Under pressure

Sometimes, the pressure is on. Across many diverse areas of life, we have all experienced a situation that is important to ourselves, and we need to do our best. Whether it be pressure from school, work, and our own personal lives, we’ve all experienced some sort of pressure in varying levels.

High expectations are healthy. We all may expect the best from ourselves, but so may the important people in your lives. Being able to rise to an occasion takes work, and we don’t always succeed. In this activity, we’ll be looking at how to cope with pressure, through a variety of physical activities.

Pause and Reflect

What puts you under pressure?

Let’s pause and reflect on the following questions:

• What are some things that make me feel under pressure?
• What are some strategies that I am doing or can do to relieve that pressure I am feeling?

Record your thoughts with a method of your choice.

Did You Know?

The free throw

In basketball, if a player is fouled, they are given the chance to have two free throws at the net. The conditions of a free throw are always the same. The player is shooting from the same line at the net, which is always the same size. Even with all that consistency, it is still rare for an NBA team to have over 80% free throw success. The pressure always exists!

The biathlon

In this activity, you will be playing a modified biathlon that employs similar tactics to the one played in the Winter Olympics. This biathlon will involve you shooting free-throw shots at the end of an intense cardiovascular activity of your choosing. This activity aims to allow you to develop quick recovery and focusing skills under pressure after a cardiovascular activity.

The biathlon is a winter sport which combines two very different activities into one race. Competitors make their way through a course on cross country skis and need to stop at assorted stations where they shoot a rifle at a target. If the target is missed, athletes will either have additional time added to their race time, or ski a penalty lap, which will use up time and energy.

Cross country skiing and shooting a rifle are two individual activities that require very different tactics. Cross country skiing is a cardiovascular activity that increases your heart rate and requires a lot of energy. Shooting a rifle requires conscious and controlled breathing, and aiming skills associated with target activities. Being able to regulate your heart rate and breathing is a tactic used by biathletes and can be very difficult to control.

Before you try the challenge, let’s do a safety check and warm up.

Warm Up

Warm up

Let’s do a warm up before we get into our main activities! Warm ups will help you better perform a movement/activity while also greatly reducing your chance of injury.

Depending on what activities you are performing, choose one of the following warm ups, or you may do a combination of them.

Press the following tabs to access the warm ups.

Full body

• Jogging: Let’s start off with a relaxed jog for 5 minutes. You can jog in one place or back and forth in your space.
• Jumping jacks: Now do 10 jumping jacks! To perform a jumping jack, position your body straight up with hands to your sides. Then jump and spread legs apart and bring arms above the head. After jump back into starting position.
• Toe touch: Time to touch our toes! Have your body straight up. Then lean and bend forward and try your best to touch your toes. Hold the position for 10-20 seconds, return to straight upward position and repeat 10 times.
• Sit-up: Now do 10 sit-ups! To set-up a sit-up, lay on your back and bend your knees to form a ‘V’ shape with your legs. Bend your upper body towards your knees to perform the sit-up.
• Mountain climber: Finally do the mountain climber for 60 seconds. To perform the mountain climber set yourself up in the push up position, then bring each knee forward as if you were climbing.

Upper body

• Neck Tilts and Rotations: Slowly tilt your head side to side 10 times and then slowly and carefully rotate your neck 10 times in each direction.
• Arm Circles: Straighten your body and put your arms straight out to the sides. Then start forming circles in one direction, start with small circles and work your way up to large circles. Do this 10 times and then repeat with the opposite direction.
• Chest Expansions: Straighten your body and put your harms out straight to the sides with palms of hand facing forward. Bring your hands together in a clapping motion slowly, then return to the starting position. Do this 10 times.
• Wrist Circles: Clasp your wrists together and start to circle your wrists in one direction. Do this 10 times and then repeat with the opposite direction.
• Shoulder Rolls: Put your arms to the side keeping your posture straight. Rotate your shoulders forward to make a circle. Do this 10 times and then repeat with the opposite direction.

Lower body

• High Knee Jog: Standing straight with shoulder-width apart perform a jog but raise your knees to about waist level. Do this for two minutes.
• Side-to-Side Hops: Standing straight with hands to side and feet hip-width apart hop side to side quickly. Do this for two minutes.
• Lunges: Stand straight with feet hip-width apart and arms grabbing the side of your hips. Take a step forward and bend your knees so that you form two 90-degree angles with your legs with one leg forward and one leg behind. Hold the position for 20-30 seconds then switch legs and repeat. Do this three times.
• Squat Side Kick: Go into a squat position so that your feet are shoulder-width apart and your hips are back. Then gradually get up and shift your weight towards one leg so that you can lift your other leg out to the side in a slow kick motion. Then return to the squatting position. Do this 10 times for each leg.
• Lateral Leg Swing: Stand upright, holding onto a wall with one hand for support and the other hand placed on the side of your hip. Swing one leg in front carefully across your body from side to side for 10 times. Then repeat with other leg.

The ball is in your court

Now let’s move onto the challenge. Are you ready?

This basketball biathlon is made up of two activities. The first activity is cardiovascular, and the second activity is target.

Check out the diverse options so you can choose the activity that is just right for you. Press the following tabs to access the different components for the challenge.

Equipment and setup

The following is the equipment you will need for this activity:

• A basketball. You may also use any round object that is safe to send such as a rolled-up sock, plush toy, crumpled up paper, or bean bag.
• A basketball net. You may also use a basket or bin instead.
• a stopwatch or a device with a timer app/feature
• tape or chalk
• jump rope (optional)

To set up the free throw area, mark the free throw line with tape or chalk if you aren’t on a basketball court. Choose a distance that you find slightly challenging (try around 15-30 steps between the line and where your net is).

You may also adjust the size and height of your net to your ability.

Creating your own free throw set up

Description

A diagram of how to set up a free throw area. Create a free throw line using tape or chalk. Choose a distance between 15 to 30 steps in front of the line to place your basket. You can choose if your net is placed on the ground or is higher up. Return to the free throw line with your ball. Try throwing the ball into the basket. If it is too easy, adjust your basket to be further away. If it is too difficult, adjust your basket to be closer.

Note that the free-throw line in a typical basketball court is 4.57 metres away from the net. If you are indoors, make sure to adjust the distance as needed to be safe!

Cardiovascular activity

Choose one of the following activities or choose a cardiovascular activity of your own to complete for each round:

• run for 400 metres
• perform 100 arm circles
• climb up and down the stairs 5 times
• jump rope 100 times

Target activity

At the end of your cardiovascular activity, you will move to the free throw line. You will have three tries to sink a basket. If you get it in during the first try, you save extra time and can move to the next round! If at the end of your three throws, you still haven’t sunk a basket, then you need to perform a penalty before going to the next round.

Penalty

If you miss all three free throws, complete five repetitions of one of the following:

Burpees

Explore the following image for the steps in how to perform a burpee.

Burpees

Description

To do a burpee, first drop into a squat with feet and hands flat on the ground. Next, kick your legs back so your body is in a straight line from shoulders to heels in plank position. Do a push-up by lowering yourself to the ground and then rising back into plank. Then, return to a squat with hands and feet on the ground with legs bent. Finally, jump up off the ground and return to a standing position.

Seated burpee with a ball

Seated burpee with a ball

Description

For a seated burpee with a ball, begin in a seated position with a ball held in your hands. Raise the ball as high as you can over your head. Return your hands and the ball to your lap. Bending forward as far as you safely can, lower the ball and your hands down towards the ground. Finish the seated burpee by sitting back up and returning the ball to your lap.

Rounds

The biathlon is made up of three rounds. That means you will be doing the cardiovascular activity three times with an attempt at free throws at the end of each. You will be timing yourself with a timer to find out how long it takes for you to do three rounds.

Tips and tricks

To improve your free throws, check out the following tips:

• Focus on your eyes and body onto the target. Find the centre of the free throw line and align your dominant foot perpendicular to the line, so that your shot can go straight towards the basketball net.
• Stick to a routine to improve accuracy. For example, if you load your ball low instead of high before you make your shot, you should always do that so your body develops that muscle memory. Practice makes perfect!

Try It

You versus you

Unlike basketball, the biathlon is an individual sport. The timer starts when you begin that first lap and ends when you’ve finished the third round of free throws.

Record your attempts in the Basketball Biathlon Challenge in your notebook or using the following fillable and printable document. If you would like, you can use speech-to-text or audio recording tools to record your thoughts.

Press the Activity button to access the Basketball Biathlon Challenge.

Activity (Open PDF in a new tab)

Be sure to note down any thoughts in the notes section about each attempt. Here are some prompts you may want to consider:

• How did I feel about that attempt?
• What is something I did well in?
• What would I like to continue to practise?
• Are there specific positions or strategies that help with my shot?
• What is my goal for my next attempt?

Cool Down

Cool down

Now it’s time for a cool down! It’s important to allow your body to gradually return to a resting state after intense physical activity.

Remember to perform your safety check before you begin.

Depending on what activities you are performing, choose one of the following cool downs, or you may do a combination of them.

Press the following tabs to access the cool downs.

Full body

• Jogging: Begin with a jog and transition to a walk. Do this for 2-5 minutes.
• Wide Toe Touch: Now do wide toe touches for 60 seconds. To perform a wide toe touch, position your body in the shape of a star, then bend forward and reach with one arm to touch the opposite foot. The other arm which is on the same side as the foot is pointed upwards. Hold this position for 10-15 seconds, then return to the starting position and repeat on the opposite side.
• Quad Stretch: Stand up straight and shift your weight to one leg. Then lift your other leg backwards towards your butt and grab it with the arm on the same side. Hold it for 20-30 seconds and repeat with the other leg. Do this 5 times for each leg.
• Child’s Pose: Do the child pose for 30 seconds. To perform the child pose, get down on your knees and bend your body forwards stretching your arms out. Your forehead should be resting on the floor.
• Abdominal Stretch: Now, do an abdominal stretch for 30 seconds. To perform the abdominal stretch, lie face down with legs straight up and place your arms in a push up position. Push upwards and slowly lift your torso holding the position.

Upper body

• Shoulder Stretch: Bring one arm across your chest bend your other arm to help support it into position. Hold the position for 30 seconds and then do the opposite side. Repeat three times.
• Triceps Stretch: Bend one arm up and behind towards your shoulder blade. Use the other arm to help support it into position. Hold the position for 30 seconds and then do the opposite side. Repeat three times.
• Overhead Stretch: With your body straight interlock your fingers and bring your arms above your head. Have your palms facing away from you. Hold the position for 60 seconds.
• Torso Stretch: With your body straight fold one arm behind your back and use the other arm to help support it into position. Then bend your torso towards one side. Hold the position for 30 seconds and then do the opposite side. Repeat three times.
• Chest-Cross Arm Swing: With your body straight put your hands horizontally straight out to the sides and then swing your arms to make an ‘X’ shape back and forth for 60 seconds.

Lower body

• Flutter Kick: Lie on your back with your hands to the side. Lift your legs and perform a kicking motion, alternating the legs back and forth. Do this for one minute.
• Side-Lying Leg Lifts: Lie on your side with one arm supporting your head and one arm bend in front supporting your body in position pushing against the ground. Lift your leg slowly and gradually return it back. Do this five times and then switch to the other leg.
• Single Leg Hug: You can do this lying on your back or standing straight up. With your arms hug your thigh to bring one knee towards your chest. Hold the position for 20-30 seconds then gradually release and switch sides. Repeat three times.
• Butterfly Stretch: Sitting on the floor bring both feet together so they are touching. Use your arms to safely move your knees towards the floor. Hold the position for 20-30 seconds and then release gradually. Repeat three times.
• Hip Flexor Stretch: Kneel on one of your knees and bend your other leg in front of your body at approximately a 90-degree angle. Shift your weight forward until you feel a stretch. Hold the position for 20-30 seconds and switch sides. Repeat three times.

Make your own biathlon

Now that you’ve experienced the basketball biathlon, it’s time to create your own. Your biathlon should consist of two different activities: one which is cardiovascular in nature, and one which requires hitting a target. You should also provide players with at least three strategies as to how you can be successful in your biathlon, as well as at least two strategies you can develop when performing the biathlon that can be helpful for success in other sports.

Press ‘Activities’ to access a list of various cardiovascular and target activities you may possibly want or draw inspiration from for your biathlon.

Activities

Consider the following things when creating your biathlon:

• Is this activity doable for somebody my age?
• Is the cardiovascular activity difficult or intensive enough to increase the athlete’s heart rate?
• Is the target activity challenging enough that it requires practice but is achievable?
• Is the penalty long enough to interfere with the athlete’s time but achievable?
• Is your biathlon fun?
• How might performing your biathlon allow you to develop skills or strategies that can help your performance in another sport or physical activity?

Choose one of the following or a method of your choice to explain your biathlon.

• live demonstration
• video/audio clips
• slideshow
• poster
• brochure
• webpage

Use the following checklist to help guide creation and your explanation of your biathlon.

Now perform your biathlon and share it with others if you can. If you are able to share it, ask them for feedback on your biathlon. Would they change anything?

Reflection

As you read the following descriptions, select the one that best describes your current understanding of the learning in this activity. Press the corresponding button once you have made your choice.

I feel…

I have an excellent understanding of the concepts I have a very good understanding of the concepts I have some understanding but need to review some more my understanding of the concepts needs a lot more work

Now, expand on your ideas by recording your thoughts using a voice recorder, speech-to-text, or writing tool.

When you review your notes on this learning activity later, reflect on whether you would select a different description based on your further review of the material in this learning activity.