components of fitness

Muscular Endurance

Muscular endurance is related to how long your muscles can work at nearly maximum level, over a period of time without causing unnecessary tiredness. Muscular endurance is the practical use of raw strength. It is fundamental for every fitness activity, from the mostly anaerobic weight lifting repetitions to intense aerobic activities like jogging (where specific muscles in the legs are used repeatedly). Muscular endurance combines both aerobic and anaerobic energy. Football is a sport that requires muscular endurance and strength in the lower body in order for the player to work efficiently for the entire game.

Speed

Speed is the act of moving rapidly. It is the quickness of movement of a limb, whether this is the legs of a runner or the arm of a shot putter. Speed is an integral part of every sport and can be expressed as any one of, or combination of, the following:

* maximum speed

* elastic strength (power)

* speed endurance

It can be improved by constant training to increase speed which enables the performer in football to run fast enough to get the goal before their opponent and the ability to chase the attackers who are shooting on goal. Speed is influenced by the athlete's mobility, special strength, strength endurance and technique. We develop spped by:

* flexibility is developed and maintained all year round

* strength and speed are developed in parallel

* skill development (technique) is pre-learned, rehearsed and perfected before it is done at high speed levels.

* Speed training is performed by using huigh velocity for brief intervals. This will ultimately bring into play the correct neuromuscular pathways and energy sources used.

* Speed is how fast something can be done and how much time it takes to do that action. The differential rate at which an individual can perform a movement or cover a distance in a period of time.

Strength

The amounts of force a muscle can exert against a resistance

Flexibility

The range of movement possible at a joint.

Skill related components

Success in sporting does not always rest solely upon the components of fitness. To be successful we need to add certain skill related components. The following are all components of skill:

* Agility

* Balance

* Co-ordination

* Speed of reaction

* Timing

Like other fitness components, skill related components can also vary in importance from one activity to another.

Agility

Agility is the ability to change direction quickly. It involves the performer's ability to move in a controlled way. Agility is specific to freedom and ease of whole body movement. Agility is used in football as players need to adjust their feet promptly in order to position their bodies before making a tackle or pass, or to turn quickly whilst on the move. It is the agility to adjust the position of the body quickly and in the correct way that is incredibly useful to all members of a football team.

Balance

Balance is an important aspect of almost any physical activity in particular football. In football, the concept of balance relates to our ability to keep the bulk of our body weight over our base of support. A football player must be able to move in any direction in order to get passed the opponent and continue with the ball nearer and nearer towards the goal and must therefore be in a balanced position to do so. A sense of balance implies a sense of control. If a goalkeeper needs to stretch to reach or catch the ball, the positions of their feet are automatically adjusted in order to avoid overbalancing.

Co-ordination

Co-ordination occurs as a result of interaction between the body's movement and nervous system. It enables the various parts of the body to combine in producing a desired movement or sequence of movements. The ability to produce co-ordination movement is necessary for the successful performance of sporting skills. It is the ability to use 2 or more body parts together and is essential in maintaining balance and controlling the movement of limbs as they play their separate parts in throw ins, passes, kicking, catching or striking a ball, or in avoiding, dodging or sidestepping an opponent. Co-ordination is something we are born with but it can however, be improved with practise.

Speed of reaction

The speed with which we react to a given situation can be crucial in sport because with a quick response a shot flying towards the top corner of the goal may be saved. Even though the nature of the responses may be different, the mechanisms involved are exact and essentially involve two closely related processes:

* Reaction time

* Movement time

Reaction time is the time it takes between the initial stimulus for example, the ball is seen to be kicked towards the goal and the initiation of a response on the part of the goalkeeper (he starts to move to stop the ball).

Movement time is the time taken between the initiation of a response and the completion of the movement. So, it's the time taken between the goalkeeper deciding on the right move to save the goal and his starting to move (initiation of the response) and making the save itself (completion of the movement).

Response time -the speed of reaction- is the total amount of time between the initial stimulus, the response to it and the completion of that response, so that:

Reaction time +

Movement time

= response time

Timing

Timing is simply about performing a skill at the right time or in the right way so that it is effective. The timing of a pass in football can be crucial. Timing can be influenced by internal mechanisms, the degree to which we can relate to and respond to what others are doing in a game.