Improving Sports Performance

Semester Elective Unit

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Course Description

This semester length elective focusses on various factors that contribute to improving sporting performance. It explores some theoretical and practical content which is linked to the Year 11 and 12 VCE Physical Education Studies courses.

Essential Questions

How have advancements in technique and technology affected sporting performance?
What are the ccharacteristics of an exemplary sports coach and what strategies do they implement to achieve skill acquisition and game snese improvements?
How do you design, implement and monitor an effective personal fitness plan?

Areas of Study

Technique and Technology in Sport

Technological advancements in sports equipment design, material, structure and biomechanical technique.
Understanding some of the biomechanical principles evident in technological advancement and how the application of the principle has resulted in the change.
Factors affecting changes in equipment (e.g. clothing, footwear and playing fields) or technique.
Changes in performance as a result of the technological change.
Implications of the technological change such as biomechanical, social and ethical.

Sports Coaching

This area of study examines important coaching principles. Student have the opportunity to complete the Australian Sports Commission Community Coaching General Principles online course which is the first step towards obtaining a specific sport coaching accreditation.

The following principles are studied:

Roles and responsibilities expected of a coach including an understanding of the coaching Code of Conduct.
Investigation of the different styles of coaching.
Skills and behaviours of an exemplary coach, including understanding group dynamics, leadership skills, conflict resolution, communication, setting boundaries and inclusive coaching practices.
Open and closed skill and sport continuum; comparing environmental stability and instability.
Skill-learning principles such as stages of learning (cognitive, associative and autonomous), skill-learning processes and the role of feedback in skill-learning.
Coaching pathways and accreditation for coaches.

Personal Fitness Plan: Design, Implementation and Monitoring

Design, implement and monitor a personal fitness plan which includes a timeframe, goals and a variety of specific activities that meet the individual’s needs.
Develop and conduct a pre-fitness battery appropriate for the individual’s health related fitness requirements.
Understand the components of health -related fitness that are to be improved or maintained in the personal fitness plan.
Justify the selection of physical activities and training methods to be included in a personalised fitness plan, such as continuous, interval (short, intermediate, long and high intensity), fartlek, circuit, weight/resistance, flexibility and plyometrics.
Components of an exercise training session including warm up, conditioning phase and cool down.

Assessment