The aim of this assignment is to define the health requirements for two contrasting sports and the fitness requirements for three contrasting sports and also to compare the purpose and importance of both the health and fitness requirements. The sports I have chosen are football, tennis and softball.
Health and fitness is important for everyone but is especially important for those who play sport as being healthy and fit will help them to perform better in there chosen sport.
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.".
(Williams and Wilkins 1998).
There are many components related to health and different components are needed for different sports, as some sports are more demanding than others. Health related fitness components include cardiovascular endurance, Muscular strength, Muscular endurance, and flexibility and Body composition.
"Fitness is the ability to perform daily tasks vigorously and alertly with energy left over for enjoying leisure activities and meeting emergency demands.".
(Williams and Wilkins 1998).
Fitness components include Agility, Balance, Coordination, Fast reactions, Speed and power. As with the health components different sports need different components.
It is very important for football players to have good health related fitness. Footballers need good cardiovascular endurance (stamina) because this .
"The ability of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels to deliver adequate amounts of oxygen to the cells to meet the demands of prolonged physical activity.".
(Williams and wilkins 1998).
A football match lasts for 90 minutes with only a 15 minute break after 45 minutes which is used to get a quick drink and have a team talk ready for the next 45 minutes of hard work. Without good stamina footballers would not be able to last for a whole match. They also need a fair amount of flexibility, which is .