Higher Example Answers

Thursday after school: Agility

Friday after school : Level of Arousal

Level of Arousal

EVALUATE how a low level of arousal impacts performance.

“ A players level of arousal is determined by their energized state of alertness and preparedness for an activity. In badminton, if a player has a low level of arousal it can negatively affect their game. If a player is too relaxed when playing it creates a lack of drive needed to succeed. They become complacent and lack the motivation to play good shots in order to win.

Furthermore, a player therefore has lapses in concentration which means they are not watching where their opponent is on the court and thus fail to make use of the space on the court. This could cause a forced error or give their opponent the upperhand.

Also, if the player is not paying attention to the flight path of the shuttle it can cause them to delay in their preparation to hit the shuttle. This lack of timing will cause unforced errors losing vital points.

Finally, if a badminton player is too relaxed it may force them to make the wrong decision when playing a shot. For instance if they play a lift at the net instead of a net shot it will allow the opponent more time to prepare and attack resulting in a possible loss of points.” (Rory McNeil)

ANALYSE how a high level of arousal impacts performance.

“A player’s level of arousal is defined by their energized mental state of alertness and preparedness for an activity. In badminton, if a player has a high level of arousal it can significantly impact on the way they play a match. If a badminton player is nervous before a match then they will start to get surges of adrenalin when playing. This will cause them to play unpredictably. As a result they will be unable to build from defense to attack and will be playing a lot of their shot as reactions to their opponent and be unable to control the game. Furthermore, over arousal can cause fear and anxiety within a player. This too can consume a players mind and can lose their balance and timing when playing shots creating unforced errors. This can set the tone for the rest of the match, if the player is unable to recover. Also, if a player is over stimulated they can lose track of their game. This loss of concentration impacts negatively on the information processing system, causing poor decision making and lack of skill required to play certain shots. Finally, if a player is over-confident and convinced themselves they have to win a poor shot or performance can have catastrophic consequences. The player can start to doubt their ability and get angry when shots don’t go their way. Thus they start to take more risks or poor judgments resulting in unforced errors.” (Rory McNeil) If level of arousal is at its optimum explain how this would impact your performance in an activity of your choice.

“In badminton, When I am in control of my emotions then it allows me to play at my optimum mental and physical level. This means I can shut out distractions and fully concentrate on the game, and make the correct shot selection and movement. Also when playing a game I have more confidence in my ability to play better shots. This confidence allows me to cope better under pressure and not create many unforced errors. When I am caught up in a long rally I am able to remain focused when my oppoenent changes the pace of the game. I am able to react on cue and catch my opponent off guard and start to build for a counter attack. Finally, when I am able to achieve the optimum level of arousal I can use my experience to shake off any issues with my game and correct them immediately.”

(Rory McNeil)

EXPLAIN the importance of agility in the chosen activity.

“Agility is the ability to turn or adjust position quickly whilst maintaining control and is a combination of speed, flexibility and balance. Agility is of great importance in football both when attacking and defending. Primarily, agility used by attackers is implemented when attempting to beat players off of the dribble. Good agility is important as it allows the player to weave past defenders whilst keeping the ball close to their feet which then allows them to play a pass or progress up the pitch. Agility is also important in an attacking sense when receiving a pass. The pass may not always be accurate or played with suitable pace, so agility allows the player to keep possession and not risk a counter attack from the opponents. Agility is also important when defending from set pieces. The opponent may flood the 18yard box with players in an attempt to make it hard for the defenders to get to the ball. In this case, agility is required to weave and outmanouvre an opponent to the ball to perform a defensive clearance. Lastly, agility is key when defending in football because if your team loses possession of the ball, the opponent may counter. In which case, agility would be used to accelerate back down the field and pressure the attacker, gaining possession back.” (?????????)

Concise paragraph – 1 point –total reflection

“Possessing good agility, as a team allows for a faster and more effective transfer of the ball from one end of the court to the other. The ability to turn quickly means that players can outrun their defenders by disguising their direction of travel and changing it at the last second. This allows players to enter their desired space to receive the pass without having their marker blocking or intercepting the ball. Also, once the pass has been received, turning quickly permits them to find the best option for a pass in the least time possible, choosing the most economic method of attack.” (Louise Murray) EVALUATE how agility impacted your performance positively or negatively in badminton.

“When playing badminton agility had a negative impact on my performance. Agility is the ability to turn or adjust position quickly whilst maintaining control and balance. Having a lack of agility means I am not able to move around the court fast enough. This means I can’t make it from the front of the court to the back in sufficient time for me to get behind the shuttle and return the best shot. This results in my shots lacking power, balance and accuracy and my clears lack depth. This further gives my opponent prime opportunity to smash. A lack of agility in badminton also has a negative impact on my overall performance as it can be difficult for me to return to base after each shot due to my inability to turn quickly whilst keeping balance. This means I end up exposing a lot of space on court, which gives my opponent the opportunity to play the shuttle into the space making it very easy for them to counter attack. This further means I am spending a high percentage of the game defending. This can become very tiring which means I lose concentration. This majorly impacts my decision making, and can lead to me making careless mistakes. As a result, of my lack of preparation time it means when I do return the shuttle is is rushed and often I am off balance. This can result in poor shots lacking power and accuracy”

(Corey Kennedy)

“In tennis , agility is extremely important. Agility is the ability to turn or adjust position whilst maintain control and a combination of speed, balance and flexibility. When playing a game of tennis, it is important to have the ability to anticipate and get into position early to play an effective shot. For example; if my opponent plays a body serve, it is vital that I respond quickly and adjust footwork to be in a strong position to play a shot which is effective and then recover into position to allow me to move efficiently for the next shot. Also, if I play a slower, shorter ball that my opponent can attack, I need to have the ability to anticipate the direction of the shot early and this will give me a better chance of neutralising and get back into the point and I will have more time to make the decisions of where to hit the shot. Adjusting footwork early and returning challenging shots means that my opponent has to take risks and this can have a positive impact on my performance. Furthermore, If I don’t have efficient agility this can impact my performance negatively. if my opponent disguises a drop shot, having lack of agility means I will be unable to quickly adjust my position and move early to take the ball at the top of the bounce. My opponent can then target this weakness as I will be rushing my technique and become inconsistent. (Nicole Clarke)

In netball, agility is an important factor for a good performance. During a netball game the flow and direction of play can change quickly. You must be prepared to react to this change and turn accordingly. For example, when my team mate was trying to defend our court, a teammate was able to take possession and make a quick pass forward, therefore I had to adjust and turn quickly whilst maintaining control to be able to create a pass and keep the passes flowing. Agility is also important when marking another player. When defending you must be prepared to adjust position constantly to stop your marked player from retrieving the pass. A netball game is played quickly up and down the court so you must be fast to keep up with them, but to jump and catch the ball and decelerate very quickly, to prevent fouls and maintain balance. In netball agility is required for preparation in order to be in position on time so that you do not bring your opponent to your set position and have time to make more accurate passes. (Aimee McGinley) Select a personal strength or weakness in your badminton repertoire. EVALUATE how this impacts performance positively or negatively.

“My strength, the overhead clear, has a positive impact upon my performance in badminton. I am able to create space on the court. By playing a successful OHC I can push my opponent to the back of the court, which instantly opens up the front of the court for me to play a touch shot. This will either win me the point immediately if the opponent doesn’t get to the shuttle in time or, it will wrong foot my opponent giving me the opportunity to attack.

By playing an OHC I am preventing my opponent from playing a smash. Once I have pushed them to the back there is no possible way for them to return my clear with a smash. This means that I am less likely to have to be on defence, and can work my way towards a smash.

Playing an OHC gives me more time to get back to base which essentiallty gives me more decision making time. Playing a long clear right to the back of the court will take more time to return than if it was a front court shot. By having more decision making time I can play the most economic method of play to win points.

Another positive impact of the OHC is that I am aware of possible returns that my opponent may play. There are only a limited range of shots available from the back of the court.

I can throw my opponent off balance, causing a weak return, by playing an OHC to the backhand. Presently the back hand clear is not as strong as the forehand clear and so by forcing a return from the backhand I create a higher possibility of receiving a poor return. This leaves open the opportunity for an attacking shot.” (Louise Murray)