National Year 11 Physical Education
Chapters: 4
1. 3.2.1 Sports psychology
Classification of skills · Goal setting and SMART targets · Basic information processing · Guidance and feedback · Mental preparation for performance
- Skill Acquisition: How We Learn Movement Skills – A skill is a learned action done with the least time and effort for a set goal. Skills are classified on continua (open–closed, gross–fine, discrete–serial–continuous, self-paced–externally paced, simple–complex, low–high organisation). We process information in a loop: input, decision (using memory), output and feedback; more choices slow reaction time (Hick's law). Learners move through cognitive, associative and autonomous stages. Coaches choose the type of practice, guidance and feedback to suit the skill and the learner, and use transfer from skills already learned. Theories of learning explain why this works.
- Sports Psychology: The Mind Behind the Performance – Sports psychology studies how the mind affects play. Personality shapes how we like to train. Motivation is the fuel: from inside (fun) or outside (prizes). Arousal is how "switched on" you are: too little or too much hurts, the middle is best (inverted U). Anxiety is worry; breathing, imagery and positive self-talk calm it. SMART goals give a clear ladder. Aggression must be controlled, and teams work best when everyone pulls together.
2. 3.2.2 Socio-cultural influences
Engagement patterns of social groups · Commercialisation of sport · Ethical and socio-cultural issues
- Sport and Society – Sport sociology looks at how sport and society shape each other. Physical activity runs from free play, through physical recreation, to sport, which has fixed rules, organisation and serious competition. Modern sport grew from loose local folk games: the industrial age brought written rules, clubs and governing bodies, and since about 1950 television, money and travel have made sport global and professional. Today sport, media and sponsors are tied together in a "golden triangle". Not every group takes part equally: cost, time, facilities, discrimination and stereotypes create barriers, so governments and clubs work for equal access, especially for women, disabled people, older people and low-income families. Sport also has a dark side, deviance such as doping, violence and match-fixing, which rules, testing and the law try to control. Sport can build health, identity and togetherness, but it can also divide.
3. 3.2.3 Health, fitness and wellbeing
Physical, emotional and social health · Consequences of a sedentary lifestyle · Energy use, diet, nutrition and hydration
- Physical Fitness – Physical fitness is the body's ability to do daily work, play and sport with energy to spare. It has five health-related components (heart-lung endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, body composition) and six skill-related ones (speed, agility, power, balance, coordination, reaction time). We improve it with a planned programme using FITT (frequency, intensity, time, type) and training principles like overload, progression, specificity, rest and reversibility.
- Sports Nutrition: Energy, Diet and Hydration – Athletes need the right food and water at the right time. Energy in (food) must match energy out (exercise plus body work) to keep weight steady. Carbohydrates are the main fuel and are stored as glycogen; protein repairs muscle; fat fuels long, slow work; vitamins, minerals and fibre keep the body working. Losing about 2% of body mass as sweat lowers performance, so athletes drink before, during and after exercise. Most supplements are not needed with a good diet, and banned drugs (doping) are unsafe and against the rules.
4. NEA
Practical performance and analysis
- Physical Education: Learn, Analyse and Improve a Skill – Physical education (PE) teaches you to move well, stay active for life and understand your own performance. Every sports skill has three phases: preparation, execution and follow-through. To improve, you observe the skill, compare it with a model, find strengths and weaknesses, get feedback and plan practice: plan → do → review → feedback. People are active for health, fitness, fun, friends, competition and well-being. Trying new and alternative sports, joining clubs, staying safe and looking after equipment help you keep moving all your life.