is Thierry Henry. This is because he is able to break into the box easily and is also able to use speed to lose his defenders.
Sport Related-Drill:
The individual sprints from one cone to the other and shoots the ball into the goal. This will improve his speed because he is sprinting and this is something that he will be able to do in an actual match so it has more relevance.
Co-ordination:
Definition:
This is defined as the ability to use two or more body parts together.
Role in Football:
This plays a major role in football because all of the positions use it in the match. But each position use different types of it for different specific roles. Strikers, midfielders and defenders all use foot-eye co-ordination to dribble the ball. Foot-eye co-ordination is also used for more difficult skills which are carried out sometimes to get past the opposing players. A striker also needs good head-eye co-ordination in football to be able to accurately head the ball at the right time when it is in the air into the goal. A goalkeeper uses hand-eye co-ordination to use his hands to catch the ball correctly and to make more difficult saves. This is why co-ordination plays a major role in football as different types of it are required by the different positions.
Example of a Sportsman:
An example of a sportsman who excels in co-ordination is Ronaldinho. This is because he uses foot-eye co-ordination effectively in any match to carry out very difficult skills to get past the opposing players. He excels at it because he is one of the few players who carry it out effectively in a match so many times.
Sport-Related Drill:
The individual has to dribble the ball around the cones in the directions shown in the diagram below. This will improve his co-ordination in football because he is improving because he is practising his foot-eye coordination which would be the most likely one he would use in an actual match.
Power:
Definition:
This is defined as the ability to do strength performances quickly. This can be worked out by the equation:
Power = Speed x Speed
Role in Football:
This also plays a major role in football as most positions require this in some form. Any position a striker, a midfielder or a defender require it to be able to take long shots in the match. Their strength has to be applied quickly to ensure that it goes very far and powerful. This also applies to a goalkeeper who uses it to take goal kicks. Most goalkeepers have good power which is why their goal kicks usually go over the halfway line. Throw-ins also require power as well because the ball may have to be thrown over a long distance. Once again the strength has to be applied quickly to make sure that it goes far.
Example of a Sportsman:
An example of a sportsman who uses power effectively in a game is Steven Gerrad. This is because he is able to use power effectively to take long, powerful shots in an actual match. He excels at this skill because he also makes these shots very accurate so that they normally go in the goal.
Sport-Related Drill:
The individual has to shoot the ball into the goal starting off with the nearest cone. Each time he scores he has to move back to the next cone and try to score. This will improve his power in football because he will be able to produce more powerful shots that are more accurate on goal.
Reaction Time:
Definition:
This is defined as the time between the presentation of a stimulus and the onset of movement.
Role in Football:
This plays a major role in football because all of the positions require it for different purposes. The strikers, midfielders and defenders use it to receive passes. If they had a good reaction time they will be able to receive the pass at the right time. Strikers may also use it to simply tap the ball into the goal. They will be able to see the ball and react quickly to tap the ball into the goal. Goalkeepers also need a good reaction time because they have to see the ball and then react quickly to save the goal. This is especially required by a goalkeeper when saving a penalty because the required reaction time will be much shorter as it is closer. He has to react much quicker this time to save the goal.
Example of a Sportsman:
An example of a sportsman who excels in reaction time is Jerzy Dudek. This is because he has an excellent reaction time when it comes to saving penalties. This was shown by him in the Champion League Final of 2005 as he was able to make vital penalty saves. He is able to react very quickly after he sees the ball coming to try to save the goal.
Sport-Related Drill:
This can be a simple drill such as a penalty shoot-out. The person that is in goal is the one that is practising his reaction time. Penalties will be taken continuously and he has to try and save it. He will improve his reaction time as he will start to react quickly after seeing the ball.
Agility:
Definition:
This is defined as the ability to change the position of the body quickly and to control the movement of your whole body.
Role in Football:
This is quite useful in football because most of the players may tend to use this skill. Strikers need it as they have to change their body position very quickly so that they can shoot in a different direction. This means that they waste less time after they receive the ball and might be able to fool the goalkeeper into thinking that it is coming in another direction. Midfielders use this agility in football to change their body position when making passes so that they are able to pass in a different direction than before. This will put off the opposing player as he would expect him to pass in a different direction. Defenders have to change their body position when making tackles so that they can win the ball cleanly. However it is not needed as much for goalkeeper as he does not change his position often. He has to constantly stay along a horizontal line so he will always be facing in front and there is no need for him to change his body position lots of times.
Example of Sportsman:
An example of a sportsman who excels in using agility in football is Michael Owen. This is because he can change his body position very quickly inside the box to receive a pass and shoot in a different direction than what the goalkeeper expects.
Sport-Related Drill:
The individual stands in the middle surrounded by four walls. He is not allowed to move out of his circle and he has to shoot the ball against one wall then change his body position to receive the ball and shoot the ball to the next wall. This will improve his agility in football because this is what he will mainly use agility for in an actual match.
Balance:
Definition:
This is defined as the ability to retain the centre of mass (gravity) of the body above the base of support with reference to static- stationary or dynamic- changing conditions of movements of shape and orientation.
Role in Football:
This is less useful in football because the players use may tend to use this skill only a few times in an actual match. Defenders mainly need it as they have to hold their balance when getting tackled. An example of a tackle can simply be a shoulder barge where the defender has to be able to retain his body and not fall over to give the ball away. Goalkeepers will also use this for the same reason as they have to hold their balance when the ball is near them and the opposing player is trying push him to take the ball and score. It is not needed as much as the others so it does not play a major role in football.
Example of Sportsman:
An example of a sportsman who excels ii balance is John Terry. This is because he is able to hold off other defenders and it is hard to push him over. This is mainly because he has good balance so the opposition find it hard to push over and take the ball. This is why he has been classed as a world-class defender as balance is vital for defenders but not as much for the other positions.
Sport-Related Drill:
Two people start off next to each other with a ball. The individual with the ball has to try and block the other player from getting the ball by holding his balance. This would improve his balance as in actual match the individual represent s the defender trying to hold the other player from getting the ball like blocking the opposing player to let it roll out to a goal kick or a throw-in.
