Thursday, November 28, 2019

Netball Analysis of a Performer Below my Standard Essay Example

Netball Analysis of a Performer Below my Standard Essay The person I have chosen to analyse does not play netball as a sport outside of school. She has played netball as part of compulsory P. E lessons but not as a part of school teams. I observed her in a game situation in a variety of positions and also in a structured practice situation, where I was focusing on particular skills. Core Skills Passing/Receiving The ability to successfully and efficiently pass and receive the ball is central to the game of netball and one of the most basic skills. A person who plays at any level should have a reasonable ability in this area. The performer I observed had fairly good coordination and ability to catch the ball, and rarely dropped it. There were some occasions in a game where she wasnt quite ready to catch the ball and wasnt able to adapt quickly to the situation she was put in. When the ball was passed to her above her head she tended not jump for the ball and preferred to wait for the ball to come to her, which meant that several of these passes were quite easily intercepted.. In a game situation she always caught the ball with two hands and in a structured drill she was very reluctant to use one hand to catch ball and had very little control over it. We will write a custom essay sample on Netball Analysis of a Performer Below my Standard specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Netball Analysis of a Performer Below my Standard specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Netball Analysis of a Performer Below my Standard specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This could be disadvantage in a situation in the goal circle when trying to receive the rebound if the ball is heading off court. A one handed catch is also beneficial when trying to intercept a pass. In a game situation she favoured chest passes most of the time and there was very little variation in the passes she used throughout the game. There were many situations in the game when a different pass would have been more suitable, however she wasnt able to adapt to the situation. For example, when two players were defending her and the area was well marked, a bounce pass or an overhead pass might have been a better choice of pass. However, she used a chest pass, which was easily intercepted. She executed her chest passes with the correct technique and the advantage of using a chest pass is that it can be received easily as it is at chest height and can also be adapted for longer and shorter distances. Although she was reluctant to use vary her passes in a game situation, in a practice situation she was able to perform several different passes correctly. She may have been reluctant to use these passes in a game situation due to a lack of experience and confidence. Footwork In a game situation her footwork was very inconsistent. She didnt appear to be properly aware of the footwork rules, and would often take one extra step on landing. There were mistakes made several times on pivoting, by using the wrong foot to pivot on. There were also several occasions where a pivot would have made her passing options much better, but she didnt take advantage of this and struggled to make a pass from the position she was already in. She always used a one-footed landing. A two-footed landing can be preferential as it provides better cushioning and also the choice of which leg to use as the pivot leg however using a one-footed landing does not necessarily have any disadvantages. There were a couple of times when she overstretched on her landing, which caused a lack of balance. This made it difficult for her to make a successful pass. She usually anticipates the ball quite well, however she sometimes misjudged the arrival of he ball, and would have landed before she caught the ball. She didnt use any complex footwork skills that you may see an experience player use. In a practice situation her footwork was much more consistent than in a game situation and she seemed more aware of the rules However once in a game situation and under more pressure, she was not able to apply what she could do in practices/drills. Shooting The player I analysed favours attacking positions, and her strength within the game is shooting, therefore her shooting skills are of equal standard if not better than mine. Her aim was quite accurate and she was fairly consistent, particularly when in a practice situation. Her close shots are more consistent than her distance shots. When she takes shots from near the edge of the goal circle, they tend to fall short or go much to high. In a game situation she tends to panic and doesnt take her time over her shots, which means that she is not always as accurate as she could be. Although she is quite a competent shooter, there are some occasions where passing to another player would be better than attempting a shot, for example when either very close of very far away from the goal. However, there were some situations where taking a shot went to her advantage as a pass would have probable been easily intercepted due to a well defended goal circle. In the game she didnt always recognise these options, and attempted a shot instead, and often an opposing player caught the rebound. She used the correct technique (two hands, one hand underneath, one at the side of the ball). A two- handed shot is better than a one handed shot as the ball is better protected and balanced. If this technique is used then there is more spin on the ball, and the shot is easier to control. A one- handed shot is poor technique as the ball is less protected and controlled and not as much strength can be applied to the shot. In a game she did not use techniques such as a step shot, however in a practice situation she was able to successfully perform a step-shot without losing balance or control. Moving Free This aspect of the game was analysed mainly through observing her playing in a game. She did not have very good special awareness and wasnt really aware of the importance of finding space around the court. She tended to move herself towards ball and crowded around the other players on the court. She did not really pay much attention to the positioning of he other players on the court; therefore she often wasnt in the best position to receive a pass. When in a game situation she tried to signal for the ball, however her signals were not always bold /clear enough so were not noticed by the other team members. There were also occasions where she made a signal for the ball when she was not in particularly good position to receive the ball, and consequently the possession of the ball was lost to the opposition. Throughout the game she didnt have much change in pace around the court, which was to her disadvantage when trying to move free from her opponent. When dodging her opponent she didnt use the correct technique and was very static. Instead of trying to fool her opponent into thinking she was moving in a different direction, her technique was just to try and move around her player and get in front of them, which wasnt always very successful. Often in doing this she tried to obstruct the play of her opponent and infringed the contact rule, and consequently was penalised. Marking (defence) She does not favour defence positions, however the ability to mark/defend is necessary in any position. When playing as goalkeeper, she was not very confident. She often forgot about the 3foot rule so was penalised for contact. This was often due to a lack of balance causing her to step too close to her opponent. She didnt have much confidence when marking the goal shooter, and did not stretch very much to mark/follow the ball. She did manage to receive a couple of rebounds in the goal circle but her reactions were not always quick enough. Around the court, she seemed to lack in stamina and would often lose the pace of the game and her opponent would quite easily get free from her. She also tended to follow her opponent rather than leading her opponent around the court. Although this meant that she was making the effort to let her opponent get free, she also didnt take the opportunities she had to get into a good position, and her partner had much ore control over her movement during the game. She didnt use block marking at all when marking her opponent, which meant she wasnt always aware what her opponent was doing, and could not mark the ball if her opponent had it. She would often stand in front of her opponent when stationary, but would forget to watch her opponent making it possible for them to move free. She would also use a side stance. This was quite good as it enabled her to watch her opponent and the game situation. She wasnt always aware of opportunities to intercept the ball and didnt react quickly enough or misjudged the timing of the throw, but she did make a couple of successful interceptions during the game.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

De-Extinction - The Resurrection of Extinct Animals

De-Extinction - The Resurrection of Extinct Animals Theres a new buzzword that has been making the rounds of trendy tech conferences and environmental think tanks: de-extinction. Thanks to ongoing advances in DNA recovery, replication and manipulation technology, as well as the ability of scientists to recover soft tissue from fossilized animals, it may soon be possible to breed Tasmanian Tigers, Woolly Mammoths and Dodo Birds back into existence, presumably undoing the wrongs that mankind inflicted on these gentle beasts in the first place, hundreds or thousands of years ago. The Technology of De-Extinction Before we get into the arguments for and against de-extinction, its helpful to look at the current state of this rapidly developing science. The crucial ingredient of de-extinction, of course, is DNA, the tightly wound molecule that provides the genetic blueprint of any given species. In order to de-extinct, say, a Dire Wolf, scientists would have to recover a sizable chunk of this animals DNA, which is not so far-fetched considering that Canis dirus only went extinct about 10,000 years ago and various fossil specimens recovered from the La Brea Tar Pits have yielded soft tissue. Wouldnt we need all of an animals DNA in order to bring it back from extinction? No, and thats the beauty of the de-extinction concept: the Dire Wolf shared enough of its DNA with modern canines that only certain specific genes would be required, not the entire Canis dirus genome. The next challenge, of course, would be to find a suitable host to incubate a genetically engineered Dire Wolf fetus; presumably, a carefully prepared Great Dane or Grey Wolf female would fit the bill. There is another, less messy way to de-extinct a species, and thats by reversing thousands of years of domestication. In other words, scientists can selectively breed herds of cattle to encourage, rather than suppress, primitive traits (such as an ornery rather than a peaceful disposition), the result being a close approximation of an Ice Age Auroch. This technique could conceivably even be used to de-breed canines into their feral, uncooperative Grey Wolf ancestors, which may not do much for science but would certainly make dog shows more interesting. This, by the way, is the reason virtually no one seriously talks about de-extincting animals that have been extinct for millions of years, like dinosaurs or marine reptiles. Its difficult enough to recover viable fragments of DNA from animals that have been extinct for thousands of years; after millions of years, any genetic information will be rendered completely irrecoverable by the fossilization process. Jurassic Park aside, dont expect anyone to clone a Tyrannosaurus Rex in your or your childrens lifetime! Arguments in Favor of De-Extinction Just because we may, in the near future, be able to de-extinct vanished species, does that mean we should? Some scientists and philosophers are very bullish on the prospect, citing the following arguments in its favor: We can undo humanitys past mistakes. In the 19th century, Americans who didnt know any better slaughtered Passenger Pigeons by the millions; generations before, the Tasmanian Tiger was driven to near-extinction by European immigrants to Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. Resurrecting these animals, this argument goes, would help reverse a huge historical injustice.We can learn more about evolution and biology. Any program as ambitious as de-extinction is certain to produce important science, the same way the Apollo moon missions helped usher in the age of the personal computer. We may potentially learn enough about genome manipulation to cure cancer or extend the average humans life span into the triple digits.We can counter the effects of environmental depredation. An animal species isnt important only for its own sake; it contributes to a vast web of ecological interrelationships and makes the entire ecosystem more robust. Resurrecting extinct animals may be just the therapy our planet needs in this age of global warming and human overpopulation. Arguments Against De-Extinction Any new scientific initiative is bound to provoke a critical outcry, which is often a knee-jerk reaction against what critics consider fantasy or bunk. In the case of de-extinction, though, the naysayers may have a point, as they maintain that: De-extinction is a PR gimmick that detracts from real environmental issues. What is the point of resurrecting the Gastric-Brooding Frog (to take just one example) when hundreds of amphibian species are on the brink of succumbing to the chytrid fungus? A successful de-extinction may give people the false, and dangerous, impression that scientists have solved all of our environmental problems.A de-extincted creature can only thrive in a suitable habitat. Its one thing to gestate a Saber-Toothed Tiger fetus in a Bengal tigers womb; its quite another to reproduce the ecological conditions that existed 100,000 years ago when these predators ruled Pleistocene North America. What will these tigers eat, and what will be their impact on existing mammal populations?Theres usually a good reason why an animal went extinct in the first place. Evolution can be cruel, but its never wrong. Human beings hunted Woolly Mammoths to extinction over 10,000 years ago; whats to keep us from repeating histor y? De-Extinction: Do we have a choice? In the end, any genuine effort to de-extinct a vanished species will probably have to win the approval of the various government and regulatory agencies, a process that might take years, especially in our current political climate. Once introduced into the wild, it can be difficult to keep an animal from spreading into unexpected niches and territoriesand, as mentioned above, not even the most far-sighted scientist can gauge the environmental impact of a resurrected species. One can only hope that, if de-extinction goes forward, it will be with a maximal amount of care and planning and healthy regard for the law of unintended consequences.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Extent to which Football Clubs and Governing Bodies Restrict Essay

The Extent to which Football Clubs and Governing Bodies Restrict Player Rights under Article 45 of the TFEU - Essay Example This report stresses that Article 45 of the TFEU refers to rights of workers to move freely within the union. In addition, it also contends that this freedom of movement will involve the elimination of discrimination on the basis of nationality for nationals of member states with regards to remuneration, employment, and conditions of employment and work. This paper makes a conclusion that a further alternative to the home-grown rule in countering the effects of the Bosman ruling has been the transfer fee caps, which has been seen as more attractive in restoring competitive balance. While it will restrict the signing on fees earned by player moving to other clubs, which is in contravention of Article 45(3) of the TFEU with regards to remuneration, it is more preferable to restrictions on player remuneration. However, getting back to the home-grown rule, the view that this will increase the national talent pool is a weak argument. It is evident that the best clubs always recruit the best players from their nation, meaning that there will be adequate numbers of eligible players to play for the national team. As observed by Relvas et al, the Scottish national team is not affected by the fact that most of their best players chose to play in the Premier League, while he also comments on the fact that the influx of international players int o national leagues tends to improve football skills of the domestic footballers, instead of stunting their development.