The breaking news is that your technical skills and your ability to complete the skill successfully are directly related to a Physical Fitness component. Your technical skills will not improve unless the corresponding fitness component improves. It is not an issue of will power, its fitness. In fact, you can be committed to taking that spot kick and sending that football from your side of the field all the way to the Penalty spot of your opponent, but unless you have the leg strength and power you have zero chance. It therefore means that Leg STRENGTH & POWER are the fitness components that determine the technical skill and they must be developed correctly in the player.
Each sport will require the development of specific Fitness Components but there will also be general components across all sports. For those who play multiple sports it is important to note that that fitness developed for one sport may not make you fit for another sport. A mapping must be done between the skill(s) and the fitness component(s) so that the right components are developed in the training program. The last thing you want is to spend time developing the wrong component which cannot be utilized in the sport or might even retard development in the sport. One regular example is an attempt to develop SPEED instead of QUICKNESS. Quickness is the ability to move swiftly over a short distance up to 5m and is a slightly different component from Speed over 30m or 100m. So you can now appreciate the need to develop Quickness for the Shot Put, Tennis, Netball, Badminton, Boxing and Volleyball among several others. What about the Netballer’s ability to catch a ball, land and pivot on one foot then accurately make the immediate pass? The player has to be fit enough to BALANCE their entire body weight on one foot, and then remain stable, controlled and coordinated to complete the accurate pass.
Similar issues arise for the Striker who attempts to make a low, powerful shot at goal from outside the 18 yard box. The accuracy of that shot is affected by the player’s Balance which is influenced by the stabilizer muscles being involved to carry out the desired joint movements successfully. CARIDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE affects the player’s ability to delay fatigue to keep moving, complete that “burst” to intercept a pass or to cover an open space. Those technical maneuverings would only be good for the white board if the fitness component is not developed. AGILITY, FLEXIBILITY and MOBILITY influences a long list of technical and tactical skills in a wide range of sports. The key realization is that there is a relationship between the Physical Fitness of the player and his/her ability to carry out and complete the technical skill as instructed. Passing, throwing, jumping and changing directions are also all linked to fitness components.
The astute coach, athlete/player must therefore embrace Physical Fitness as the key strategy in developing technical and tactical skills for success. If you need more information and some expert guidance on this and all other fitness and performance factors, then feel free to contact us at performance@techniquelab.com. Be safe and healthy. David Riley Performance Coach IAAF Level 5 (Sprints & Hurdles) performance@techniquelab.com
David, you have dissected this topic piece by piece, and stimulated the brain as I look forward to getting back in training. The skills, technical, tactical and physical fitness are so intertwined that it seem an athlete cannot enjoy success if one component is missing.
Question: Is it easier work technically and tactically with a physically fit person to produce optimal performance or is it better to have a technically tactically sound person and get them to become physically fit?
The idea is to get each player to be at their best and that requires the player to be physically fit as required by the sport or even the position that the person plays. The physically fit person will be able to get a lot more done in the training session, especially with repeating the drill to achieve mastery of that skill. The person who is technically sound but physically unfit may have challenges in the training session but if he/she is committed to becoming physically fit then there could be a great opportunity there. Each situation must be assessed individually and without bias.
What is your take on getting sprinters fit, since long runs are highly frowned upon?
Sprinting is not only anaerobic. The research shows that the aerobic energy system is also used for sprinting events and should therefore be developed. Finding the right mix of aerobic activity is key to a successful training program. Long runs is only one way.
Thank you Coach Riley. Fitness is paramount I see.
I am guided.
This is a very helpful article.