Physical Education

Unit - 3

3.2.10.6.Other variations
Another method of making this basic session harder is to add another line of players, thus making the area more crowded, or to increase the number of players in each line. As long as the drills are practised at high speed, the element of pressure should always be evident.

Another way to work on similar aspects for team players is using a grid, but this time running from the corners, via the centre, to opposite corners. The place and run drill is common, where the player passes to a teammate at the opposite diagonal corner and runs to follow the direction of the pass. The partner will receive the ball, have to control and return it before himself running to follow the direction of the pass. Naturally, this must be done while avoiding the activity going on between other groups who are using the other corners of the grid. If the number of passes are performed against the clock, the skills of control and delivery under pressure in a coordinated fashion are practised well.

A variation of this drill is to run or dribble with the ball, leave it in the middle and then run on without it. The partner then runs to the middle, picks it up and delivers it to the opposite corner, and so on. This requires both good timing and good body positioning.

Pressure sessions such as these are a valuable addition to any training programme because they are competition-specific. Normally it makes sense to practise skills first before working on endurance or other aspects of fitness. However, in this specific case, there is a strong argument for the fitness training to be done before the skill element. This means the athlete has to practice the selected skill under the duress of fatigue. If suitable practice of this nature is carried out, not only will the biochemical adaptations lead to reduced fatigue when performing the skills but the athlete will also have tighter skills when performing under pressure.