1. Context – Provide some background information about the sport, skill or area of physical activity you would like to improve. 

2. Data Collection – What information do you need to collect before creating your plan? Fitness data? Video data of you performing a skill or tactic, video of an elite athlete’s performance? Statistics? Game observations? etc.   

3. Analysis - Breakdown your findings. What does the data tell you? Identify strengths and weaknesses. 

4. Implement strategies based on data or research  - What strategies will help to improve your performance? Why did you select these strategies? 

5. Evaluate the outcomes of your strategies– How effective were your strategies? What were the outcomes of the strategies used? How did your performance improve? 

Netball is a high-intensity sport, involving many attacking and defensive skills. I have chosen to improve the skill of dodging for my performance improvement plan. Dodging is a dynamic movement which involves a quick change of direction in order to lose an opponent and create space on the court.

Through the collection of game data, I was able to analyse the effectiveness of my dodging during game play. Firstly I collected statistics which showed the successful and unsuccessful dodges that resulted in passes received. It was evident that only 4 out of the 12 dodges I performed during one quarter of netball were effective. I also had a peer observe my attacking movements during the same quarter and completed a skill checklist in regards to dodging proficency. 

When breaking down the data, I identified many weaknesses in my attacking movements when trying to gain possession of the ball. The statistics showed that I have a 33% success rate when executing dodges in attack, highlighting that 67% of dodges performed were unsuccessful. The peer observation checklist also revealed that when performing a dodge I was only taking a single step before changing direction and leading towards the ball. This is different to the suggested method of performing a dodge, where an athlete must take 3-4 steps to lose their defender. 

Based on my knowledge and understanding of fitness components, I have chosen to focus on the skill related components of agility, speed & reaction time to improve my attacking dodging movements. I will implement 3 training drills (attached in appendix) focusing on each of the 3 fitness components. The drills and their purpose are explained below in the appendices. 

The training strategies I implemented were highly effective, as through a second game observation it is evident that I am now taking 3 - 4 steps when performing a dodge. The speed drill helped to improve my acceleration towards the ball, and the reaction time drill helped me to identify when I need to start my attacking movements and respond to turnovers or quick transitions of the ball. If I continue to implement these strategies, I will show a significant improvement in the skill of dodging.