Performance Improvement Programme

AS and A Level Physical Education (Sport & Coaching)

This programme involves improving a certain skill in a chosen sport. I will have to identify a skill then work on an improving programme to improve at the skill. This programme will include a timetable for practise and furthering my education on this skill by researching it on the Internet. I will also have to be assessed before I start the training and after the training to see how much I have improved, if I have.

For this programme I am going to pick a closed skill that is the same every time. By picking a closed skill it will be easier to obtain better improvements because I will be repeating the same shot over and over throughout the course of a training session. This will be my forehand shot in table tennis. I feel that this is an important shot in the game and by improving this skill it will make me a better player when up against an enhanced opposition.

Research

Physical fitness is an important factor for a successful footwork. A satisfactory strength on both legs helps the player to move quickly from side to side and take the best position for the next stroke. Waist flexibility helps the player to keep body balance during most of the technical strokes.

The majority of the offensive players cover almost 70% of the table with the forehand while the remaining 30% is covered by the backhand. The ideal position for the execution of this stroke is 40-50 cm away from the table. The position of the body is similar with the basic stance. As the ball comes, the player turns slightly to the right and brings the racket a little lower than the waist height. The hand is slightly bent. From this position starts the front counter clockwise movement of the right hand. The contacts of the racket with the upper part of the ball take part in the beginning of the rise after its bounce. The angle of the racket with the table at the time of contact is about 50°. The body weight is in front helping on the stroke execution. The whole movement executed quickly.

This research will help me to improve my skill. By looking into how it is correctly done, I can base my training around this so than I can achieve the best from my training. I will also be assured that I am doing my training correctly and that I am benefiting from it. This research has taught me that fitness, flexibility and the correct way to hold the bat and how to position it when approaching the ball.

Observation

This is a preview of the whole essay

Observation

I have had my chosen skill observed by a peer before I have started my improvement programme. He has advised me to work on improving my forehand shot because he saw this as a weakness and with extra training it would be possible to turn this weakness into strength and use it as an attacking shot. The shot can be exciting when used in the right way and learning the correct way to do it will make it an important part of my game. While improving this shot I will have to consider points that I will have to improve within the shot. This is the balance. I have to be able to play the shot at a height speed and sometimes and a much lower pace. I will have to judge which side of the opposite table to play the shot to and work on making sure that the shot hits the table and that I don’t hit it to far and miss the table. It will also have to play at the right height. My preferred height will be just over the net. The lower the shot is played the lower the bounce will be, making it hared for the opposition to play a return shot. If the ball has to much height on it I will be leaving myself open for the opposition to pay a smash shot and take points away from me.

FITT principle

I will consider the FITT principle whist doing my training. The FITT principle is a scheme that should be used in all types of training. The FITT principle is a basic philosophy of what is necessary to gain a training effect from an exercise programme. The letters represent,

F: Is for frequency

I: Is for intensity

T: Is foe time

T: Is for type

This is used because different types of sport require different amounts of training. If you are a marathon runner you will not need to train as much but when you do train it will need to be intense. If you were training to be a short distance sprinter it would involve more training in short bursts.

The meaning of FITT will be applied with these concepts to the two types of training, cardoirespiratory training and resistance training, to educate you on what is needed to gain training benefits.

The way that I can achieve better results in my shot is by working on a training programme. I will have to stick to this programme for about three weeks and make sure that the training that I am doing will help by making me a better player at the skill that I’m improving. At the end of the training I will be assessed again by my peer and find out my improvements.

For my training programme I will have to apply the FIT principle. My frequency will be around four days a week. The intensity of my training will be 80%. The time of each session will be approximately one hour. Then will do four sessions a week meaning that I will take art in around four hours of training a week. The type of training that I will be doing is working on my forehand shots in the sport of table tennis.

The Programme

Monday – I will practice for forty-five minutes against another player. I will repeat my skill numerous amounts of times and use the skill in matches to assess how well I can implicate it when playing.

Wednesday – My practise will last for one hour and it will involve playing table tennis against an opposing player and practising my game play and my forehand shots.

Thursday – I will train on my fitness for one hour and thirty minutes. Improving my fitness will help when having to train for long periods and will also help Improve my reflexes when playing. During this training I will also be stretching, helping my durability improve.

Sunday – One hour of playing a physical sport. This will again improve my fitness and my reflexes for my game. It will also help on co-ordination for footwork and help in being able to adapt when faced again different types of shpts.

Now that I have drawn up a plan I will stick to this plan for three weeks and make sure that I do everything I have stated in the plan.

Log Week 1

Monday – I trained at improving the forehand but come across difficulties when trying to play the shot as pace because the ball would sometimes travel to far and not hit the other end of the table. Also when playing the ball lower to the net sometimes the ball would hit the net and not travel all the way over.

Wednesday – I trained for one hour and was practising a long rally playing just the forehand shots. I feel that I have improved and am able to judge hoe far to stand back off the table when playing harder shots and softer shots.

Thursday – I went football training for one hour and during this training worked hard at my running and footwork. My fitness is of a high standard which is good because fitness is very important when playing table tennis.

Sunday – I went running for one hour because again I am maintaining a high level of fitness because this will help greatly with reflexes and footwork.

Week two

Monday – Training today lasted for approximately forty-five minutes and the time was spent practising the forehand shots and using them in matches against an opposition.

Wednesday – Today I trained at my local sports centre for one hour.

I worked on my shots and feel that I now how to improve my training and I can see results starting to happen.

Thursday – training today was based around stretching and running. This is aimed to improve my fitness and flexibility. This will also help on sped when having to change body position in a game.

Sunday – my training today was based around a football match. Although this may have nothing to do with table tennis it helps maintain fitness and help with durability.

Week three

Monday – I participated in a PE lesson today for one hour, which involved playing table tennis against different opponents and practising my technique in a real game situation.

Wednesday – I enjoyed playing table tennis for one hour again today which was basically just training to improve using the fore hand and being able to also put topspin on the shots that I play. I am able to do this by hitting the ball from a lower angle and following through on top of the shot. This shot also makes it hared for my opposition to defend.

Thursday – I worked on fitness including short sprinting exercises to increase reaction time. I also took part in stretching to help make my muscles looser, which will help with reflexes and make my returning of shots quicker.

Sunday – The last day of my programme was some more exercise base around fitness again. Today was a time when I played football for one hour increasing my durability.

Analysis

On looking back at my training I feel that I improved greatly. I now feel confident when playing a forehand shot and feel that I can use it when attacking or defending.

I feel that I improved because I was training more regular than usual and I was training for a specific part of my game. When trying to improve one factor it is easier then trying to improve on your whole game.

I think that my programme could have been improved by doing some more practises with a professional coach. I was teaching myself with the information I researched and by playing the same shots over and over. But perhaps by having a coach teaching me what I am doing right or wrong would have made me better at the chosen skill.

I found the training enjoyable and very helpful. I now can use training in a real situation in a game for example and feel confident when playing he shots.

Evaluation

The problems that I came across whilst taking part in this performance-improving programme was that it was sometimes difficult to attend my leisure centre at the times that I wanted. This was due to the leisure centre being open to the public and therefore reservations had to be made in advanced to get the required time and day that I wished. The outdoor facilities was also a problem because some days it may have rained very heavily and the required training that I wanted to do had to changed according to the weather.

The improvements that I can make on my training are to attend a real coaching session either within my school or at a coaching centre. By attending a lesson I may have been taught different ways in which to play and these ways might have been very useful to my programme. A professional coach would have been able to tell me what I was doing wrong and right and teach me how to work on my strengths and weaknesses.

The facilities that I used to do my training were a mixture of different places. It included my school gym on Mondays in my Physical education lessons. I used the schools table tennis tables and played for one hour each week using the facilities that my school offers. I also made regular visits to my local leisure centre on Wednesday nights to play my table tennis and I also used a local all weather outdoors training centre on Thursday nights to practise on my fitness.

To motivate myself was basically simple. I am a sporting person and so I enjoy playing sports, which means I wanted to participate, in the performance-improving programme. Also I attended regular sessions with a friend who also plays table tennis and motivates himself. Whenever I asked to play he would be very wiling to attend sessions with me making the programme a lot easier.

Overall I feel that I have worked very hard and that the chosen skill hat I have been working on has improved greatly and I feel a better player. I also feel confident when playing and now use the fore hand to attack and defend. I am able to play top-spin shots and am able to play these shots all over the other side of the table making it very difficult for the opposition.