Forrester PE Dept

PRINCIPLES OF PLAY

 

TEMPO

 

Definition

Tempo is the speed or pace at which a team or individual plays/performs.

 

Impact on Performance

In all activities the tempo at which the participants play/perform is important. Too fast and a performance can break down because nobody has time to react and make adjustments.  Too slow and opponents can easily read what is going to happen and deny you the space/time to execute effective actions. In a volleyball match you could use different tempos of attack to try and create space/time to attack effectively against your opponents.  For example, attacks can be quick to deny the opposition time to establish a block or slower to allow time to recover from bad passing or to feed out to the best hitter in the team.