Effects of Specialised Physical Education in Volleyball on Middle School Students' Physical Fitness and Performance

Physical education stands as a collaborative, bilateral activity essential for the development and improvement of young people's physical qualities and plays a pivotal role in youth sports promotion. Volleyball offers a blend of aerobic and anaerobic exercises, developing muscle strength, bone density, cardiovascular health, and fine-tuning the nervous system. It is effective in improving physical attributes such as strength, speed, agility, endurance, and coordination, which are crucial for holistic student development and success in the standardized PE entrance examinations for senior high school.

Recent trends have highlighted a decline in physical fitness among youth, as evidenced by rising obesity rates and increasing failure rates in fitness assessments. To counteract this, the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China 2021 has initiated a shift towards "specialised physical education," integrating health knowledge with basic and specialised motor skills training. This innovative educational model hopes to improve student physical fitness across educational tiers.

Therefore, this study chose volleyball specialised physical education as an intervention to study the effect of physical fitness and The PE entrance examination for senior high school performance of middle school students.

This study employed a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial (CRCT) design, conducted across two middle schools in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province, China. The investigators systematically assigned an experimental group to undergo a meticulously structured 10-week specialised volleyball physical education program, tailored according to rigorous research protocol. Parallel to this, the control group participated in a traditional physical education curriculum.

The experimental group engaged in a targeted training regimen focused on elevating volleyball competencies. The program was carefully segmented into four distinct developmental phases, ensuring a gradual and measurable enhancement of skills. Each session maintained strict adherence to a prescribed intensity gradient, incorporating exercises that evolved from low to high intensity, simple to complex executions, and individual techniques to holistic gameplay.

The intervention unfolded as follows:

Warm-up (10 min): A series of dynamic activities designed to prepare the body for rigorous physical activity, emphasizing mobility and injury prevention.

Basic contents of PE lesson (25 min): This segment included a progressive suite of volleyball drills and exercises, fine-tuned to fortify foundational skills during the initial weeks and gradually introducing strategic elements as the weeks advanced. Skill refinement, tactical understanding, and technical proficiency were paramount throughout the phases.

Cool-down (5 min): Post-training activities focused on lowering heart rate and stretching to aid recovery, reduce muscle soreness, and improve flexibility.

The four progressive phases of the intervention were as follows:

Phase 1 (1-2 weeks) Foundational Technique Acquisition Phase 2 (3-5 weeks) Skill Refinement and Expansion Phase 3 (6-8 weeks) Advanced Techniques and Tactical Application Phase 4 (9-10 weeks) Competitive Play and Specialisation.

To measure the impact of this intervention, pre-test was conducted to establish baseline data before the experiment, and post-test was delivered after the tenth week. The testing protocol aimed to capture the progression in both physical fitness and proformance, providing a comparative analysis between the specialised physical education intervention and traditional physical education approach.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age and Education Level: Must be third-year students currently enrolled in a junior middle school.
2. Need Students who took The PE entrance examination forsenior high school performance in Sichuan Province.
3. Health Status: confirming the absence of any acute illnesses or physical impairments that could impair test performance.
4. Physical Ability: Must be capable of performing all test activities designed for the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

* 1. Chronic Organ Diseases: Students with a documented history of chronic organ diseases, such as liver cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, or others that could impact physical performance or require ongoing medical intervention, are excluded.

  2. Cardiovascular Conditions: Students with any form of heart disease, including but not limited to congenital heart defects, arrhythmias, or history of myocardial infarction, are excluded.

  3. Chronic Illness: Students with any chronic illnesses that could impair their ability to participate fully in the physical tests or that could be exacerbated by physical exertion, including but not limited to asthma, severe allergies, or diabetes requiring insulin management, are excluded.

  4. Physical Disabilities: Students with congenital disabilities or physical impairments that prevent full participation in the study's required physical activities are excluded. This includes, but is not limited to, mobility impairments, significant musculoskeletal disorders, or other conditions that limit physical activity or exercise capacity.

  5. Medical: Students must not have any medical conditions or take any medications that, in the opinion of a medical professional, would make participation in the study unsafe or interfere with the interpretation of the test results.