EXAMPLE COURESWORK – NEW AQA GCSE

Example of 25/25
Analysis 15 marks

Level 5 (13-15): The student has an excellent knowledge and appreciation of the demands of their chosen activity. He/she is fully conversant with the specific movements
and terminology used when referring to the activity. The student fully appreciates their own strengths and weaknesses. They are able to provide a clear, detailed and in-
depth self-analysis for both strengths and weaknesses. All of the strengths and weaknesses are fully justified with detailed reference to appropriate competitive/performance
situations. The student’s chosen fitness strengths and weaknesses are fully relevant to the activity (and positional role) and he/she is able to provide strong justification of
how they have impacted upon their performance(s).

Analysis Section
Strength one- Fitness component: Speed
Within my chosen activity of rugby I believe that speed is one of my biggest strengths. Speed is defined as the ability to put body parts into action quickly.
As a winger & full back, I have to be quick both in defence and in attack. My role as an attacker is to support teammates who are making runs and come in to the attacking
line at speed to try to find gaps in the opponents defence. I often have to take the ball past opposing wingers and sometimes, catch a deep highball before trying to make
ground up field at speed. I also have to be very quick as a full back if I decide to kick as in rugby the player kicking must be in front of anyone else who decides to chase. If
teammates are in front of me, I have to sprint at speed to get in front of them so they are on side. In defence I also need to catch opposing wingers and often find myself up
against the opposing teams fastest players. If they get past our teams players, it is often only me who has any chance of getting back to catch them. Although speed is
maybe even more important when I play sevens, it is players like myself who the team rely upon to finish moves off at speed and score tries.
One recent example of speed was from a school match playing against the team at the top of our league. They have strong ‘backs’ and our best chance to beat them was to
pass the ball wide and use my speed to beat the opposition winger. I caught the ball from our outside centre and my biggest strength was in changing speed and
accelerating. I started my run quite fast but cut inside before stepping back outside. Stepping left then quickly right, I dropped my shoulder and pushed off of my left foot to
drive me to the right at speed. When I ‘stepped’ I increased my speed. Quick feet, driving high knees and a pumping of my arms, caused this change in speed. I held the ball
closely to my ribs, allowing my right arm to also ‘pump’. The change of direction was enough to give me the chance to break through the winger’s tackle and I managed to run
past him and complete the 22 metres in a straight line to score.
On another occasion I had to chase a high ball that I had kicked forward into the oppositions ‘22’. Having kicked from half way, I had to sprint to follow the kick and arrive
there just as the opposition full back was attempting to catch. Although I didn’t intercept the ball, I arrived quickly enough to pressure their full back, who dropped the ball
forwards and we won a scrum. Had it not been for my speed, the chance would not have occurred. Again, my technique involved quick feet, high driving knees and pumping
arms
Strength two- (Skill): Tackling
Within my chosen activity of rugby I have decided to highlight tackling as one of my strengths. Tackling is the skill of legally bringing an opposition player down to the ground.
I believe my biggest justification for choosing tackling as my strength is that as a winger/ full back, I am often faced with ‘try saving tackles’ and sometimes have to tackle
players who have broken through our defensive line or wingers who have ran through a gap. As a winger my positioning to tackle is a great strength as I always aim to force
my opponent to run down the touchline rather than moving in field. This gives my teammates and me more chance of forcing the player out into touch, resulting in a line out.
As a full back I have to cover the whole width of the field behind the forwards and other backs. My tackles are often against players who run at full speed and who would
definitely score if I did not stop them.
One example comes from a recent match for my local club against XXXX when I was faced with an oncoming winger who tried to side step me. We had no covering full back
and as a winger, I was the team’s last defensive player. His run started straight at me but he side stepped inside then back out towards the touchline meaning that I had to
tackle on my right hand side. My technique was correct- keeping my eye on the player and not being fooled by his step. I stayed ‘on my toes’, adjusted my feet quickly and
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started with a wide base meaning that I had good balance. As the player stepped to my right, I was able to bend down and make contact with my shoulder on his thighs just
above the knee. I drove hard from my legs and wrapped both arms around the player. Because my knees were flexed as I started the tackle, I was able to straighten them
(extend) to create power in the tackle. My head was on the player’s rear side and I drove him hard and low out to my right and in to touch. As he was running at speed, I was
able to use this to cause him to fall over.
I am quick and strong and this was helpful for me when tackling another opponent in a recent Sunday League match. The game was close and as full back, I ran cross-field
as a winger had broken past our number 11. When I got there I was faced with a straight chase and had to attempt a tap tackle from behind. My biggest strength was my
ability to sprint, dive and tackle. I kept my eye on my opponent’s legs and kept my head up. I arched my back slightly and gained power forwards from my legs. As I extended
my right arm more than my left I was able to swipe/ tap with my stronger arm/ hand on my opponents ankle.
Weakness one- Fitness component (cardiovascular endurance)
My major fitness weakness is my cardiovascular endurance. This is also known as aerobic power and is the ability of the heart and lungs to supply oxygen to the working
muscles.
As rugby lasts for 80 minutes, cardiovascular endurance is extremely important to ensure a rugby player can last for a whole match- having enough energy. Even as a
winger, although I use my anaerobic system to sprint and make fast runs down the touch line, I must be able to keep moving and working throughout the whole game-
meaning that cardiovascular endurance is important to allow aerobic energy to be available.
My main justification for choosing this as a weakness is that I regularly feel tired towards the end of a game. In a recent match against XXXXXX I was struggling to keep up
with play as I was feeling fatigued. During the match I had sprinted regularly, getting a lot of the ball and taking on my opposite winger. Although sprints would have been
anaerobic causing a build up of lactic acid, the oxygen deficit would have been recovered during my EPOC (Excess post exercise oxygen consumption) periods when I was
able to work at a low intensity. A better cardiovascular endurance would mean that I would have had a better aerobic system- allowing me to recover quicker. My anaerobic
sprints would have made lactic acid as follows: glucose → energy + lactic acid. This build up of lactic acid could only be removed by using oxygen. Therefore, if I can improve
my aerobic system I can also improve my ability to recover from the fast, anaerobic parts of my game as a winger or full back.
My lack of cardiovascular endurance was also easy to see in a recent match against XXXXXX when it was obvious that I couldn’t last the whole game and needed to be
substituted. I wasn’t really keeping up with play and after being tackled, often failed to get back into position as I was breathing so heavily. Having kicked out of my 22, I didn’t
keep up with play and found myself out of position in the following phases of play.
As aerobic energy is: glucose + oxygen → energy + carbon dioxide + water, I do not think that I lack glucose as I eat a diet which is rich in carbohydrate. I do however appear
to lack oxygen, particularly towards the end of matches as I am often breathing heavily. In a recent game for the county, the opposition were 5 behind and constantly on the
attack in the last 20 minutes of the game. We attempted to defend and keep tackling and drift our defence when required. However, I did not drift to the left wing when play
changed direction and a quick ‘miss-pass’ allowed their winger to easily score. I felt tired and unable to generally keep up with play. I believe a better cardiovascular
endurance would have allowed me to keep up with play for the whole game.

Weakness two: (skill) Mauling

My first weakness is in doing the skill of mauling. Mauling is a skill in rugby that involves several players- one being the ball carrier that has been stopped and ‘held up’, with
other teammates protecting the ball and the ball carrier so that they can keep moving forward.
I believe my biggest justification for choosing mauling comes from several recent mistakes in games when my mauling technique caused the ball to be turned over by the
opposition. Playing for my school against XXXXXXX, I found myself isolated on the wing against two defenders. Although I ran into the tackle hard I didn’t turn to my team
and I was held by the first tackler but was not taken to ground. I did try to protect the ball but was unable to stop the second defender from joining the maul and ripping the
ball from my right arm. I went into the tackle right shoulder first and had been holding the ball in my right hand. I would have been better using two hands to protect the ball,
fully wrapping my arm around the ball and placing it near to my armpit. Instead, the one handed technique I used did not protect the ball and allowed my grasp to be over
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powered by the opposition player. In this case, the ball was lost and the opposition were able to pass the ball back to their full back who cleared the ball, meaning our team
had to turn and run back.
However, I must also say that my weakness was apparent in other examples of mauling when I was not the ball carrier. In a recent county match against XXXX, I joined a
maul at the half way line, as there was not much support for the ball carrier. Having run in from a wing position I entered the maul from the side, taking small steps to allow
me to push off my feet and hit the maul with my right shoulder. My head was to the side of the opposition player but I was penalised by the referee for not entering the back of
the maul. I had entered the maul from the side, which is illegal. As a result the opposition team were awarded a penalty and kicked the ball into our 22 area for a lineout in an
attacking position. As it was their penalty, they also had the throw and were able to start a potentially dangerous attack.
In a different example, when playing against XXXXX, I was already involved in the maul. I had tried to protect our ball carrier but did not bind over their shoulder and simply
ran in and hit the maul hard. I made contact with my own players arm and actually knocked the ball out of his hands. Although the force of me running in was to push him
forward, my body position was clumsy and I did not control my speed when I hit him- forcing the ball loose
Evaluation: 10 marks
Level 5 (9-10)
The student has chosen an appropriate training type to eradicate their fitness weakness, providing a strong, well detailed justification which fully evaluates their choice. The
relevance of the chosen training type is fully applied to the personal needs of the performer. It is wholly personal (not general) and includes detailed and relevant safety
considerations. The explanation of how training will be undertaken is detailed and appropriate, providing a thorough explanation of an example session. Suitable intensities
have been calculated, fully justified and linked to the needs of the performer. The other theoretical area chosen, to eradicate his/her skill weakness, is relevant, explained in
detail and strongly justified in relation to how it could be applied to the performer. The student proposes in detail how improvement can take place using both the training
type and the other theoretical area.

Chosen training type: Continuous training

Continuous training is a type of training that is used to improve cardiovascular endurance and involves working at the same speed or intensity. Sometimes it is called ‘steady
state exercise’ which means the speed stays steady/ the same.
Rugby is a game that lasts for 80 minutes so it is really important that you can keep working aerobically as much as possible. Cardiovascular endurance was chosen as one
of my weaknesses so continuous training is fully appropriate, as it allows improvements in cardiovascular endurance to occur. My weakness focused on how I use my
anaerobic system to sprint as a winger but how I lack aerobic endurance to work and recover. In one example I failed to drift across to cover a move by the opposition and I
think this was due to poor cardiovascular endurance.
Continuous training will suit me as it is easy to carry out and doesn’t require specialist equipment. I will simply run and use my local park as the venue to do this in. I will be
able to make sure I am working at a suitable intensity simply by using my ‘fitbit’ which I already own (see warm up).
My continuous training will involve running which is appropriate to rugby as it is a sport that does involve running. Although you do not run at one speed when playing– like I
will do when continuous training- it will build up my cardiovascular endurance which should help me to work for the whole match in future and hopefully help me to keep up
with play for the whole game. It will also help me to recover in periods in between my sprints as I will have more oxygen available.
Although I will aim for ‘steady state’, the park I will run in does have some slight hills that will change how hard it is on my legs. This is ok as it will only slightly alter the
intensity and I will aim to keep my heart rate in a suitable training zone as shown in my session plan
Example session:
Heart rate
Heart rate will be my guide to maintain a suitable aerobic training zone. To work this out, I am providing details about my maximum heart rate and resting heart rate.
 Resting heart rate: 72 bpm
 My maximal heart rate is 220- age (220- 16= 204 bpm)
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Warm up
Before starting my continuous training session, I will do a thorough warm up including two of the normal three parts:
 Pulse raiser
 Stretches
 Skill based practices- not required for a fitness session.

Pulse raiser
I will walk fast then jog to gradually raise heart rate for 5 minutes. I will aim for about 40% effort (to avoid injuries), which I will judge by how it feels. I have suffered hamstring
injuries whilst warming up in the past so will do more hamstring stretches. I will use a heart rate monitor (fitbit) to keep an eye on what my heart rate is.
Stretches
I aim to use static stretching, which is holding stretches (no bounces) for up to 30 seconds. I am going to stretch the major muscle groups that I will use when running
(hamstrings, quadriceps, gastrocnemius, tibialis anterior) but will stretch my hamstrings longer due to previous injuries. I will also stretch the major muscles around my
shoulder (deltoids, pectorals) to prepare my arms for running action.
The main session
I am using continuous running. I will wear appropriate warm clothing that does not restrict my running technique and trainers with trainer socks. If cold, I will also wear a wind
jacket. I will be using my heart as an intensity guide.
Intensity calculation:
 My maximal heart rate = 220- 16= 204
 During my session: 60-80% of maximal heart rate as this is the aerobic training zone.
 60% of 204 = 122 80% of 204 = 163 So my aerobic training zone is 122- 163 bpm

As I feel my cardiovascular endurance is quite low, I will aim to keep my heart rate above 122 beats per minute. If this is too easy, I will progress and increase my target
zone.
To monitor my heart rate his I will use a fitbit, which will show me my heart rate. I can check this regularly without having to stop running.
To ensure the session is aerobic and works the cardiovascular systems, I will run for 20 minutes and make use of the outside track around my local park. I believe it is
approximately one mile long but will focus on completing 20 minutes at the set heart rate zone rather than a number of laps.
Running route:
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Use of the principles of training

 Specificity- I am using a running action, which is used in rugby and therefore specific movements. I am using continuous training for cardiovascular endurance, which is
needed in rugby to last 80 minutes.
 Progression- If I find my heart rate target too easy I will increase my target zone.
 Overload- I will be working harder than normal to make sure adaptations take place.
 Frequency- I will be training 3 times a week.
 Intensity- calculated as shown above
 Time- I will initially aim for a 20 minute session but will make it longer if I feel it is too easy.
 Tedium- I will take different routes around the park to prevent boredom.
 Reversibility- I will aim to complete the session 3 times a week so that my cardiovascular endurance is not lost. I will also allow rest between sessions so that I get some
recovery time, allowing me to keep doing my sessions.

Cool down
In order to cool down I will gradually reduce my running speed so as to slowly reduce my heart rate. I expect to slowly jog and reduce this to a walk over a period of about 5
minutes. I will complete all of the stretches carried out at the start of the session.

Theory for weakness one: Arousal control

My chosen area of the course that I think can help my rugby performance is arousal control.
Arousal is defined as a physical and mental (physiological & psychological) state of alertness/ readiness varying from deep sleep to intense excitement/ alertness. In my case
my arousal often shows in how focused, excited, aggressive and alert I am. Every skill in rugby (or any other sport) has a perfect level of arousal – called the optimal point.
You can be over or under aroused depending on the arousal level needed to do the skill. The perfect arousal level is known as the optimal point as shown in the Inverted U
theory below.

With specific reference to my mauling, I do believe that I am often over aroused when entering a maul, particularly as a supporting player. I tend to approach a maul with very
high arousal, knowing that I must try to help our player keep possession. In the weakness I gave in my analysis, I was aggressive in my approach to the maul and lost focus,
entering the maul from the side and being penalised. By working on how to control my arousal I think I can improve my performance in mauls (and other areas of my game)
in future.
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I am going to use two arousal control techniques:

 deep breathing
 mental rehearsal

Deep breathing involves taking slow, deep breaths so that the body can relax. In my case, I will aim to do this in between ‘phases of play’, trying to relax my muscles and
focus on my breathing. If for example a penalty is given, I will take the chance to slow my breathing rate and take deeper breaths. If a maul then follows as play starts,
hopefully my arousal will be closer to what is needed. For a maul, a fairly high level is needed, but if it is too high and not controlled, you can end up doing something wrong –
like I did in my weakness. This is shown in the diagram below- marked as an X. : 1205

Mental rehearsal is a technique, which involves picturing the perfect performance in your head. For a weakness like mauling, I could do this when looking at mauls I am not
involved in- picturing mentally how I would enter the maul if I needed to. As a winger I get lots of time without the ball and can picture the correct technique in moments of not
being involved. Picturing the correct technique will hopefully help me focus and control my arousal level so that I am at the correct level for each skill I do- particularly when
mauling. I can also use mental rehearsal when approaching a maul, picturing how my technique will be perfect before actually joining as a player. My mental rehearsal can
also be used in training drills when I train on a Tuesday night with my team. If I am the ball carrier, I can picture myself taking the hit and turning in between goes of the drill.
This should focus my thoughts and control my arousal.