The sport that I am working to improve is hockey as it is the main sport that I play
The sport that I am working to improve is hockey as it is the main sport that I play. I currently play for my school 1st XI and also for a club team. I play about five times a week, which includes the matches of about two a week on average plus training sessions. During each week I have one fitness session in order to maintain the level that I have reached so far. I am confident with all aspects of my game but all of them require ongoing improvement.
Hockey requires many different skills and abilities. During a game of hockey the players are required to do movements such as stretching, fast responses to different actions of the opponents, and to maintain a high level of activity throughout the match / game. Firstly, speed and agility in a match are vital to allow the player to contribute fully to his role in the game whether it be defending or attacking. They are needed whether trying to catch up with a player or move away from them. Flexibility gives the player a wider range of movement, which would help in both attacking and defensive scenarios. Players must be able to maintain a high level of cardio-vascular and muscular endurance throughout the game so that it does not have an effect on their overall performance.
My current activity levels are high with myself playing hockey (whether it is a match or training) on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Each session lasts for approximately one and a half to two hours. The sessions are not always at the same time of day with them varying from early morning to late evening. In addition to this I play other sports at the weekend including matches and coaching sessions. Whenever possible during the week I have one fitness session consisting of about 30minutes. This allows me to maintain the level of fitness I have already achieved in the season.
I play in a defensive position in a game of hockey and therefore I must have quick reactions in order to be able to respond to the movements of my opponents. Also I need to be able to stay with the opponent when marking them and this requires both speed and endurance. Speed is needed so that I can keep up with the attacker, which gives me a chance of tackling him, and endurance is needed so that I can stay with the person for long periods of time.
I know from my own experience that I have definite strengths and weaknesses. My endurance is one of my strengths although it can still be improved dramatically which would have huge improvements on my overall game play. The weaknesses are in the form of agility and sprints and these are both extremely important also. In the sprints, it is the beginning of the running that is slow, which allows the attacker to get away from me in a game. Agility has no specific area to concentrate on so the entire area needs to be improved.
By improving my sprint speed it would put me at more of an advantage against other opponents than I had before. It would allow me to stay with them and keep put pressure on them rather than me always trying to catch up with them which does not put as much pressure on. They would not have as much time to prepare themselves as I would be there in a much shorter time.
Agility would have an improvement on every aspect of my game whether it is defensive or attacking. It would improve my time it takes to change direction and also allow me to work better at different levels whether it be up or down.
Endurance would improve my game all round also especially in the last quarter of the matches. I would be less fatigued and therefore less likely to make a rash decision or to play a bad pass which normally happens when a player begins to get fatigued. This would put me at an advantage against most other players, as I would be able to react to different situations more appropriately.
