See Elko Tonight on Sky Sports

Surrey Storm played Mavericks on Monday night  in Round 3 of the Fiat Netball Superleague. The game will be shown tonight as well as some behind the scenes film of the girls training and team building.

Coverage starts at 5.30pm on Sky Sports!

Sky Update

The Sky cameras rocked up to Surrey Sports Park last night and seemed very interested in the S&C program at Surrey Storm. The footage can be seen next Thursday the 10th of Feb before Surrey Storm take on Mavericks in the Fiat Netball Superleague on Sky Sports.

Elko Looking Forward to Sky Sports Visit

With Surrey Storm having a televised Fiat Netball Superleague game coming up the Sky Sports cameras are coming to visit the Surrey Sports Park tomorrow(Monday 31st January) to see what training the players do.

The squad are training hard and in the middle of a Strength to Power phase. I’ll be doing alot of change of direction and reacton work as well as jump and med ball training . We suffered a big defeat on Saturday against a very good Northern Thunder team so its important that training is fun and up beat as well as hard work! I’ll keep you posted as to when the footage will be aired.Here’s a warm up from last season to give you a little taster. STORM VIDEOS

 

New Look Storm Begin Superleague Campaign

Surrey Storm Netball at last started their Superleague campaign at a sold out Surrey Sports Park on Saturday. There has been an extra long wait to start this season due to the Commonwealth Games and the Tri Series against the NZ Silverferns so it was a relief to get things under way.

We have a new look squad this season with 7 new signings, 2 from our talent squad which is a great achievement and shows what a healthy NTL program Surrey Storm has. The average age of the squad has fallen dramatically and although we have lost 2 well known names in Sonia Mkoloma and Geva Mentor the squad has a more balance and workman like feel to it.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The girls have worked extremely hard over the last 10 weeks in preseason, doing a squad conditioning session with me every Monday as well as 2-3 weights sessions and 2 fitness sessions a week. They have had to combine this training with playing for  their Prem sides and full time work, a massive effort by all.

The Superleague is decided by Play-Offs each season, the team that comes 1st in the regular season does not win the league. This is exactly what happened to us last season and unfortunately we didn’t perform in the play-offs and ended up coming 3rd. It was a steep learning curve and this year I have completely changed the approach and goals of the Strength and Conditioning program at Storm. Instead of looking to peak physically for the start of the season like last year we are looking at timing our run for the end of the season and into the play-offs.

I have concentrated on Injury Prevention, Agility, Strength and Power. Leaving the girls to gain ‘fitness’ through netball training and match play. As the season develops I will look to work hard on conditioning in a mini preseason before the ‘business end’ of the season ensuring we are in the best place both physically and psychologically to take on the like of Mavericks and Team Bath, 2 experts in the art of the  play-off.

Saturday was a good fixture to begin with, a much improved Team Northumbria under the coaching of ex England player Tracey Neville,visited the Surrey Sports Park. We were 8-3 down in the 1st quarter at one stage but got it back to trail 9-10 by the end. Storm then pushed on, looking the sharper and fitter of the 2 sides, eventually winning the game 58-32 (match report). For me it was a pleasing day at the office no.1 No Injuries no.2 We were clearly the sharper team.

Lots of work to do going forward, it is important to learn from each game and get stronger. This week sees Storm travel to Manchester to take on the might of Northern Thunder who are always a very difficult team to play against. Unfortunately i cant make that game as I have to work with Esher Rugby against another northern team, Rotherham, thankfully it’s at home in London!!

A Storm is Coming….

With the trials out of the way and new players on board, Surrey Storm are set to start their Preseason preparations under the guidance of Strength and Conditioning coach Simon Elkinson next Monday.

”Having finished top of The Superleague but coming up short in the play offs last season there is a massive sense of unfinished business. I am very determined to prepare the squad in the best possible manner to compete and win the Superleague this season. I had a meeting with Mary Beardwood last week and she shares the drive and belief that we can do it this season.”

Storm in their second season as a Superleague franchise will benefit with the return of their England players from winning Commonwealth Bronze in Deli:

” Tamazin Greenway had an incredible games, in my opinion she was the stand out performer in India and she is back to her best after a challenging season last season. Rachel Dunn will be looking to prove the selectors wrong on her return. She is a class act and I was surprised that England did not use her experience and coolness under pressure, especially in the game against Australia! I back her to be back to her best for Storm in the Superleague this year. ”

Monday will see the girls start their first ever Preseaon at the Surrey Sports Park:

”As a Strength and Conditioning I couldn’t ask for a better facility to train in, the Surrey Storm girls are fantastic athletes and deserve a facility like this. It’s perfect as we have access to the Olympic Lifting facility as well as the courts, I am really excited about what can be achieved. It’s a lot easier this year as we have covered most of the injury prevention stuff so can get into the harder stuff earlier. The girls also know me now and have bought into what I do so it is more about directing them rather than pushing them although there will be a bit of that!!”

Hearts and Minds

Elko with Geva Mentor Surrey Storm and England Netball defender

What makes a good Strength and Conditioning Coach??? The letters behind their name and or experience or their ability to motivate?

In my opinion the ability to motivate combined with knowledge is the best blend. You have to get your athletes to buy into what you are delivering to be successful. You could have all the knowledge in the world and be delivering an outstanding S & C program but if you dont have the personality to put across your beliefs then your chances of success are limited.

Part of the role of a Conditioner is to motivate his/her athletes to push and be the best they can be. In my experience getting to know the athletes and finding out what makes them tick, what challanges they have in life , how they are feeling  and showing that you give a damn goes a long way towards the athletes doing their best for you.

Showing that you care  captures the hearts and minds of your athletes. Dont get me wrong, I am a hard task master, ask any of my athletes, but I get a buy in from them first and then push them to the limit of what is humanly possible.

As an old University pal told me:

” Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care…. ”

Check out this warm up for Surrey Storm

http://www.surreystormnetball.co.uk/video/watch-storm-warm-up