Unit 27 Strengths and Weaknesses Referral

Unit 27

Task 2 – Performance Strengths and Areas for Improvement

Strength 1/4Pass AccuracyPass accuracy is the ability to play a precise pass to another teammates feet or into a good area where a teammate can run on to and receive the ball. Scott’s biggest perceived strength is his passing accuracy. His coach and myself have both awarded him an 8 out of 10 which places him as the top, or one of the top, passers in the college first team. We have both observed Scott perform for the first team of college from watching games in person as well as from videos, so I feel this score is a fair and realistic rating. He felt he was also a good passer of the ball and gave himself a 9 out of 10. However, although I have mentioned Scott’s passing accuracy to be a strength of his game it could also effect him negatively in other areas of the pitch. For example in a shooting opportunity he may choose to pass the ball to a teammate rather than take the shot on himself. This may not always be the correct choice and sometimes it can waste a goal scoring opportunity. An example of a player who does this is Joe Allen. His final year at Swansea before his transfer to Liverpool he had one of the best passing accuracy stats in the world competing with players such as Iniesta and Xavi however lacked massively in his goal scoring aspect of the game. Although Allen finished with an impressive passing accuracy percentage, if he has taken more risks within his game, with his technique he could have definitely added some goals to his game and become a more influential player in the Premier League.

Describe: Give a detailed account of something Explain: Give a detailed account to give the meaning of something with reasons. Include the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the topic of interest

Critically Analyse: Give your opinion of the subject of interest – consider all of the evidence and then write about both the advantages and disadvantages

Strength 2/4VisionVision is the ability to see ahead of the game and make correct decisions to promote success for the team. It is important for a centre midfielder in football to have a good vision so they are able to read the game, know what they want to happen before they receive the ball and anticipate other players movements and positions on the pitch. A scenario of a midfielder having a good vision could be as follows. A throw in is rewarded on the half way line and the midfielder knows that he will make a run towards the thrower, receive the ball, turn out and play a through ball as he will anticipate the run of the winger who will get on the end of the pass. This is an example of having good vision as the midfielder would've known that he would receive the ball and that the winger will make that run. This meant little thought process was needed and the passage of play was produced much quicker and more efficiently. Vision is usually considered to be a positive within a players game however if the rest of the team lack vision then the players will not be on the same wave length and possession could easily be lost. For example in the scenario explained before the winger would've had to have a good vision to anticipate that pass, however if a winger did not have a good vision they would not have made the run and the through ball would have gone to waste. In my opinion vision is a massive factor within football which can produce vital moments which can win or lose you a game. A player with extremely impressive vision is Andreas Iniesta for Barcelona. He can read the game extremely well and anticipate movement of players, however he is very lucky in that he plays in a very talented Barcelona squad who always understand his vision and never cause him to make a mistake by making wrong runs.



Strength 3/4Control of AnxietyThe definition of anxiety is the psychological and physical symptoms brought about by a sense of apprehension of a perceived threat. Within sport , anxiety is very common and all athletes will experience it. A controlled level of anxiety of good for performance however a uncontrolled level is not. If an athlete struggles to control anxiety levels there is good chance that it will become way too high for a performer to handle. If this is the case then performance can deteriorate dramatically. An example of anxiety effecting performance could be Scott taking a penalty and missing because he is experiencing too high levels of anxiety. We would know it is due to anxiety levels as Scott is a performance level athlete and possesses the skill and ability to take a good penalty if not put in a pressured situation. However Scott does not experience this performance drop often and believes that he has a good control over his anxiety levels. From my opinion Scott is a very consistent performer and I do also believe that he must control his levels of anxiety well as he rarely has drops in his performance. The difficult thing when controlling anxiety levels is determining what their optimum level is because if it too low performance will drop, and if too high performance will drop.

An example of a professional athlete who has great amounts of control over their anxiety is Steven Gerrard. He is one of the most consistent players in the world who week in week out plays well and controls the game for Liverpool. He never lets big games get to him and effect him, instead he thrives and plays even better. A good specific sporting example is his penalty taking consistency. Gerrard when playing for Liverpool is their main penalty taker and I would back him to score almost every single one of his penalties. This makes him a great example of a player who is able to control their anxiety levels effectively.



Strength 4/4Decision MakingDecision Making is the ability to make the correct choices which as a result will benefit the team. For example passing the ball on the edge of the box to a player in a better position rather that shooting themself. Decision making is vital for a footballer and especially for a centre midfielder. It is necessary for Scott to be creative and imaginative with his distribution of play as it reduces the chance of the opposition intercepting a pass or reading their passage of play. This links into decision making as the decision Scott needs to make is the correct one which the opposition will not be able to read. In my opinion Scott makes great decisions on the pitch which is why it is one of his strengths within his game. From observing Scott play his decision making when passing the ball is what stands out most. He times all of his through balls very well and plays them at the right time. An example of Scott having great decision making is his lofted through balls to the wide players who are making runs behind the full backs. He times them perfectly so the winger stays onside yet gets a good distance beyond the fullback.

An example of a professional footballer who has got great decision making is Santi Cazorla for Arsenal. His decision making on the ball is excellent, and he knows when it is best to dribble or pass and he rarely loses the ball. As well as this his decision making in front of goal is very impressive. Although when watching him you think there is only one clear cut option he manages to seek out a better opportunity and makes a better decision that what was first thought. It is a huge talent that he possesses and massively makes up his game. He fits into an Arsenal team very well as they have a passing mentality and the little slip through balls to teammates in better positions in the box allow Arsenal to get clearer scoring chances.



Development Area 1/4PowerPower is defined as the combination of strength and speed. Power is a weakness in Scotts game and is something that would benefit him greatly. Power is necessary for dominant surging midfield runs which many other normal midfielders would make. However Scott is limited as he does not have the power to make these runs and if he was to try a powerful run there is a high chance of him being outmuscled and potentially dispossessed off of the ball. Scott also needs power in his game to help him jump for the ball in the midfield. With this lack of power he experiences now he is often beaten to the ball in the air. These challenges are vital in the midfield to win.

An example of a professional athlete who has plenty of power is Manchester City’s Yaya Toure. His stature allows him to make powerful runs through the midfield and not get dispossessed easily. This is what makes him one of the best players in the world and it also helps his team succeed. He is also a great example to use for power when heading as he is very successful in the air.



Development Area 2/4StrengthStrength is the amount of force you can exert from a muscle. Strength within a sport like football is necessary because you need to be able to beat players, keep the ball under situations of high pressure from opposition and defend. Scott although does do this fairly well in a game could do it much better with an increased level of strength. If Scott trained his strength more he would be able to take more risks on the pitch as he would be able to retain the ball under pressure from opposition players. It would also be able to make stronger defensive challenges and more powerful surging runs.

Mousse Dembele is a centre midfielder for Tottenham Hotspurs who has a very good body composition, which helps him hugely in the game. He is very strong and he is able to hold of players in the midfield, something that Scott struggles to do. This muscle also helps him to make crunching challenges which wins him the ball as well as make surging attacking runs.



Development Area 3/4Body CompositionBody composition is the percentage of fat, bone and muscle ratio. In all sports it is vital for the percentage of fat in the body to be relatively low. In football having a low percentage of fat will assist their overall speed levels as well as their aerobic fitness and cardiovascular fitness levels. Scott does have a low percentage of fat which will benefit him as he can sprint faster which will help him on the pitch and it will also make him aerobically more efficient and cardiovascular fitness more efficient. An issue Scott does have is his muscle percentage in his body. Scott lacks a lot of muscle and it effects his performance negatively as he lacks strength on the pitch. He cannot demand the midfield like some midfielders can simply because he does not have the strength. In my opinion Scotts body composition is a massive factor which lets his game down. If Scott worked harder in the gym to build muscle in his body he would gain much more strength and find it a lot easier to play in the centre of the park.

Mousse Dembele is a centre midfielder for Tottenham Hotspurs who has a very good body composition, which helps him hugely in the game. He is very strong and he is able to hold of players in the midfield, something that Scott struggles to do. This muscle also helps with tackling and attacking.



Development Area 4/4SpeedSpeed is the ability to move quickly across the ground or move limbs rapidly. Obviously with football this refers to movement across the ground. A player with speed can benefit them massively, it is not as necessary for a midfielder to have speed compared to a winger, however it is helpful to have. For a midfielder if they have a lot of speed they are able to beat a player to the ball as well as take on opposition with more pace. This makes the defenders job much more difficult and they are more likely to foul you. It also helps with the defending aspect of the game as you can chase defenders and follow them around the pitch much closer and put more pressure on their players receiving the ball.

Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain is a Arsenal player who was first discovered as a winger. He has now been brought into the centre of midfield and he displays the normal attributions of a winger, however in this new position. He is an example of a player who has great amounts of speed and dhows how it can be effected. When dribbling into space and at players he is almost unstoppable and when he is stopped a foul is usually given. He is also a very hard working player who tracks back and his speed aids a lot with this.



Sports

Unit 27 Strengths and Weaknesses Referral