Oscar is a center midfielder with several strengths in his game including his body composition, ball retention, power, and passing accuracy. However, he has some areas for improvement such as flexibility, balance, confidence, and speed. His body allows him to be strong on the ball but fatigue can set in late in games. While his ball skills are excellent, he could take on defenders more and drive forward with the ball instead of passing at times. Improving his flexibility, balance, confidence with the ball, and speed would make him more effective and help him perform at higher levels of play.

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

2. Strength 1/4
• Excellence Trait: Body Composition
• Body composition is the ratio of body weight including muscle, fat and bone. In
football having a large muscle ratio compared to a low fat ratio is important and
effective, especially in Oscar’s position. This is because muscle is explosive power
which is used in the Centre of midfield to drive the team on and physically
compete against his opponents. After observing Oscar’s game on the sideline, it
was clear his body composition was an effective component in his performance.
Numerous amounts of time he used his body weight and physique to shield the
ball from his opponent and speed. This links in with power; another of strength in
Oscar’s game. If his body composition ratio was reversed to more fat than muscle,
he wouldn’t be able to maintain muscular endurance throughout the game. This is
due to fat being unnecessary weight being carried without any use in football. A
disadvantage of Oscar’s body composition is the effect of muscular fatigue can be
apparent the longer the game goes on, leading to increased lactic acid build up.
Without the fat, he has no backup energy source to be converted after his
carbohydrate levels have depleted from the use from muscles. This was shown in
his game as towards the last fifteen minutes of the game, he began to lose
intensity and shadow from the game.

3. Strength 2/4
• Excellence Trait: Ball Retention
• Ball retention is the ability to keep possession of the ball. This can be shielding from
opposition players, travelling at a high speed, or changing direction quickly. This is
beneficial to a centre midfielder like Oscar because he is always in the centre of
everything that happens. This means that he would need to use all three of these
components of ball retention throughout the duration of the match. When observing
Oscar on the sideline, minus one or two occasions, he never got disposed of the ball.
These scenarios include, driving the team forward, getting himself out of tight spaces
when outnumbered, and shielding the ball from an opponent when receiving from
many throw-ins. From a throw-in, the obvious option would be to return the ball back
to thrower. Oscar trusted his ball retention into attempting to create a more advanced
outcome which would benefit his team. This included turning out into another direction
sharply or shielding the ball to create a different angle to increase vision. The overall
advantages of Oscar having good ball retention is his ability to not get tackled and lose
possession of the ball. On the other hand, a disadvantage is he could ignore other
options like passing to his teammate as he gets over confident in his ability to keep the
ball and be more of an individual.

4. Strength 3/4
• Excellence Trait: Power
• Power is strength and speed combined. This is important to a centre midfielder such as
Oscar because he is the engine room that sets the pace and intensity of the team. In
may occasions when observing Oscar’s game, he used his strength whilst moving a high
speed either to tackle an opponent or to dribble forward with the ball whilst protecting
it. His strength when moving with the ball made it hard for his opponents to knock him
off the ball and disposes him. His speed is a factor that needs improving, however, it is
sufficient enough in terms of power. His strength makes up for his average speed which
enables him to be positive with the ball and drive forward, regardless of the opposition.
Once his speed is improved, his power will increase. An advantage of power is that it
improves ball retention, strength and confidence to remain in possession of the ball. On
the other hand, a disadvantage of power in Oscar’s game is although he used it often
during the game, he didn’t use the attribution to his full ability. For example, he could
have used even more space ahead of him that what he already did. This could be due to
his areas of improvement including confidence to carry on with the ball, or his speed
which does need improving.

5. Strength 4/4
• Excellence Trait: Pass Accuracy
• Pass Accuracy is the ability to perform a pass successfully with the correct, pace
and direction. The pass you are making should not be intercepted nor either side
of the teammate you are passing to; it should be to his feet. Pass accuracy is the
most important component for a centre midfielder like Oscar to have in his game
as he has the opportunity to perform short passes, low driven passes and lofted
passes in all directions, varying his technical ability. Oscar pass accuracy was most
beneficial after he assisted three goals in the game all by passing the ball
accurately through the opposition’s defence. One included a lofted ball to his
teammate. Another was a cross, straight on his teammates head. The final assist
was a slide through ball between the opposition centre back and full back the
winger to run onto and score. An advantage of pass accuracy in Oscar’s game was
he was able to make passes in all directions with various distances and techniques
which looked effortless and autonomous. However, when he had the opportunity
to drive forward with the ball into a large area of space, he reverted back to his
pass accuracy and played a long ball which made his team lose possession of the
ball. This could have been due to lack of confidence to travel with the ball, or the
lack of speed he has when travelling with the ball.

6. Development Area 1/4
• Excellence Trait: Flexibility
• Flexibility is the range of movement available at a joint. Flexibility is essential in
football when performing any type of skill that requires movement. In this case, a
centre midfielder would need a large range of movement at the joints especially at
the hips and knees. When observing Oscar’s performance, he successfully made a
lot of slide tackles. This was due to the amount of flexibility he had in his knees to
extend his legs and toe poke the ball away from his opponent. This was an
advantage of Oscar’s game in terms of flexibility. On the other hand, his flexibility
differed when he attempted long range passing with his left foot. This is his weaker
foot, therefore, the range of movement was not fluid meaning he wont get full
motion for an effective preparation, execution and follow though phase of the
skill. This overall is a disadvantage of his flexibility. Another disadvantage within
the skill of slide tackling is too much flexibility causing injury. Many players have
cause bone or ligament damage through slide tackles due to their leg being
flexible. If the leg is adducted away from the body too much, the opposition player
can go through the player as well as the ball resulting in serious damage.

7. Development Area 3/4
• Excellence Trait: Balance
• Balance is the ability to maintain stability or equilibrium when either stationary or moving. This is important for a centre
midfielder like Oscar as he needs to remain balanced when performing a number of skills to be successful. For example,
when watching Oscar’s performance, he had good balance when striking a ball. This is important as his shooting foot is
being raised meaning he is performing the skill on his standing foot only. This allows him to focus on the task in hand with
his shooting foot. Components such as power and accuracy of the shot become autonomous for a balanced standing foot.
On the other hand, his balance when dribbling at speed was a lot different to when he was dribbling at a slower pace. This
is because when he was travelling fast, he was more focused on what the players around him were doing and what his
next decision would be. This is a disadvantage because he is not thinking about his individual performance when dribbling
in terms of his balance. Good balance when dribbling enables a player to have Centre of gravity. In addition, it improves
agility when changing direction quickly. Lastly, having good balance improves body posture allowing a players surface area
to increase. This as a result increases strength and allow the player to hold off opponents and prevent them from losing
possession of the ball. An advantage of having good balance as a whole in football can influence specific factors. Firstly,
increased team selection will occur. Balance enables enhanced agility and muscular strength as stated above. Injury would
be a less occurring factor with improved balance. Injuries relating to balance come from dribbling when being tackled and
self-inflicted injuries from shooting. In terms of dribbling, balance enables improved strength. This is beneficial as Oscar
would be able to shield opponents from the ball, restricting them from making a tackle that could inflict injury. In
addition, balance when dribbling increases agility. Agility consists of speed and change in direction. Therefore, opponents
would be reluctant to make slide tackles as chance of picking up a booking is higher due to Oscar’s speed and direction on
the ball. In terms of shooting, having poor balance on the standing foot when planted on the floor could enable his ankle
to twist or any other area in his foot to injure. Poor balance could cause an uncomfortable position and movement for the
shooting leg which could result in strained muscles and damaged ligaments. This could put Oscar out of football fro weeks
even months which reduces his match fitness and team selection chances. Representative honors can be apparent
through improved balance. In terms of Oscar’s performance. Balance could be the difference between playing for
Worthing and Sussex. The main difference between playing for town and county is the pace of the game. Balance enables
improved control over the ball. This means that agility improves when dribbling. Therefore, the pace and direction at
which Oscar moves with the ball would increase and be highlighted within his game. Team advantages relating to balance
include a faster attack. As stated above, Oscar’s balance would improve speed of movement and control over the ball
through agility. This means that he would enable his team to get further up the pitch. A prime example of this is Andros
Townsend. In terms of defence for his team, his balance would enable him to change direction quickly and under control
off the ball. For example, when jockeying an opponent running at goal, his balance would prevent the player from getting
past him and allow enough time for his teammate to double up on his opponent and win the ball back.

8. Development Area 2/4
• Excellence Trait: Confidence
• Confidence is the perception or self-belief in their own ability to meet the demands of a
situation. This also known as self-efficacy. Oscar is what the footballing world call “ a
confidence player”. This is the term given to a player that strives in performance when
they are high in confidence. This results in performance as the players arousal levels
within a game of football is low meaning they are less confident going into the
situation. When speaking with Oscar, his anxiety levels before a game are low. This
leads to his confidence being low when going up against a team that is better than his.
In this case, the gamer I observed showed his confidence was high due to the weaker
team he was playing against, allowing him to perform at a higher level. For example, he
competed in tackles, wasn’t afraid to play difficult passes and communicate successfully
on the pitch. These are all disadvantages of his game in terms of confidence. However,
the disadvantage is the effect low self-confidence has on his game. His performance
was not sharp and his decision making was delayed at the start of the game. This was
because he did not know much of his opponents. The further the game went on, the
more his performance increased.

9. Development Area 4/4
• Excellence Trait: Speed
• Speed is the amount of distance an individual can cover in a certain amount of time. This is important for a
centre midfielder like Oscar as he needs to accelerate and maintain that speed to perform different skills
in football. For example, when observing Oscar’s performance, he used speed successfully when reacting
to a header, latching onto the second ball to get possession for his team. This is beneficial as it win the ball
back for his team where as in some cases, other players would be slower to accelerate and cover that
short distance. However, his speed when travelling with the ball was his weakness. In a similar case to
balance, he was more focused on what the opponents around him were doing and where his next pass or
direction of dribble would be. To improve, Oscar needs to burst into space towards goal with ball as
quickly as possible and make a decision in the process. Good players often make decisions whilst
performing a skill. Bursting into this space would increase the amount of options available to him, whether
it is a pass, an additional dribble, or a shot. Having speed in football increases the chance of team
selection. For example, speed enables an individual to carry a team up the pitch. If one player is dribbling
at speed up the pitch, it encourages team mates to travel up the pitch at the same pace. This links to the
advantage of attack as a team. This is because the team is higher up the pitch from this as a result and
have more numbers in attack. Speed limits the amount of injuries a player has. An example of this is
getting past an opponent with the ball. Increased speed in this case would enable Oscar to get away from
his opponent. If Oscar did not have this ability, the chance of injury from an opposition tackle would be
higher. Speed would enable acceleration away from the opponent resulting in Oscar not feeling the end of
a tackle. In similarity with balance, the difference between playing for town and county is speed. Playing
for more representatives at a bigger scale means a faster game and faster opponents. Speed is an
important factor that representatives look at when scouting a player. This speed would enable Oscar to
perform at the higher level of playing county level for Sussex. Specific example of this are, dribbling, off
the ball runs and 50/50 sprints to the ball. In terms of defending for his team, speed would enable Oscar
to get back into defensive shape at a quick rate before an opposition attack becomes dangerous. In
addition, speed would aid him to track his marker with or without the ball. This is beneficial to his team as
it prevents the opposition player form making any forward pass towards Oscar’s goal. Lastly, speed helps
Oscar to get to loose balls before his opponent. This is important for his team as it regains possession and
sets up an attack.