Touch Football Energy System Essay

This report will outline the role of the energy systems, the role of fitness and how athletes use them to perform during a game of touch. Touch football is an intense game, with high speed, agility and endurance, where the aim is to score more points than your opponent by manoeuvring around the other team, creating overlaps, or any other possible measure to get past the team, which lasts around a 45-minute time period with a halftime to split the game. Generally, a team can be made up of up to 14 players with a maximum of six players on the field at any one time; this amount can be varied. Teams must move the ball down the field toward their try-line/touchdown zone, without passing the ball forward, dropping the ball on the ground or kicking

it. Six touches are allowed before they need to handover the ball to their opponents, where the touches act like ‘attempts’ to get to the opposition touchdown zone. Although, if there is an infringement such as dropping the ball, forward passing, or getting touched as half, the ball will be handed over. This game generally uses the ATP-PC system (Adenosine Tri-phosphate and phosphocreatine), an aerobic system, which provides immediate energy. The energy is delivered through the breakdown of these stored, very high energy phosphates. The ATP-PC system produces maximal intensity, but only for a short duration exercise, this can last between 10-15 seconds before it fatigues, which is why it is used in the fast-paced game of touch football, and also explains why there are a large number of substitutions that repeatedly go on and off the field every few minutes per team (substitutions are a crucial part of the game, and are used when on-field players are tiring. The ‘subs’ are constant since the ATP-PC system doesn’t last very long, as specified earlier).

2. Demonstrate your knowledge of the three energy systems.
In order to move we require energy, and there are two general classifications for our energy sources: Aerobic system – with oxygen and the anaerobic system – without oxygen. The timing and intensity of the activity are what differentiates the two systems where the body will choose the perfect energy system for a particular situation. Anaerobic and Aerobic systems have ‘sub-categories’ too which includes the lactic acid system, ATP-PC system and the aerobic system.

ATP-PC is the practical form of chemical energy for muscular activity since it is stored in most cells (although only small amounts), particularly in muscle cells.

The Anaerobic, ATP-PC system, is an immediate or shortest duration energy system, lasting roughly no longer than 10 seconds. It is created when Creatine phosphate is broken down during muscular contraction, therefore, a large amount of energy is released. You’ll find this energy system heavily involved in short sprints – usually utilised in touch games to quickly make ground, outrun players to score a try, catch up to a player who’s made a break or to ruck the ball. Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is quite a complex chemical compound formed with the energy released from food and stored in all cells, predominantly muscles. Only from the energy released by the breakdown of this compound can the cells perform work. The breakdown of ATP produces energy and ADP. While Creatine Phosphate (CP) is a chemical compound stored in muscle, which when broken down aids in the manufacture of ATP. The combination of ADP and CP produces ATP. Overall this energy system is used a lot in the game of touch since the game is fast paced, therefore requiring high levels of speed and agility throughout the entirety of the 45-minute game. The sports that use this energy system

include:

• 100M Sprint
• 50m Freestyle
• Touch Football
• Field events (shotput, discuss, javelin)
• Golf Swing

The Lactic acid system, otherwise known as the glycolysis system “is the breakdown of glucose (carbohydrates and sugar) by enzymes into pyruvic and lactic acids with the release of energy” (ATP) according to brianmac.co.uk. In this system, the breaking down of sugar provides the essential energy from which ATP is created. This system is able to release energy to resynthesise ATP without the involvement of oxygen, hence being an anaerobic system.

The final system out of the three is the aerobic system, which uses energy for the lower intensity of activities. These activities or sports can last the duration of a few seconds or minutes, and all the way up to a few hours. A few examples of this particular energy system would long distance swimming, rowing and kayaking. In the sport of touch, it is used to endure the 45-minute length of the game. Oxygen debt and the aerobic threshold can be linked to the aerobic system, where oxygen debt is a temporary oxygen shortage in the body tissues arising from exercise and the athlete must rapidly pant to obtain the oxygen back. And Aerobic threshold normally means you will be working above your maximum heartrate, you will be working harder, therefore building up lactic acid. Oxygen debt is relevant in the sport of touch and is a common happening, which is why player come of the field to sub or take rests, to regain their lost oxygen. Where aerobic threshold is used throughout the sport when running hard for an extended period of time.

Touch football is a fast paced sport that requires agility, speed
and a high level of endurance; these skills are performed with the help of the
three individually complex energy systems. Each system supports different skills
in order to successfully play the game. Some of these skills include passing,
rucking, dodging and sprinting. Because sprinting is an intense action it uses
the ATP-PC system since it is the quickest activated. These energy systems, although are not visible, but are a vital in, not only the game of touch, but in every sport you play.

3. Analyse how the components of physical fitness relate to the body’s energy systems.
The key components in touch include: agility, speed, power, cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, and coordination. The skills are used differently in each position, for example, the wing uses speed to outrun players, the middle uses agility to set up a try or get around people, and links use a combination of speed and agility.

Agility, is the ability to change position precisely at pace and still stay balanced. It is used throughout touch when manoeuvring around the opposition team (avoiding defence), picking up the ball and dumping the ball, and diving. It is linked to the ATP-PC system as it uses short bursts of energy at a rapid pace.

Anaerobic exercise is an exercise intense enough to trigger lactic acid formation. It is used by athletes in non-endurance sports to promote strength, speed and power and by body builders to build muscle mass. This is used during sprints up the field and rucking. This is generally used on the wing, but can be used in all positions.
Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of the heart, lungs and blood vessels to deliver oxygen to your body tissues.

The more efficiently your body delivers oxygen to its tissues, the lower your breathing rate is.

Muscular endurance is the ability to move your body or an object repeatedly without getting tired. For most activities, you use both muscular strength and endurance. This is used by every player on the field.

Aerobic endurance refers to the ability of the body to continuously transport oxygen throughout its various systems for extended periods of time. By maintaining the flow of oxygen, an individual is able to exercise continuously for longer periods of time without wearing down. This is used throughout the (usually) 45-minute game lengths and to get up and down the field continuously.

The quality of bending easily without breaking. This is used when bending to avoid touches, picking up the ball at pace, or diving/while avoiding people. This is used by all players.

Reaction time is the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus. You need to be able to react to a quick ball, the unexpected turns of players and more. This is used by all

players.

The organization of the different elements of a complex body or activity so as to enable them to work together effectively. Coordination is needed for a lot of aspects of touch, when running, passing, manoeuvring, etc. Also used by all players.

An even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady. All players need this to even play, but it mainly used when running near a boundary without getting touched, turning, and running. This is usually used by the winger, but can be distributed between all players.

4. Analyse the energy system contributions during a competitive touch game.

In the game of touch, the sprints a player makes are mostly 10 to 25 metres in length, or 3 to 5 seconds in duration, some researchers have assumed that the ATP-PC system will be the most important. However, since football has an irregular intensity pattern, just because the sprints are brief does not mean that anaerobic glycolysis does not occur; anaerobic glycolysis can begin within 3 seconds. Maximum-intensity bursts with long recoveries will emphasise the ATP-PC system, whereas high-intensity but not maximal bursts occurring more frequently will emphasise the anaerobic glycolysis system more. It would probably be fair to conclude that for the high-intensity bursts during play both the anaerobic glycolysis and the ATP-PC systems contribute, but that the ATP-PC system is more important. Lactate values become moderately high but not so high as to indicate that the anaerobic glycolysis system is working extremely hard. However, the possibility exists that for professional-standard football, or football played at a high tempo, anaerobic glycolysis will be at least as significant as ATP-PC.