Peak Performance in Sports
Categories: OTHERS
Peak Performance in Sports
In the sports arena, peak performance in sports has always been a much sought after state by players and coaches of all levels. Whether the athletes are school boys soccer players or Olympians striving for their Gold medals, peak performance in sports has always attracted athletes and coaches alike. In our modern age of sports, where sports science is at a stratospheric level and rising, what are the factors that when applied correctly can lead sports participants to peak performance in sports? Are there secrets to sporting excellence? Are these factors easily manipulated for the benefits of the athletes? This article discusses the factors that can lead athletes and coaches to peak performance in sports.
There has been many articles and books detailing principles, programs, success factors and the like that can lead to peak performance in sports. Many authors have written at length about them and in many ways, the principles and factors are universal. The principles of progressive resistance, variety, goal specific training, recovery, etc. are all undisputed underlying reasons that allows athletes to achieve peak performance in sports. This article goes a step further by exploring these universal factors in a different light. In the process, I hope to give athletes and coaches alike how to practically apply these principles and which are the factors with higher weightage in terms of achieving success and peak performance in sports.
There are basically two set of factors we need to investigate. Technical and human factors. Let us look at the former set of factors first;
Technical Factors
- Quality Preparation
- Mastering Individual Skills
- High Fitness Levels
- Understanding Overall Team Play
- Filling Up Key Positions of the Team
- Minimize Errors in Games
1. Quality Preparation
The hard work for any sports season begins with the preseason training which is very intensive. No body likes this season, as the work and training required is often very boring and painful. But this must be done for the athletes to be optimally prepared for the rigors of the competitive phase. The endurance, strength, speed, and skill volumes must be done. Not just the volume of work, but how much quality is put into the preparation phase is vital as well. When players cut corners and put in training at face value without their heart and soul, it will show up later in the competition as fatigue, injuries, or lack of sharpness in their performance. Peak performance in sports cannot be possible under such circumstances. The quality of preseason preparation is even more important in youth sports.
2. Mastering Individual Skills
In all sports and games, there are certain skill sets and skills that are considered basic and necessary. These must be achieved by athletes before they can play at a higher level later. In basketball, dribbling and executing a proper lay-up are crucial. Throwing, catching, and fielding skills are a must in baseball and softball. The push-pass and receiving a pass are necessary skills in hockey and floor ball. The list goes on. In preseason training, or at the earliest playing stage, these essential skills must be made known to our young players, and all efforts and time must be spent on mastering these basic skills. Without these skills, a coach will find it very difficult to execute more complex team plays to achieve peak performance in sports. If strikers cannot even control a long pass from a teammate, how can we expect the same player to hold up the ball well up field against oppositions defenders and execute lay-off passed to oncoming teammates in support. It will be wise for coaches to develop these skills early and for players to keep improving themselves in these skills even though they might feel that they are good enough already.
3. High Fitness Levels
At high school levels, many athletes would not have reached their maximal physical development yet no matter how much they train. Physiologically speaking, the development in this area in youths is very varied. Some children reach a high fitness standard faster than others, while others have body types that will only respond to training optimally when they get older. Hence, it can be assumed that a team with the fittest group of players will have the most advantage. No matter how skillful your opponents are, if you are fitter than him or her, you will be able to overcome your lack of fitness by reacting rapidly to overcome your short fall. Let us say, you are out dribbled by a more skillful opponent in soccer. But if you are fitter than your opponent who have just out-dribbled you, you will be able to track back fast enough to cover your position again. This edge in fitness for youth is very important at the later stages of the game too, as players tend to tire faster at this age. A fitter team will be able to prevail and score more later in the game. Players at this age need to be convinced of this need for fitness, and be encouraged to do whatever they can to attain the highest level of fitness possible.
4. Understanding Overall Team Play
The next factor of great importance in achieving peak performance in sports is understanding the overall team play by the players. Imagine a coach telling his charges to clear the balls down the flanks in any invasion game. You will be surprising how many players understand why they are told to do this. Often, the players will just do what is required or told by the coaches. The understanding behind their action is very often very little. They might not know that by playing the ball down the flanks or wing, it forces the opponents defense to spread wider, thus leaving more gaps in the middle for the attacker to exploit subsequently. Another statistically advantage is that plays down the flanks generally result in the attacker getting the ball back if it is knocked out of bound. That is why, you often hear players or coaches shouting to their charges to 'throw it down the line'. Young players love the direct route to goal and very often that means playing through the middle. Whatever is taught in tactics to the players, coaches must make every effort to explain and make sure that all the players understand the tactical significance of their plays. This form of coaching if done properly, makes the players better players and improve their decision making on the pitch. And we are always looking for more thinking players in our pitch which will give the team a higher chance of achieving peak performance in sports.
5. Filling Up Key Positions of the Team
The fifth factor that can produce peak performance in sports is finding the right players to fill up the most key positions of the team first. In any sport teams, there will be key positions that must be filled first. The point guard in a basketball team is the driver of the team. he controls all plays. A center in ice-hockey is pivot in both defense and attack, hence he must be the best and fittest and most abled player. The catcher in baseball is the key man, as he dictates and calls the pitches, and sees the entire fielding situation. These key positions must be filled first, even if it means fielding someone out of position. I use to have a very talented and strong striker who loves to score goals. Unfortunately, I also have a big gap in goal-keeping and he happens to be the best handler of balls in the team. After much persuasion and sacrifice, he finally converted to a goal-keeper. Thanks to his selfless act, the team did extremely well as very few goals were scored against us. It was not easy to make this move. But as the coach than, I felt that the goal-keeper is too important a player to let any Tom, Dick, or Harry player, hence it must be the best. This result was the least number of silly errors from our goal-keeping department and that gave the team a much better chance to win games. This brings us to the last technical factor that influence peak performance in sports - making fewest errors.
6. minimize Errors in Games
In sports these days, errors often decide the outcome of the game. Errors will be more plentiful at youth and children’s levels. The fact that children are playing at lower technical and tactical levels makes it inevitable that errors will be made. The team that makes the fewest errors in any game will generally perform at their peak. It is a mentality that must be drilled into players to make the fewest error individually as well as a team. If you do not believe this, watch your next game with a watchful eye over how goals or points are scored. Often, you will realize that a goal started from an error from the opponents somewhere. Or a point or run is a result of some players fumbling the ball. Making many silly errors will not lead a team to peak performance in sports. A team that is doing well makes the fewest errors. So, coaches, make sure you train your players to understand this and do the right things in the game. Show them evidence through videos or live games, and they will be convinced that the team with the fewest errors win games and peak in their sports performance.
Human Factors
1. Players' Dedication and Commitment 2. Team Work and Team Spirit
The first factor deals with having dedicated and committed players. This is very much an individual player factor, but it is also the coach's responsibility to reap the highest commitment and dedication from each player. We all know that every player is different, hence it requires different strategies to motivate different players. For some players, simply setting goals, both team and individual goals, will suffice because maybe the players themselves are already intrinsically motivated. For players with poor motivation and a star attitude, some form of carrot and stick methods might be required to get the most out of them. Whatever the strategies, failure to get the highest commitment and dedication from players will mean that training and match play will not be optimum thus resulting in poorer peak performance in sports.