Physiological Needs of Soccer Players - Coursework Example

Introduction: Football is one o the most important and popular games in the world. In as much as it is a popular game, there is still debate and uncertainty on the physiological needs. This is because emphasis is on the skills of the soccer players, as opposed to their physical fitness. Due to this uncertainty and debate on the physiological needs of soccer players, the assessment of physical and fitness profiles of professional football players is now common (Murray, 2011). The information provided and collected through testing makes it possible to monitor and evaluate the physical performance of football players. This helps in creating training programs that are efficient and reliable in improving the performance of soccer players (Subic, Ujihashi and Fuss, 2008). The various tests done on soccer players must reflect the fitness requirements for these players, which includes speed, flexibility, aerobic endurance and speed endurance. This paper provides the physiological profile of a soccer player, and it focuses on the profile of a striker. Physiological Needs of Soccer players: A good body shape, weight, body composition and height is a physiological needs that professional football players usually need. Football players usually vary in height and weight, more so when ethnic backgrounds are considered. For example, research proves that Asian players are always small in size, when they are compared to European or African players. In soccer, mid-fielders are always smaller in size, while central defenders are always taller in size. In terms of weight, research denotes that professional football players normally have an average weight of 77.7kg, while their body shape is always muscular (Burke and Deakin, 2010). The body composition of these players is very important, because too much fat will affect their ability to move fast, and jump around. This is due to too much weight in their body. On this basis, footballers must always take care on what they eat, and the nutritional composition of their diets. Football players always need to have strong muscle strength (Gamble, 2012). Due to the muscular body shape of soccer players, they need to have strength on the upper parts of their bodies. In as much as this should be the case, research denotes that most of these players lack this type of strength. This is partly because most of their training programs do not have provisions on working on their upper parts of the body. Most of these programs concentrate on the lower parts of the footballers body (Madden, 2010). Need for an anaerobic power is an important need for football players. This always involves their ability to jump. Ability to jump is a very important physiological need because players always have to win aerial balls, against their opponents. This is impossible if they are unable to effectively jump. Aerobic fitness is also another important physiological need, and it mainly relies on contributions from the blood, heart, lungs and active body muscles of the players. Research indicates that football players normally have a higher lung function capability, with low resting heart bit rates. In the field of football, midfielders, outfield players normally have a great and large aerobic power, while central defenders have low aerobic power (Maughan, 2007). These people must also be agile and flexible. Research indicates that most soccer players are not flexible, more so in the adductor and hamstring muscle groups. This is because most of their training programs do not have provisions for making players flexible in their activities. These players normally have muscle imbalances which always occur between the right and the left legs (McArdle, Katch and Katch, 2010). This can lead to a great risk of the occurrence of an injury. In general, football players are always strong, faster, bigger and fitter than players of other games. However, the playing position must be taken into account when carrying out a measurement on the performance of the football players under consideration. For example, the physiological needs of a defender are different from that of a midfielder, and that of a striker. The following are the physiological needs of a striker. Physiological Needs of a Striker: The average height of a football striker should be at least 6’3, who are dynamically strong. The reason as to why strikers need to have such an average height is because their responsibility is to attack, and this also involves an aerial attack. On this basis, to win balls in the air, strikers need to be tall individuals. They must also be strong, and this will help them to wade off or hold defenders. Strikers must also have a very high speed, and very agile. As an attacking player, a striker must run very fast with the ball. This is for purposes of beating up defenders, and scoring goals for his or her team. Speed is an essential requirement for most strikers, and research indicates that, strikers who are successful in their careers normally depict tendencies of very high speeds. They must also be very agile, and this will help them to turn very fast, and have an ease of movement (Longe, 2012). A striker might be attacked by two or three defenders, on this basis, ability to turn quickly while possessing the ball will help a striker to pass through the line of defense, scoring goals for their team. However, agility is a skill that most strikers do not posses. This is because there are a few training programs that train strikers to be agile (Rich and Pratte, 2010). On this note, most strikers depend on their natural agility, which could be improved through additional training. A striker must also be aerobically fit, and this is because he runs a lot. His lungs and heart must therefore be in a perfect position to enable him carry out the various runs in the field. In terms of weight, strikers must not be too fat, and their average weight should stand at approximately 76kgs. Being too heavy will mean that they do not have the capability of running faster, and this will make it difficult for them to beat off defenders. This people must also be masculine, as this will improve their movement, and speed. In fact, research denotes that most strikers normally have the figures of athletic sprinters. Appropriate Physiological Tests for Strikers: In measuring the body fat of a striker, it is appropriate to examiners to use the skinfold test. It is important to denote that an excess body fat of a striker will affect their ability to move around the field in a free manner. This test will therefore help to identify whether a striker has an excess body fat, and hence the need of initiating measures to reduce the fats under consideration. Skinfold test involves the use of tape measures, and skinfold caliper to estimate the fats contained in the strikers body (McArdle, 2012). In measuring the body fats of a striker, the examiners can any skinfold site, which includes the triceps, the thigh, the bicep, the subscap, abdominal, and the calf. The examiner will pinch the skin in these sites, in order to come up with a double layer, and an underlying adipose tissue. The examiners will then take the caliper and apply it I cm below the layer of the skin, and at a right angle of the pinch. The examiners will thereafter take the readings of the body fat after a few seconds, repeating the exercise two to three times. This is for purposes of getting the median of the value, which will reflect the amount of body fat in a striker (White, 2010). However, there are always many errors involved in this test; as a result examiners usually do not convert the body fat of a player in terms of the percentage. On this basis, examiners usually use the sum of various skinfold sites to compare and monitor the body fat measures of an athlete. On this note, it is recommended that this test must occur on all the skinfold sites of the player. A player who has taken a skin fold test is Christiano Ronaldo, a striker in Real Madrid. From the tests, Ronaldo had a skin fold of 29mm, and weighed 185.188 pounds (McArdle, 2012). This made the striker to have a body fat percentage of 5.58%. This represented a body fat weight of 4.68 kilograms. This result is good for the striker, because it will enhance his speed, and ability to jump (McArdle, 2012). Another test is the vertical jump test aimed at measuring strength and power. This test is necessary for purposes of monitoring and determining the strength of a player. It is also used to identify whether the various training programs aimed at increasing the strength of a player are effective (Wixted, 2007). To perform this test, an examiner needs a chalk, for purposes of marking the wall, and a tape measure to measure the height of the jump. In this test, the football striker will stand on the side of a wall, with his feet flat on the ground, raising his hands. The point of the athletes finger tip is then recorder, and it is normally called the reach height. The athletes will then move away from the wall, and leap in a vertical manner, as high as possible. This is while using both his legs and arms (Kenney and Wilmore, 2012). The distance between the jump height and the reach height is then recorder, and put as the score. For consistency purposes, three tests are always conducted to achieve the necessary results. This method is advantageous because it is simple to use, and an examiner gets the results in a quick manner. However, this method is disadvantageous because there is a need for maximum concentration for the examiner to time the jump for purposes of recording it. Christiano Ronaldo also took the Vertical Test Jump. The full height of Christiano Ronaldo is 6.1fts, and during the tests, Christiano was able to jump an average height of 8.9fts. The differences in this jumps was 2.8fts. This was an impressive jump that gives the striker an aerial advantage over defenders (Shergold, 2013). The third test is the agility test referred to as the 505 test (Dolles, 2011, p. 25). This will measure the ability of a football striker to quickly change his direction while possessing the ball. Under this test, examiners put markers within a distance of 5, and 15 meters from a particular line that is marked on the ground. The football player will then run from the marker which is 15meters, through to the 5 meter marker (Rosenbloom, 2012). The football player will then turn on the line, and run through the marker which is 5meters. The examiners will then record the time taken to cover the distances under consideration. Examiners will record the best two trails, and the turning ability of each leg will thereafter be tested. This method is advantageous because it is a simple, and very accurate agile test. However, it is disadvantageous because it takes a lot of time testing large group of football strikers. Christiano Ronaldo also took agility tests, and during these tests, Christiano was able to garner an average score of 3.61 seconds. This is an impressive score that denotes the agility and speed of the striker (Gamble, 2012). These attributes of the striker are always denoted in the playing field, whereby the speed of Christiano is one of his stronger assets. Conclusion: In conclusion, soccer is a very important game in the current century. It has the largest fun base, as compared to other sporting activities. It is also a multi-million sports, that attracts huge sponsorship deals, and good remuneration for the players under consideration. On this basis, players normally want to perform well while in the field. This will improve their chances of earning good money, and bonuses for their participation. However, for a player to be good, it is necessary that they possess the above mentioned qualities, that is agility, strength, good body weight and physique, aerobically fit, etc. A football striker who manages to exhibit the above mentioned characteristics will manage to achieve success in their fields of play. Bibliography: Burke, L., & Deakin, V. (2010). Clinical sports nutrition (4th ed.). Sydney: McGraw-Hill Medical. Dolles, H. (2011). Sport as a business international, professional and commercial aspects. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Gamble, P. (2012). Training for sports speed and agility: an evidence-based approach. London: Routledge. Kenney, W. L., & Wilmore, J. H. (2012). Physiology of sport and exercise (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Longe, J. L. (2012). The Gale encyclopedia of fitness. 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Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2278671/Cristiano-Ronaldo-Why-Real- Madrid-player-jump-higher-else.html Subic, A. J., Ujihashi, S., & Fuss, F. K. (2008). The impact of technology on sport II. Leiden, Netherlands: Taylor & Francis. White, C. (2010). Projectile Dynamics in Sport Principles and Applications.. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis. Wixted, A. J. (2007). In-situ athlete monitoring data collection, interpretation & feature extraction. Sydney: Palgrave Macmillan. Read More