INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

1
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

• ES

2

• All people are different. Theses differences can
  be very important factors when taking part in
  physical activity.
• They can affect the amount of success you are
  likely to have.

3
The following will vary in individuals

• Strength
• Flexibility
• Endurance levels
• Speed and power
• Age
• Somatotype
• Sight.hearing,touch
• Physical ability
• Mental ability
• Experience
• Motivation
• Environm,ent and culture
• Gender or sex

4
The senses

• Eyesight is very important, and poor vision will
  directly influence performance.
• Even the wearing of glasses can create blind
  spots that lead to misjudgements, e.g. watching
  the flight of an approaching ball!
• Glasses can also be prohibited due to the nature
  of the sport, e.g. rugby
• Hearing is similar, to hear advice or instruction
  .
• As is touch, such holding racquets or clubs.
• If any of these are not functioning properly it
  can have negative impacts on performance.

5
Mental ability

• There are factors which can affect your level of
  mental ability, such as-
• Intelligence
• Concentration
• Perception (awareness of things around you)
• Use of reasoning or logic

6
Experience

• Can only be gained over time.
• It is how you learn from your experiences that is
  important, e.g. if you try something and it
  fails, learn from it and dont try it again!
• Some make the same mistakes over and over again,
  without learning or improving

7
Motivation

• This is how determined you are to do well, and
  how much effort you are prepared to put in.
• Some can motivate themselves, but some need help
  from managers or other players to motivate them.

8
Environment and culture

• Where people live and the culture the live in can
  influence their sport. Not just by peer pressure.
• It is also possible for people to live in
  different environments even if they live in a bad
  area, e.g. Rio Ferdinand lived near gangs in
  London, but stayed away and into sport where he
  has achieved well.

9
Gender

• Possibly the biggest factor!!!!!
• Massive differences between men and women, fact!
• There are a few activities where women compete
  against men on equal terms, such as horse riding.
• However most physical activities are strictly
  organised seperately for men and women, here is
  why

10
Strength

• On average women have only two thirds the
  strength of men, due to men having greater muscle
  mass.
• This occurs as men have greater levels of
  testosterone and therefore have greater muscle
  growth.

11
Rate of Maturity

• Girls mature earlier than boys so competition
  when young can be fair.
• However from the age of about eleven boys start
  to overtake girls in terms of height, weight, and
  strength.
• Because of this many sports become single sex
  from the age of eleven.

12
Body Type

• Women have a flatter and broader pelvis (designed
  for child bearing) and have a higher percentage
  of fat. Women also have smaller lungs and a
  smaller heart, which directly affects
  cardiovascular endurence levels.
• Menstruation (periods) can also affect
  performance.

13
Flexibility

• Because women have less muscle mass this means
  that they are generally much more flexible than
  men.

14
Discrimination

• There can be little doubt that women are
  discriminated against in terms of prize money and
  finance for their sport.
• They are also prevented from taking part against
  men by many of the rules and regulations.
• Pregnancy and the birth of a child can also cause
  women to miss time from competing.

15
TO END

• Why do you think horse riding is an activity open
  to both sexes, and rugby is not?
• Are there any activities that are not open to
  both sexes that you think should be?