KPC

My name is Zana Nazari and I am 16 years old. I live in Portsmouth, UK and I enjoy watching and playing most sports. My favourite sport is football, mainly because it’s highly entertaining. My physique is very similar to the professional footballers that participate in football; this is being fit. Although, unlike a footballer, I do not have a great fitness level. My chosen sport is football as I have about 8 years experience in this sport and I tremendously enjoy it. This is also because the skills that are provided are exceedingly demanding, and I enjoy a challenge. Also, I have represented two football clubs; first club I played for was Wimbledon Park Tigers in my early years, I played 5 years for them winning one league cup in my second year. My second football club I played for was Portsmouth United in the second division which I played 3 years for. My main position is right winger, this is because I have the skills and pace to torment defenders. This is why I look up to footballers like Lionel Messi as my physique may not be identical to his, but my skills are very similar.

Strengths

- In my sport, a wide range of abilities are needed. One of my biggest strengths I consider to be very important to my sport is my speed. Because of the power within my legs, I can run at quite a fast pace giving me the dynamic energy to get past opponents. Speed plays a very imperative role in football, because if you cannot reach a decent speed when running past opponents in a one on one situation, you cannot get a good distance away from them as you will not have enough motion to keep moving.

- Another ability needed in my sport is dribbling. This is remarkably significant to me as I can provide the skills to dribble past players with ease, and dribbling is needed to be successful in my position. This is because the better I am at dribbling, the easier it is for me to pass defenders. Therefore I can strive for greatness in my position. Furthermore, a place in a better team.

- Acceleration is also one of my top attributes. This links back to speed as my power in my legs can give me a quick start. This helps me perfectly in my winger position because it gives me a better chance of getting to the ball before my opponent. Therefore I can kick the ball just past them which reserves my stamina and energy, in the result of this I can then concentrate the power I have saved into another challenge.

- I consider my balance as a very important skill in my position. Balance is imperative in football because when playing, one has to constantly take the ball from the person behind them. I often rotate and change direction and this requires balance. Because of my coaches and there strenuous training sessions, my balance is considerably good. This helps my performance by keeping me on my feet when changing direction at speed; it also helps me stay on my feet when being tackled by my opponent. Therefore I can easily change direction at speed impressively, and hopefully lead me to a clearer space on the football pitch.

- Another big ability needed in my position is passing. During play an offender will try to take the ball away from you, the best possible option is to take the ball to one side and pass it to another player on your team. This reduces the chance of your opponent getting the ball, passing makes the game easier for me; firstly, by passing I can reserve my energy. Secondly, my team will be in control of the game. Furthermore, I can create more chances for my team mates to score.

Weaknesses

- My fitness level and cardio vascular endurance is not to the standard I would like it to be, and this is present in my matches. My stamina level can greatly affect my performance, especially when I play the full 90 minutes. It is mainly noticeable when it reaches the 60th minute, as my legs usually beginning to strain slightly. Therefore, if I do give a good performance into the second half, my performance is likely to get worse, so I have a chance of getting subbed.

- Another concerning issue in my performance, is my flexibility. This can greatly effect how I perform during football matches. This is because sometimes I cannot attempt techniques like the bicycle kick when I have to hit a first time ball because it requires a lot of abdominal flexibility, which I do not have a lot of. Flexibility does not affect my short passing, but can greatly stop me from learning new techniques which will make my performance considerably better.

- Another matter that lets me down by far is my passive nature. I am very laid back when it comes to football because it is a very social sport and this affects my performance because sometimes I do not show the best of my abilities. This effects my performance because I cannot always provide the aggression needed to get the adrenaline and power for e.g. a sprint after the ball with my opponent. Therefore, causing me to back down from the energy I need to get to the ball before my opponent which causes me to lose the race.

- Possibly, my biggest weakness in football is my tackling. This lets me down on the defensive side of my game when we are not in possession. As a right winger, a big part of my role is to track back and help the defenders, however as my tackling is poor, I am not able to cover and help out my defenders as I don’t usually win the ball. This problem is further worsened when the centre backs go up for corners, and I am left behind to mark the opposition strikers. As my tackling isn’t too strong I am left isolated, and when I miss a tackle our team consequently concedes more goals as a result of this.

- Another weakness that lets me down by far is my accuracy. My accuracy can greatly affect my performance within the game; when I shoot in a tight angle from far away I tend to get it wide or when I pass the ball in tight situations and its not accurate, my team will suffer from this in many aspects. This really pulls my performance down, giving the opposition team to be able to create more threats to the goal. This also breaks my confidence within my other abilities.

Improvements

- There is many ways you could improve your stamina. The method I would use to improve this is FARTLEK training. This is because, if done correctly, it can slowly improve your fitness if done continuously. This technique includes participants running a set route and changing their speed, the way they run, and even adding in small activities on the way. After the participants have done this for a certain amount of times, they should strive to make the course harder (e.g. a longer set distance). This over time could increase my performance standards, as if I can provide a better stamina level, I can maintain my fitness right through the end of my football match which could give me an advantage of my opponents as they not have the same fitness level.

- Flexibility is a big advantage in my sport. There are several ways to increase your flexibility, but most involve stretching. The type of stretches I would use is static (e.g. without movement) and dynamic (e.g. incorporating movement). This will greatly help me as I will be able to perform more complex movements. This whether, it adds a centimetre to my stretching legs when running, will greatly help me in football match.

- My passive nature can sometimes greatly affect my performance as if I had a bit of anger, my adrenaline could greatly aid my body. Being too passive really affects my energy. If I had the ability to concentrate some anger into my performance, my energy level will be positively affected, helping my body perform due to adrenaline. Physical training methods would not benefit my passive ability, but mental training will. My coaches have the knowledge to teach these methods to me. In the coming months I will ask them to teach me the methods I need. If I can successfully learn these techniques, I will take my time to channel my anger into my performance. This will give me a massive upgrade to my performance due to my adrenaline and this could positively affect e.g. challenges.

- My lack of tackling is a big disadvantage in my performance. If I can get better at tackling, it will greatly affect my performance in defending situations; when defenders go up for corners. My job is to defend and prevent the opposition on counter attacks, and therefore, if I get better at tackling I can prevent them successfully. Becoming a great tackler requires the right technique, timing and toughness. Therefore, I will ask my coaches to teach me what is required to be a brilliant tackler in the coming months. If I can get good at tackling, I will be able to mix it in with my other great abilities; I am most likely to put in a great performance during matches.

- My accuracy can sometimes affect my performances in my game. If I had a decent accuracy within my game, it will greatly help my performance towards the team and me. The drills I will be using are shooting with a moving ball under pressure with a slightly tight angle. When done continuously they can add more defenders to raise the level of pressure, you can also use this method for passing. The method for passing I would use is, two peoples facing each other passing a pass within a long range with all kinds of techniques e.g. passing on the ground then lobbing the ball.

Ambition for the future

Over the close future, I am going to increase my training to help me in several areas. I am going to ask my coaches about the different types of physical and metal training I need to boost up my performances. I am going to eat healthier food to increase my energy for matches giving me the energy I need to use my abilities successfully.