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All grades  Project 4 weeks

Power, Speed & Stamina Playbook

Matthew Vallone Joe McSpiritt
Matthew Vallone, Joe McSpiritt
Updated
12.4.PF.6
8.2.PF.11
8.4.PF.4
5.2.PF.5
12.4.PF.5
+ 5 more
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The Challenge

When strength, endurance, and recovery are not balanced, athletes across many sports are more likely to show uneven conditioning, reduced performance, and greater fatigue during practices and games. This challenge is intensified by short practice time, wide differences in fitness levels, and limited attention to how warm-up, workout intensity, and cooldown affect the body’s ability to perform and recover.

Challenge Question

How might we address uneven conditioning on our school’s football and lacrosse teams so that Joe and other grade-level participants can build strength, cardio, and recovery habits through a simple workout circuit and cooldown routine?

Standards

  • [Massachusetts] 12.4.PF.6 - Design strategies and tactics to elicit a higher level of performance during a variety of sports, athletic, or physical activities. [PE]
  • [Massachusetts] 8.2.PF.11 - Apply knowledge of aerobic, strength and endurance, and flexibility training exercises through the design and implementation of a short- and long-term health-related fitness program (that includes a warm-up and cool down, addresses all components and principles of fitness) that builds on strengths and addresses areas for improvement in fitness level. [PE]
  • [Massachusetts] 8.4.PF.4 - Effectively combine and apply locomotor, stability/non-locomotor (e.g., weight transfer), and manipulative skills in a variety of athletic and physical activities, and game play (including net/wall games, target games, invasion games, fielding and striking games). [PE]
  • [Massachusetts] 5.2.PF.5 - Design a simple fitness goal and plan that includes warm-up and cool-down activities, uses physical activity to enhance personal fitness, and includes resources to assist in achieving the goal. [PE]
  • [Massachusetts] 12.4.PF.5 - Analyze performance and select appropriate modifications to movement concepts and biomechanical principles (e.g., force, motion, rotation) that improve performance of self or others in a selected skill and during game play. [PE]

Competencies

  • Learn with Purpose - Develop a plan to pursue a goal (LI.1)
  • Learn with Purpose - Monitor progress and adjust (LI.2)
  • Design Solutions - Build models, prototypes, or action plans (DS.2)
  • Sustain Well-Being - Build affirming life practices (SW.2)
  • Learn with Purpose - Give and receive feedback (LI.3)

Learning Partners and Clients

Joe is your primary client for this project. Work with Joe as you act like a sports performance coach to test a short warm-up, workout circuit, and cooldown routine for football and lacrosse conditioning. Use Joe’s feedback and performance data to adjust the plan so it better supports different fitness levels across the group.

Phase Overview

Phase Key Experiences
Discover
I can join a mini combine with Joe, try football and lacrosse fitness stations, and notice where strength, cardio, warm-up, or recovery breakdowns happen so I can identify why the team has uneven conditioning.
Examine
I can observe how classmates at different grade levels complete short strength, endurance, and recovery tasks and record patterns about effort, pacing, and form. I can compare how a warm-up, workout, and cooldown affect performance so I understand the causes and effects of uneven conditioning. I can ask Joe and peers for feedback about what feels too easy, too hard, or most helpful so I can monitor needs and plan for improvement. I can study simple movement and fitness principles like force, balance, endurance, and recovery so I can connect each exercise to sports performance in football and lacrosse.
Engineer
I can develop a short practice-ready warm-up, workout circuit, and cooldown for Joe that includes strength, endurance, flexibility, and sport-specific movement options for different grade levels and fitness needs.
Do
I can lead the routine with Joe and other participants, collect data on completion, effort, recovery, and movement quality, and adjust the sequence to improve performance for teammates with different conditioning levels.
Share
I can share my coaching plan and results through a live fitness showcase with Joe, peers, staff, and families, where I explain how the routine helped address uneven conditioning and reflect on how I grew in goal-setting, feedback, and adjusting my plan.