Notational Analysis

Notational Analysis 

I conducted a Notational Analysis on England Netball player, Pamela Cookey. In this analysis i decided to look at Performance Criteria, Work Rate and Breaking of rules. The aim of doing this was to be able to analyse the data in order to feedback strengths and areas for improvement to the athlete. To do this i observed the athlete performing in a competitive game of netball, on two separate occasions, i did this so that i would be able to compare the two and therefore i would be able to rule out anomalous results by creating means and averages of the data. This results in a more accurate analysis and conclusion being created.

After observing 4 different performance criteria on two separate occasions, it was clear to see a trend being formed in which areas the athlete needed to improve and which areas were currently a strength and which aspects of their Performance Criteria needed to be improved. In both Game 1 and 2, Passing was a criteria in which the athlete excelled by successfully completing 84% of total passes in Game 1 and 100% of passes in game 2. This data clearly demonstrates that passing is a strength for this athlete. This is important for a netball player as they are unable to move with the ball, passing is the key skill required in order to move the ball around to court to create shooting chances.  "The chest pass is the most accurate way of getting the ball around the court, as well as getting the ball into the attacking zone, the pass is often used at throw-ins." - BBC Sport (2005) 

This criteria was very consistent in that in both notational analysis the successful passes made up a much greater fraction of the total passes made compared to the passes which were unsuccessful.

 During this analysis i also looked at catches, i did this as a pass cannot be complete if it is not caught. On this basis i considered catching to be of equal importance compared to passing. During game one, the athlete had a success rate of 89% when it came to performing a catch, this figure only slightly decreased to 85% during game two. Although there was a slight percentage decrease between the two games, 85% completion and above still suggests that this criteria is an area of strength for the athlete. In partnership with Netball Australia, Net Set Go suggest that catching is an important element in netball in order to retain possession in order to be able to create scoring opportunities throughout the game, without possession of the ball it is impossible for the athlete or team to score. For this reason, it is very positive that the athlete is able to perform such a high success rate when catching the ball.  "Catching is one of the most important skills in netball, you need to get the technique correct and then have lots of practise."- Net Set Go (2013). 

A third element of this athletes performance which i considered important was shooting. The athlete which i studied plays as a Goal Attack. The main responsibility of the player in this position is to get into positions which create opportunities to score as they are one of only two players who are aloud in the scoring zone. Therefore, it is important for the athlete to have a high percentage success rate of shooting. The athlete had an average success rate of 81% when shooting. This high figure of successful shots indicates that this factor is a strength in the athletes overall performance. This strength increases the athletes chances of winning the competition in hand if they are able to maintain the success of this criteria. This point is reinforced by the literature produced by NetballFun.com who state: "In Netball, shooting is arguably the most important aspect of the game. Without it, all netball games would end as 0-0 ties, so let’s agree that it is, to some degree, essential to the functioning of the sport" - Netball Fun (2016).

The fourth and final performance criteria which i investigated was rebounding. Offensive and Defensive rebounding is important for both teams as it provides them with a chance to obtain or retain possession. For my athlete, who is a GA, offensive rebounding is essential is it provides them with another chance to take a shot if they happened to miss the first chance. It also prevents to opposition from attaining possession and being able to create a scoring opportunity of their own. These two aspects combined increase the athletes chances of leaving the competition victorious. In both game in which i observed the athlete only managed a maximum success rate of 29% when rebounding the ball. This figure suggests that the athlete need to aim to improve this aspect of their game. 29% is a minimal figure when compared to the other success rates of their performance criteria and as a result the athlete decreases their chances of retaining possession, scoring and therefore winning the competition. "The rebounding drills below are especially important for your GS, GA, GK and GD as they are the only players allowed in the shooting circle - and how they react to a rebounded shot might mean the difference between scoring or conceding a goal" - SportPlan (2016). My evidence and conclusion is supported by the literature produced by SportPlan.com and reinforces by points about the importance of rebounding in netball.

Another aspect of notational analysis in which i was able to look at to analyse performance was work rate. As biomechanists we can analyse work rate by looking at the athletes peak heart rate during performance. By calculating the athletes maximum heart rate we can see to what potential they are working to by comparing the two numbers. The maximum heart rate of my athlete is 189bpm, over the course of the two games in which i analysed the athlete achieved a peak heart rate of 179bpm. This indicates that the athlete was working at around 94% of their maximum heart rate at some point throughout the competition. This information provides the coach with information as to how hard their athlete is working which may influence future squad selection. 94% of maximum heart rate means that the athlete was working in the anaerobic exercise zone, it would have been very difficult for the athlete to work any harder than this and as a result is suggests that work rate is a strength in the athletes performance. 

Performing violations in netball can result in a turnover in possession and in more serious cases, a free shot at the net. This reduces the amount of opportunities that the athlete has to score and increases the chances of the opponents winning the competition. Therefore, it is important for the athletes to refrain from breaking rules as often as possible. The rule in which my athlete broke most frequently was the 3 second rule. This is where the player only has 3 seconds to either pass or shoot the ball, exceeding this time frame results in a turnover in possession. This data suggests to me that the athlete does not pass or shoot the ball quick enough at all times, therefore it could be advised that the athletes undergoes specific training in order to improve the time it takes them to shoot or pass the ball accurately. Improving this aspect of my athletes performance will mean that they give up possession on a less frequent basis and therefore increase their chances of winning the competition.

References.

BBC Sport. (2005). Netball: Chest Pass. Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/netball/4188162.stm. Last accessed 3rd Mar 2016.

Netball Australia. (2013). Skill Tips. Available: http://netsetgo.asn.au/kids/skill-tips/. Last accessed 3rd Mar 2016.
Netball Fun. (2016). Netball Skills- Shooting. Available: http://www.netballfun.com/netball-tips-and-techniques/netball-skills-shooting/. Last accessed 3rd Mar 2016.

Sport Plan. (2016). Netball: Rebounding Skills. Available: http://www.sportplan.net/drills/Netball/Rebounding/practiceIndex.jsp. Last accessed 3rd Mar 2016.