ENDURANCE
What is endurance?
Endurance describes how long a young person can keep going with an activity before they become tired and need a break. Many different physical and health conditions can reduce a young person’s level of endurance. For example, a young person with a chronic health condition, like asthma or heart disease, or a physical disability, like cerebral palsy, may tire easily. Some medications can also make young people feel tired quickly.
What might this look like on the footy field?
- It is important to note that players with chronic health conditions (eg. asthma) and physical disability (eg. motor and coordination challenges) work harder on the footy field to do physical activities.
- Players with reduced endurance may tire or run out of breath quicker. It may look like they are unfit, when actually, they are physically working harder than most other players.
- Be aware and recognise the signs of fatigue: Signs that young people need a break include slowing down, looking tired, having difficulty catching their breath, or showing signs of frustration.
- Shorten activities: Shortening activities can help limit fatigue. The length of an activity may need to be tailored to the individual player.
- Give frequent breaks: Providing frequent, short breaks gives players time to recover. Multiple short breaks can be more helpful than less frequent longer breaks.
AllPlay Footy is a joint initiative by Monash University and the AFL. AllPlay Footy was founded at Deakin University in 2015 and has been part of Monash Education since 2021. The AllPlay Footy content and resources presented here have been developed with people with lived experience of disability, consultants from National Sporting Organisations for People with Disability, psychologists and researchers, and are brought to you with funding from a Department of Social Services Information, Linkages and Capacity Building: Social and Community Participation Stream (2020-2024) grant. We aim to use language that is respectful to everyone.
