PDFE 2

PDFE #2

            I chose to observe the Berry College Running Team practice for my second Professional Development/Field Experience assignment.  I am the student worker for Athletic Training for the running team, which consists of approximately forty freshman through seniors both male and female.  The runners ages range from 18-22, they are all currently enrolled in Berry College.  This practice was held on August 31^st, 2010.  This was the second week of team practice for the year.  The practice was held at the Clara Bowl and surrounding fields where the team competes in home meets.  This terrain is mostly grass with some road and gravel sections.  The course is relatively hilly and runs a 5k for women and 8k for men.  The practice was held at four in the afternoon. 

            The fundamental movements that the athletes showed was a loco-motor movement, a fast paced run around the course for a pre-determined length by coach Paul Deaton.  Locomotor movement is one fundamental movement skill used to travel the body in a direction.  The team splits into groups for the runs, usually by mileage, time, and gender.  The muscle groups used when running are predominately gross muscular groups found in the legs, which includes the calves, quadriceps and gluteals.  Running is a continuous task, the motion of movement has no definite beginning or end and is performed in a continual, fluid movement. 

            There is some decision making involved in running, but not a very high degree.  The biggest decisions runners have to make involve pacing appropriately during a race and practice.  Also, running is a very mental sport, athletes must be able to push themselves past their limits to achieve their times and distances.  Avoiding mental blocks is a large portion of running.  To do so, athletes develop mantras such as “Keep pushing” etc. and run in groups to avoid burnout. 

            The environmental predictability of a cross-country course is relatively open.  The runners know the length of the race, but hills, differing terrain, the actions of other competitors, crowds, etc. come in to play when running.  They must be alert to take into account environmental factors and respond readily to them.