BTEC Sport and Exercise Science Unit 27 Task 2 Referral Sam Murray

1. Unit 27
Task 2 – Performance Strengths and
Areas for Improvement

2. Strength 1/4
• Excellence Trait: Position
• Describe / Explain / Critically Analyse:
Taking up good positions in games is crucial for a player in the center of midfield,
especially at performance level. When observing Scott is was clear that he was
taking up very good positions making it easy for his teammates to find him to pass
too. Scott and I scored him a 9 and coach Dave Hall scored Scott an 8 making this
a clear strength. Being in a good position could turn out to be the difference as a
player might pass to you when you are in a great position in front of goal so you
can score and win the match for your team. However, if Scott is always found to
be in good positions and have a big influence on games, opposition may work this
out and man mark him making it harder for Scott to have an influence on a match
as he constantly has a player on him. The advantage of being in a good position is
that he offers his team a great option when in attack and also when trying to
bring the ball forward out from the defence.
Describe: Give a detailed account of something
Explain: Give a detailed account to give the meaning of something with reasons. Include the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the topic of interest
Critically Analyse: Give your opinion of the subject of interest – consider all of the evidence and then write about both the advantages and
disadvantages

3. Strength 2/4
• Excellence Trait: Use of skills
• Describe / Explain / Critically Analyse:
This is one of the strengths I found while observing Scotts performance and
something that he and coach, Dave Hall, also found a strength. This is the
ability to perform certain attributes at the right moment. E.g. being in a good
position to take on a shot but passing the ball to a teammate who is in a
better position to score from. This can be vital in certain moments of the
game and can be the difference between winning and losing as if Scott makes
the right decisions and performs an accurate skill such as an accurate shot, his
team can score from this leading to a win. However, if Scott has a good use of
skills his game may become predictable, as players know he will be able to
find his teammates in certain positions for example, so opposition players will
be able to work out ways to stop him. On a personal level for Scott though it
benefits him greatly as he is able to grow as a player by developing a good use
of skills, making him a key player for his team- someone they will look for
when attacking to give them the edge.
Describe: Give a detailed account of something
Explain: Give a detailed account to give the meaning of something with reasons. Include the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the topic of interest
Critically Analyse: Give your opinion of the subject of interest – consider all of the evidence and then write about both the advantages and
disadvantages

4. Strength 3/4
• Excellence Trait: Concentration
• Describe / Explain / Critically Analyse:
Scott has a good level of concentration which is key at the level he plays at and is one of the most
important psychological factors in sport. Scott and I both rated his concentration as an 8 and
Scotts coach rated it as a 7. Concentration is key as if Scott gets distracted this may cause him to
make a wayward pass allowing opposition to gain possession of the ball and go on an attack
against his team, putting them in a bad position as they may not be ready. It is hard to assess
concentration in another persons game and can only really be self assessed, however when
observing Scotts performance it was clear his concentration levels were high throughout
matches. His high concentration levels allow him to pick out teammates in great positions. He is
also a regular set piece taker, having high concentration to make sure he strikes the ball with
good quality.
The advantage of having high concentration levels are that Scott can focus on his game and make
sure he plays the right balls and doesn’t get distracted allowing him to be forced into a mistake.
However, if he concentrates too much on one aspect of the game, he may fall behind in others
e.g. focusing on where teammates are so he can pass for them when he gets the ball so he is one
step ahead of opposition, but forgetting to track back and help the defensive side of the team.
Describe: Give a detailed account of something
Explain: Give a detailed account to give the meaning of something with reasons. Include the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the topic of interest
Critically Analyse: Give your opinion of the subject of interest – consider all of the evidence and then write about both the advantages and
disadvantages

5. Strength 4/4
• Excellence Trait: Control of anxiety
• Describe / Explain / Critically Analyse:
Scott can control his anxiety well meaning that any threats that he may
have to his performance will not have an affect on how well he plays.
These can be from the environment such as crowd or opposition
players. It is important for Scott to have a good control of any anxiety
at the level he plays at as it is a high level so he needs to keep
concentration 100% of the time. Keeping control of anxiety will help
Scott be confident in his ability and therefore have a better game,
having more of an influence on play, whereas he would be worried
about failing if he tries something which doesn’t work. Having a good
control of anxiety could lead to over-confidence meaning that Scott
would always attempt difficult passes/ shots for example which
doesn’t benefit the team.
Describe: Give a detailed account of something
Explain: Give a detailed account to give the meaning of something with reasons. Include the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the topic of interest
Critically Analyse: Give your opinion of the subject of interest – consider all of the evidence and then write about both the advantages and
disadvantages

6. Development Area 1/4
• Excellence Trait: Strength
• Describe / Explain / Critically Analyse:
While observing Scott play it was clear that strength was
something that Scott would need to develop. Strength is the
extent to which muscles can exert force by contracting against
resistance. This is important for Scott as strength is the base to
many traits such as power. Strength is needed for Scott when
shielding the ball from opposition players when they try to tackle
him. Strength is a trait which is easy to improve by doing weights
however will take time to develop.
Describe: Give a detailed account of something
Explain: Give a detailed account to give the meaning of something with reasons. Include the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the topic of interest
Critically Analyse: Give your opinion of the subject of interest – consider all of the evidence and then write about both the advantages and
disadvantages

7. Development Area 2/4
• Excellence Trait: Power
• Describe / Explain / Critically Analyse:
Power is the combination of both strength and speed. Power is
needed for Scott in his passing and shooting ability. Long passes
will require a certain amount of power to make sure they reach
the target without allowing opposition players to intercept the
ball. Power in the legs for short sprints in the match to get onto
the end of through balls and make runs is also needed.
Describe: Give a detailed account of something
Explain: Give a detailed account to give the meaning of something with reasons. Include the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the topic of interest
Critically Analyse: Give your opinion of the subject of interest – consider all of the evidence and then write about both the advantages and
disadvantages

8. Development Area 3/4
• Excellence Trait: Timing of runs into the box
• Describe / Explain / Critically Analyse:
This is vital for a player of Scotts position playing at his level as
he will need to make late runs into the box to get any shots away
to help his team win matches. A great example of someone who
does this at the next level up (elite) is Frank Lampard, who has
scored a large amount of goals in his career because of the
timing of runs into the box. The timing is crucial as if Scott is a
second or two too late into the box then he may miss a great
opportunity to score which will benefit his team.
Describe: Give a detailed account of something
Explain: Give a detailed account to give the meaning of something with reasons. Include the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the topic of interest
Critically Analyse: Give your opinion of the subject of interest – consider all of the evidence and then write about both the advantages and
disadvantages

9. Development Area 4/4
• Excellence Trait: Speed
• Describe / Explain / Critically Analyse:
Speed is the ability to move quickly across the ground. Speed is
needed in the central midfield position to get into good areas of
space for teammates to pass into. This is also important as Scott
needs to get away from opposition players quickly when
dribbling towards goal. Scotts current level of speed is good but
not up to the standard at which he is playing at, meaning that he
is at a disadvantage to opposition players as he won’t be able to
use speed to get away from them.
Describe: Give a detailed account of something
Explain: Give a detailed account to give the meaning of something with reasons. Include the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the topic of interest
Critically Analyse: Give your opinion of the subject of interest – consider all of the evidence and then write about both the advantages and
disadvantages