At the performance level, athletes will have access to coaches, physiotherapists, and injury specialists to aid recovery from injuries and allow them to return to competition quickly. At the elite level, world-class sports scientists, psychologists, nutritionists, coaches, and surgeons will be available to support the athlete and maximize their performance and success. While performance athletes have access to adequate training facilities and equipment, elite athletes have access to top-quality facilities and the highest-performance equipment to optimize their training.

1. Talent identification
Performance At county/regional standard it is essential
Elite At this level it is vital to identify talent this
Monitoring current fitness levels
that potential talent is identified, for
example when playing county standard in
rugby selectors observe the game and score
players using their performance criteria,
high consistent scores of a player can lead
to the player progressing further up the
performance ladder.
is important for an athlete of this level to
progress further in their sport this may be
being scouted by a higher quality team. An
athlete may be identified to have potential to
be trained to become a potential Olympic
medallist.
Performance At this level athletes/players will be at
county/regional standard it is important for
coaches and conditioning teams to monitor
fitness levels of the players/athlete in order to
see progression. Simple fitness tests can be
conducted during training sessions and
comparisons between elite level scores and
an athlete’s score at county standard can give
a good indication of where the athlete is
performing at.
Elite It is important to monitor fitness levels of an
athlete at this level due to intensity and how
frequent matches, competitions are so fitness
of the athlete is at optimum levels. Athlete’s

2. fitness levels must be improved through
training and progression needs to be
monitored and progressing at a steady rate.
Any drops in physical fitness must be
identified as soon as possible by the athlete’s
coaches.
Identifying areas for improvement strengths and weaknesses
Performance At this level it is vital to identify both
strengths and weaknesses and areas for
improvement. It is important to identify areas
for improvement in order for the athlete to set
smart goal and objectives of how these goals
are going to be met for example 20+ goals by
the end of the season. It is important to
identify strengths at this level so the athlete
can see how coaches have view their
performance and work with their athlete to
develop the identified strengths. It is also
important to identify weakness within the
athlete’s performance so that the athlete and
coach can work together and improve these
weaknesses and turn them into strengths.
Elite At this level it is essential to identify both
strengths, weaknesses and areas for
improvement for example a weaknesses may
be power, this will be identified by the
athletes coaching team and a power specific
training regime will be incorporated into the
athletes training. Strengths need to be
identified at this level in order for the athlete
to feel confident and motivated to use their
strengths to their advantage during
competitions and matches, it is important that
strengths must trained continuously.

3. Performance assessment
Performance At this level it is important for an athlete or
Elite At elite level it is vital that an athlete has a
Recovery after injury
Performance
teams to have a performance assessment in
order to identify strengths and weaknesses
within their performance, when identified
strengths and weaknesses can be trained and
improved to make overall performance a
higher level.
performance assessment that is clear and
concise. Strengths and weaknesses of the
athletes performance must be clearly
identified this can be done between athlete
and coach through video analysis sessions,
suitable training plans must be put in place to
work on the athletes weaknesses. Other top
end technology such as prozone and opta
specialise in producing stats for professional
teams and elite athletes.
At this level the athlete will usually
have a physio in close contact with
the athlete’s regional or county team.
This will be important to see a physio
continuously after illness in order for
the athlete to get back to training and
competing as quickly as possible.
Elite
At this level it is essential that
recovery after illness is monitored and
carried out at the highest level
possible. Due to the performance level
of this athlete it Is likely that the
athlete will have highly qualified

4. physio and specialists teams to help
them during the recovery. Regular
visits to top surgeons, specialists in
rehabilitation will be available to the
athlete. To maximize recovery rate.
Assessment of health status
Performance
The definition of health is ‘being free
of injury, illness or disease’. At this
level if an athlete is suffering from
any of the above they will not train or
play in any competitive matches until
they are fit and healthy again.
Elite
Due to the high performance level of
this athlete it is likely that the person
health must be at a high level in order
to compete at the level they’re
competing at. If a person health is not
100% is likely that they will miss out
whether its playing a match or
competing in a competition.
Squad selection
Performance
This will be determined by many
factors such as attendance to training,
attitude to training and performance in
training. This will be assessed by your
regional/county coaches taking all the
above factors into account.
Elite
This again will be determined by
many factors such as performance in
training, attitude to training and
possible fitness results in training.
Compared to performance level squad
selection the analysis of every
individual player will be more
thorough due to the competition for
places.
Goal setting
Performance
Goal setting is vital at this level it is
important for a player at this level,
goal setting directs attention to tasks
at hand and highlights what needs to
be completed. For a performance level
athlete goal setting will be important
so that the athlete can work towards
the next level, this might be for

5. example getting divisional trials. Goal
setting will be set by the athletes
coach or set by them.
Elite
Goal setting is essential at this level of
sport due to the competitive nature
that this athlete will be competing and
playing at. This is important because
it will allow the athlete set high goals
that will require a lot of hard work in
training to achieve them. Goal setting
in elite sport will be managed by
coaches and specialists who can work
with the athlete identifyingSpecific
ways that the set goal can be
achieved, for example winning gold at
the Olympics your coach, physio and
team will support you with your goals
in order to achieve them.
Human
Performance
At this level athletes/ players will be
playing at county/regional standard at
this level athletes will have access to
coaches, physiotherapists and sport
injury specialists in order for the
athlete recovery to be as quick as
possible allowing them to compete.
Elite
At the highest level of the
performance ladder elite level athletes
will have full access to highly
qualified individuals to help maximize
performance and success. The top
sports scientists, psychologists,
nutritionists, coaches and highly
regarded surgeons will all be available
to a top end athlete.
Facilities
Performance
Performance level athletes won’t have
access to the highest quality facilities
however they will have access to
above average facilities such as
quality training grounds within close
proximity to the player so that he/she
can train with the county team.
Elite
Elite athletes/players will have access
to top quality facilities through there
club or a base where they spend the
majority of their training, this is so
they have access to world class

6. equipment to maximize their success.
Time
Performance
Time will be an issue for an
athlete/player at this level due to other
commitments such as college/part
time work it is essential that this
athlete has variety so keeping on top
of college studies as well as training
for their chosen sport to keep them
well conditioned and to maintain skill
levels.
Elite
At this level an Elite athlete is fully
focused on one thing, success at this
level the athlete will have a fully
supported specialist team such as
coaches, physio’s and nutrition to
maximize success this is all in place
to maximize success of the athlete,
time will not be an issue.
Equipment
Performance
At this level the athlete/player will
have access to basic equipment to
keep themselves in good condition,
equipment such as skipping ropes,
cones, bibs and other basic equipment
such as a bleep test monitor are likely
to be provided for an athlete of this
level.
Elite
At this level an athlete/player will
have access to the highest quality
equipment to maximize success,
equipment such as speed gates;
medicine balls equipment to test
aerobic endurance will be available
for an athlete of this level.
Financial
Performance
At this level athletes/players will most
likely have to fund for themselves
buying boots, shorts, trainers etc will
all have to be paid by the athlete
themselves.
Elite
At this level athletes/players will be
fully funded by well-known brands
such as Asics or Adidas any

7. equipment needed for the athlete will
be paid for by the company in order to
endorse there brand. This means they
will have the highest quality
equipment needed to maximize their
success.
Scientific support and equipment
Performance
At this level the athlete will have
access to basic scientific support and
equipment for example a county
runner may have local access to test
their aerobic endurance but this is
highly unlikely due to the cost this
would involve for the athlete.
Elite
At this level athletes will have access
to the highest quality scientific
support and equipment, part of their
intense training regime will involve
many strength and endurance tests all
carried out in a professional manner.
Safety
Performance
At this level coaches will try and
make sure the athlete is safe during
training however contact sports such
as rugby at a county are hard to
maintain safety. it is likely that the
county/regional team will have a team
physio. training will be determined by
the coaches and the safety of the
players will be of high performance
for example in rugby all safety
equipment such as body pads and
gumshields etc will be put in place.
Elite
At this level it is essential that the
safety of the athlete is monitored. The
athletes coaches and specialist team
will make sure that when tests are
carried out on the athlete such as vo2
max that the safety of the athlete is at
the forefront of their minds. during
competitions and game the safety of
the athlete will be the main focus cctv

8. and security will be in place in order
for safety standards to be at their
highest. Equipment will be checked in
order to reduce the risk of uninforced
injury.