UNIT TITLE: Sporting champions – Born or Made?
LENGTH: 5 weeks (15 hours)
UNIT DESCRIPTION: This unit of work is designed to build on the knowledge and understanding students have developed surrounding
physical activity and the elements which are essential in order to be a successful athlete. Students will be given opportunities to discuss
and critically think about what makes a successful athlete and they will be questioned about the degree to which these areas are essential.
The main focus areas are nutrition, practice, and technology. Students will discuss how these areas may or may not have an impact on
whether or not an athlete is successful. Students will be presented with many real life cases where athletes have been born or made.
Students will be given opportunities to debate what type of athlete they think is more successful.
OUTCOMES:
Knowledge, understanding and skills
Evidence of learning
1.1 discusses factors that limit and enhance the capacity to move
and perform
3.1 demonstrates actions and strategies that contribute to
enjoyable participation and skilful performance
3.2 evaluate the characteristics of enjoyable participation and
quality performance in physical activity and sport
4.3 performs movement skills with increasing proficiency
A student can:
 Design a nutritional plan for an elite athlete
 Debate the use of sports drinks in enhancing performance
 Assess which practice method is most effective for a given
movement skill
 Justify the role of mental rehearsal in enhancing performance
 Examine the role of technology in enhancing performance
 Discuss the strategies that are employed by elite athletes to
improve performance
 Debate whether there is such thing as a natural sportsperson
 Demonstrate how mental rehearsal and practice methods can
improve performance
Modules: Body Systems and Energy for Physical activity (AOS 1), Nutrition and Physical Activity (AOS 1), Fundamentals of movement skill
development (AOS 1), Technology, Participation and Performance (AOS 3)
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Students learn about:
Students learn to:
 Interrelationships between the body systems (AOS 1)
 discuss the contribution and importance of each system during
physical activity (AOS 1)
 compare general nutritional needs for health and physical activity
of specific groups (AOS 1)
 compare the nutrient requirements for people who engage in
physical activities of varying intensity and duration (AOS 1)
 investigate examples of nutritional plans to assess reasons for
the inclusion of particular food and nutrients (AOS 1)
 design a basic nutritional plan for participation in a physical
activity (AOS1)
 describe factors that contribute to rapid fluid loss during physical
activity (AOS 1)
 examine the consequences of dehydration and over-hydration
(AOS 1)
 evaluate claims made by manufactures of products promoted as
effective (AOS 1)
 participate in a variety of practice methods to assess their
effectiveness (AOS 1)
 debate the degree to which a coach should insist on the
development of conventional technique (AOS 1)
 justify the role of mental practice in enhancing performance
(AOS 1)
 identify the widespread applications of technology in physical
activity and sport (AOS 3)
 examine through research and practical participation how
technology is used in a selected physical activity or sport (AOS
3)
 debate the degree to which technology has created equity for
participants in physical activity and sport (AOS 3)
 Nutrition for health and physical activity (AOS 1)
 Nutritional planning (AOS 1)
 Hydration and physical activity (AOS 1)
 Practice (AOS 1)
 The contribution of technology to participation and performance
(AOS 3)
 The ethical implications of technology (AOS 3)
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Students learn about
Students learn to
Teaching and learning activities
What is an elite athlete?
Show photos of elite athletes as a discussion starter. E.g. Liz Ellis,
http://www.lizellis.com.au/graphics/LizThroughHoopHawkSml.JPG: or up
and coming athletes such as those on the website at
www.adelaide.edu.au/eliteathletes/profiles.
Ask students a variety of questions to start them thinking about what makes
an elite athlete. These questions will target the areas which the unit intends to
cover so that students become familiar with what elite athletes need to
consider in their preparation.
Sample questions:
 Name some elite athlete. What makes these athletes elite?
 What do elite athletes need to do in order to be successful?
 How do you know this?
 Does an elite athlete need to follow all of these procedures in order to
be successful? Why/why not?
 Is it possible for an elite athlete to be born with a natural sporting ability
and therefore not have to follow strict procedures in order to be
successful? Why?
 How should elite athletes behave in public? Discuss the implications
and differences in public perception around athletes who behave
exemplary in public, compared to those that behave poorly? Give
examples and deconstruct the role of the media in forming public
perception. Use newspaper clippings and magazine articles to
demonstrate this point.
Ask the students to complete the self-assessment questionnaire on becoming
a champion athlete.
http://www.drugfreesport.com/choices/decision/assessment.html
This will orientate them to the topic and see that becoming an elite athlete
involves many areas of focus.
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Students learn about
Students learn to


-
Interrelationships
between the body
systems
the reliance of body
systems on each other
for effective functioning,
e.g. muscular system
and circulatory system
discuss the
contribution and
importance of each
system during
physical activity
Teaching and learning activities
How important is it to have all body systems working effectively to be a
successful athlete?
Revise the four main body systems which contribute to physical activity:
skeletal, muscular, circulatory and respiratory.
Discuss the muscular system and why it is important to movement. Discuss
the role muscle fibres play in producing a talented athlete. Explain that there
are two types of muscle fibres, slow twitch and fast twitch. Slow twitch fibres
are used during endurance events and fast twitch fibres are used in sprinting
events. Olympic sprinters have been shown to possess about 80% fast twitch
muscle fibres while marathon runners may have 80% slow twitch muscle
fibres. Which dominant fibres do you think you have? Why?
With a partner Think, Pair and Share your ideas regarding whether an athlete
can train to alter their muscle fibres e.g. if an athlete is born with more slow
twitch muscle fibres can they train to become a sprinter? It is suggested that
not enough evidence has been found to suggest that this can occur but
athletes can follow the principles of conditioning in order to work towards
improving their performance for a particular sport/event
Identify what makes up the skeletal system through a brief discussion or quiz.
Critically discuss how a broken bone would affect an elite athlete’s
performance later in life? Students may suggest that broken bones are never
as strong again and forms of arthritis can develop. Search for athletes who
have had serious injuries and as a result have taken up a sport and become
very successful and have been labelled ‘elite’. Kieren Perkins is an example of
an athlete who had a serious leg injury and took up swimming as a form of
rehabilitation. He then went on to become a successful long distance swimmer
for Australia.
Identify factors that may affect an athlete’s respiratory system. For example,
the effects that asthma may have on an athlete. Discuss if having asthma
stops athletes from being ‘elite’? Can participation in physical activity help a
condition such as asthma?
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Students learn about
Students learn to
Teaching and learning activities
Research the percentage of athletes who have asthma or respiratory
problems. Teachers can use the internet for this task or have relevant
information available; for students to read through. Students need to respond
to the following:
1. Identify if this has limited their chances of being successful
2. Explain how they are able to be successful yet not 100% healthy
Explore how each of the systems (skeletal, muscular, circulatory, respiratory)
operates during physical activity. Represent diagrammatically how each
system supports the other during physical activity. Explain your diagram and
how the body systems operate to another student.
To support this activity, conduct an Internet search on Body systems. Some
suggested web sites include:
http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html
http://www.stcms.si.edu/hbs/hbs_student.htm
http://www.medtropolis.com/VBody.asp (for skeletal system)
 Nutrition for health and
physical activity
- nutritional requirements for
physical activity


compare general
nutritional needs for
health and physical
activity of specific
groups
Does an athlete need more than the recommended nutritional
requirements in order to be successful?
Think, pair, and share the general nutritional requirements that are
necessary everyday for any person. Collect ideas on the board, students
should come up with the 5 food groups and also the serving sizes that are
compare the nutrient
recommended. They may even discuss the 6 essential nutrients that are
requirements for people needed daily and link these to the 5 food groups in terms of where these
who engage in physical essential nutrients can be found. The following table provides a sample.
activities of varying
intensity and duration
5 food groups and daily servings
6 essential nutrients
Bread, cereals, rice and pasta –
6-11 servings
Fruit – 2-4 servings
Meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and
nuts – 2-3 servings
Vegetables – 3-5 servings
Milk, yoghurt and cheese – 2-3 servings
Fats, oils and sweets – sparingly
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Lipids
Vitamins
Minerals
Water
Students learn about
Students learn to
Teaching and learning activities
Brainstorm the different types of athletes within society and collect the ideas
on the board. These different categories can include; female, male, runners,
swimmers, sprinters, endurance etc. Discuss the difference in nutritional
requirements for the different categories of athlete’s e.g. female athletes
ensure they have adequate amounts of iron in their diet.
Choose an athlete group from the brainstorm above and outline a dietary
plan for this athlete. Refer to the recommended dietary servings for each food
group and examine whether these servings suit the nutritional requirements of
the athlete. Allow students to discuss their chosen athlete group with a
partner and critique each others nutritional plan.
 Nutritional planning
intake before, during and
after physical activity
energy requirements
during activity
 Nutritional planning
factors to consider when
planning healthy
nutritional intake for
physical activity
© PDHPE Unit 2006

investigate examples of
nutritional plans to
assess reasons for the
inclusion of particular
food and nutrients
Distribute a typical athlete’s diet to each student and instruct them to
examine the diet using the following questions as a guide. Use this to model
the next activity. Information is available at
http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sportsnutrition/
 Compare and contrast your dietary plan with this athlete?
 Are foods included to assist in the increase of energy levels?
 What foods are high in energy?
 Why do athletes need to time their meals?
 Why is this even more important when leading up to an event?
 What nutritional considerations need to be taken into an account after
an event?
 Is the pre or post meal more important? Why?

design a basic
nutritional plan for
participation in a
physical activity, e.g.
menu for outdoor
expedition,
carbohydrate loading
for a fun run or triathlon
To what degree is a strict diet important to an elite athlete?
Students should have a basic understanding of the nutritional requirements for
different athletes. This activity gives them an opportunity to research a
particular athlete of interest to them. Using the internet, students research the
following.
 What are the special dietary requirements for this athlete? This should
include amount of meals per day and what foods the athlete needs to be
eating to be successful
 When leading up to an event do the meals change? If so, how?
Students learn about
Students learn to
Teaching and learning activities


Draw up the dietary plan for this athlete.
Do you think this athlete could be successful if they didn’t follow this diet?
Why or why not?
Suggested Internet Sites:
http://www.gssiweb.com/sportssciencecenter/topic.cfm?id=61
http://www.ais.org.au/nutrition/documents/FuelNetball.pdf
How important is hydration for an elite athlete?
 Hydrations and physical
activity
– role and importance of
water intake during
physical activity
– managing fluid loss and
replacement
– sources of hydration

describe factors that
contribute to rapid fluid
loss during physical
activity, e.g. humidity,
high temperature,
alcohol

examine the
consequences of
dehydration and overhydration

analyse through case
studies the fluid
replacement regime of
different athletes
Discuss the physical effects you notice when you exercise. Collect
responses on the board. Students should come up with increased breathing
rate, heart rate, become thirsty and start sweating. Discuss how different
environments effect these signs e.g. how high humidity makes it more difficult
to regulate body temperature, how high temperatures increase core body
temperature and how when swimming in a pool you don’t notice that you are
actually sweating. Discuss the physical effects that would occur to an
individual exercising in one of these environments.
Students search the internet in order to answer the following questions. The
following websites are recommended:
http://www.gatorade.com.au/flash/default.asp
http://chemistry.about.com/cs/5/f/blwaterintox.htm
http://walking.about.com/od/fluids/
Research the following questions. Why do we sweat? What is sweat made up
of? How can we replace what we lose through sweat? How important is it that
you do drink fluids? What will happen if you don’t drink fluids? What happens if
you drink too much? What fluid is the best to drink? Why?
Refer back to the focus question “How important is hydration for an elite
athlete?”
Discuss the importance of effects of keeping hydrated while exercising.
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Students learn about
Students learn to

evaluate claims made
by manufactures of
products promoted as
effective for hydration
Teaching and learning activities
Research, what do sports drinks have that water doesn’t? Are sports drinks
suitable for all athletes?
Debate the question What athlete would be more successful, one who only
drinks water or one who only drinks sports drinks?
 Practice
- qualities of effective
practice
- practice methods
- duration and frequency
of practice
- mental
practice/rehearsal

participate in a variety
of practice methods to
assess their
effectiveness for
developing movement
skills, e.g. lay-up in
basketball, abseiling
descent, golf swing
How important is practice for an elite athlete?
Choose four students in your class who are highly proficient at a particular
skill (it is ideal to have four different skills e.g. tennis serve, soccer goal kick,
basketball lay up, golf swing etc). Split the class into four groups with three
students to perform the skill, one highly proficient student, one student who
will be given verbal instructions and the other will be given visual instructions,
also a recorder in each group and a student to retrieve and set up equipment.
The recorder is responsible for giving any instructions and recording the
amount of successful shots by the participant. The recorder will need to be
trained on what a successful attempt looks like in their skill. After all three
students have completed their attempts (maximum of 10) the group then
needs to graph the results to see the differences in the three students.
Discuss the following questions: Who did you think would have been most
successful and why? Who was most successful at the completion of the task
and why? Was the highly proficient student always using the correct
technique? Do you think the results would have been different if the highly
proficient student was given verbal instructions to correct his/her technique?
Why? The responses to these questions can be recorded in the students
work books
Identify a sportsperson who is highly proficient at the skill you just witnessed.
Do they need to practise this skill every day? Why/why not? If they didn’t
practise the skill everyday what might happen? Discussions need to surround
the concept that if you don’t use it, you loose it. Discuss how if athletes stop
training their fitness and skill levels drop very quickly.
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Students learn about
Students learn to

justify the role of
mental practice in
enhancing
performance
Teaching and learning activities
Imagine you are Grant Hackett (teachers can use any athlete that is
appealing to their group of students); you walk out to swim the 1500m
Freestyle at the World Championships in Melbourne in March 2007. What
thoughts are running through your head? Record these thoughts on the board
e.g. ‘I can do this’, ‘I’ve done this so many times before’, ‘I can’t let my country
down’, ‘This will be a piece of cake’.
Discuss what you notice about these comments. Students should notice that
some are negative and some are positive. Discuss, do you think that Ian
Thorpe would really have negative thoughts going through his mind? What do
you think Ian Thorpe would do in his preparation to feel more positive about
his ability to achieve his goals? Discussion should lead into the concept of
‘mental practice’ and how this enhances an athlete’s performance.
What do you notice about elite athletes preparing for competition? Think of
different groups and what they might do e.g. swimmers, footballers, netballers,
track athletes, field athletes etc.
Brainstorm what steps are necessary in order to mentally prepare to perform
a skill successfully e.g.
 Be in a quiet place
 Relax, concentrate, and focus
 Take deep breaths and exhale slowly releasing any tension
 Once relaxed focus on the skill
 Tell your self that you can perform the skill successfully
Visualise yourself performing the skill successfully. Groups need to go back
to the original skills task and perform the skills using the concept of ‘mental
practice’. Recorders need to record the amount of successful attempts out of
10 again. Discuss as a class if mentally preparing yourself this time actually
made a difference. Do you think an athlete can be successful if they don’t
mentally prepare?
Refer back to the beginning question “Is practise really important for an elite
athlete?” Discuss this question in relation to what you have learnt exploring
this focus question.
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Students learn about
 The contribution of
technology to participation
and performance
– preparation, e.g. heart
rate monitoring,
technique analysis
– performance, e.g.
clothing, equipment,
playing surfaces
– judging, officiating, e.g.
video replays, touch
pads, wireless
communication
Students learn to



identify the widespread
applications of
technology in physical
activity and sport
examine through
research and practical
participation how
technology is used in a
selected physical
activity or sport
examine through
research and practical
participation how
technology is used in a
selected physical
activity or sport
Teaching and learning activities
Has technology made athletes more successful?
Brainstorm a list of sports and the technological advances that students know
or have heard of for those sports. Examples include:
 heart rate monitors to work out an athletes peak performance level.
 movement analysis is used to video and slow down performance in order
to critique skill and technique.
 playing environments – grass compared to astro turf for hockey, diving
blocks for swimming are now on an angle, sprung floors in gymnastics,
indoor facilities, synthetic athletics tracks.
 clothing – swimmer and athletes now where tight skin uniforms.
Ask the students to select a sport that they are interested in and research one
technological advancement in that sport e.g. tennis and racquet technology.
Explore some of the following areas. Provide students with a scaffold for their
research assignment.
 What is the technological advancement?
 Does it enhance performance?
 Compare performances now and in previous times?
 What is the impact of the technology in the sport?
 What other technology advancements can you predict will occur in this
sport?
Provide a feedback sheet to the students and get them to read two other
pieces of work form other students and provide written feedback one the work.
You may like to provide marking guidelines to the students.
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Students learn about
 The ethical implications of
technology
– comparability of
performances
– access and equity
– illegal use of technology,
e.g. drug masking
– media, marketing and
profit, e.g. computer
games
© PDHPE Unit 2006
Students learn to
Teaching and learning activities
Debate the degree to
which technology has
created equity for
participants in physical
activity and sport.
Examples could
include:
- impact of drug testing
- assisting referees and
umpires
- access to training
techniques, equipment and
clothing
Has technology stopped naturally talented sports men and women from
being the best?
Set up an academic controversy with the class.

Suggestions of controversial statements to be explored include:
 Technology has stopped the naturally talented sportsmen and women
from being the best.
 There is no such thing as a natural sportsperson any more.
Academic Controversy
Instructions for academic controversy

Form class into groups of two pairs (Pair A and Pair B)

All groups are given the topic phrased as a statement such as – There
is no such thing as a natural sportsperson anymore.

Team A takes the positive position, Team B takes the negative
position.

Each pair has a set time (5-10 minutes) to construct an argument for
their position.

Team A presents their argument to Team B who listen but may not
interrupt or question.

Team B presents their argument to Team A who listen but may not
interrupt or question.

Each pair adopts the opposing position and has a set time to prepare
new arguments for that position (they may not use arguments already
contributed by the other pair).

Team A presents as above, followed by Team B.

Working together, Team A and Team B review their arguments and
achieve an agreement in relation to the topic.