Shock Treatment 15th May 2014

Session 7

Traditional Ball Trajectory

Fatigue

This will affect every sportsperson sooner or later if they play a top level competitive sport. It is defined as -

Fatigue:

"Physical or mental weariness resulting from exertion.  Something, such as tiring effort or activity, that causes weariness" (The Free Dictionary, 2014).

An average game of football in the NFL lasts for approximately 3 hours and the QB can make upwards of 40 passes per game (Team Rankings, 2014). This high frequency of throws can create fatigue for the QB both mental and physical fatigue. The graph below shows the types of stress (factors) that can affect the QB that can further result in more fatigue.

(Stuart, 2013)

Key:
Total plays run, blue
Rushing plays,  green
Completions, black
Incomplete passes, orange
Sacks, purple 

The Session

Today I decided to try something different and attempt my throws wile fatigued, Hargrove states that to perform a skill under fatigue can be a skill in itself. For the session I decided to try the impliment SAID principle, The SAID principle is an acronym for specific adaption for imposed demand. this means that when the body is put under stress it adapts so it can have a better chance at withstanding the stress, if it is put under it in the future (Hargrove, 2012).

10 throws to partner (with specific focus on the four stages of the throw)

10 throws at a stationary target (80%)

15 100% throws at target stationary 10 metres away

10 press ups

10 20 meter shuttles  (x3 with a minute rest in between sets and record throws on last set)

This was by far the hardest session I had performed as it put stress on aerobic and anaerobic energy systems as I was allowed very little rest and had a high number of repetitions in the throws. I found that the more throws I completed the worse my technique became, as my technique worsened so did my success rate. I only hit the target 5/10 on the last set, showing that as I became tired my technique worsened.

References
 
The Free Dictionary (2014, June 9). fatigue - definition of fatigue by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/fatigue

Team Rankings (2014, June 9). NFL Football Stats - NFL Team Pass Attempts per Game on TeamRankings.com. Retrieved from http://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/pass-attempts-per-game

Stuart, C. (2013, June 8). NFL Average Plays per Team Since 1950 — FootballPerspective.com. Retrieved from http://www.footballperspective.com/nfl-average-plays-per-team-since-1950/

Hargrove, T. (26, February 9). The SAID Principle | Better Movement. Retrieved from http://www.bettermovement.org/2009/0110111/