Skills and Tactics Answers

Visualization training helps athletes to mentally prepare for competition. The process of visualization includes imagining success, focusing on goals, perfecting skills, and increasing one's ability to focus on the task at hand.

Practices should start with a short warm-up. After warming up, players should stretch all the major muscle groups. Then, practices should work on individual skills and then on group skills. These activities should be followed by a scrimmage to work on the skills that were practiced during the skills training. The final step in a typical practice program is the cool down.

Stress is a part of playing a sport and can negatively affect an athlete's performance. Mental commitment is the ability to focus on the required objectives and specific responsibilities at hand. The four components of mental commitment are concentration, confidence, control, and commitment.

Endurance training increases the ability to sustain high-quality athletic ability over time. It includes aerobic endurance, anaerobic endurance, speed endurance, and strength endurance. Aerobic endurance is when the body's demands for oxygen and fuel can be met. Anaerobic endurance is when the body's demand for oxygen exceeds the rate of supply. Speed endurance is used to develop the coordination of the muscles. Strength endurance is used to maintain the quality of the body's muscles.

Coaches plan, conduct, and evaluate the team on a regular basis. They are the leaders of the team, so they help motivate the players. They are able to communicate with the athletes and determine the best learning styles for each player. Coaches call the plays and the strategies. Without quality coaching, a team's strategy can diminish and lead to a team's demise.