Survival Of The Fittest….

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I am not going to lie…Saturday was the sweetest feeling I have felt in my career so far….

I laid it out in my last Blog post how big Saturdays game was going to be and those of you that were there will confirm what a big match it was. In short we had to secure a bonus point to be safe and we secured 2 !!

Both teams gave it every thing to try and SURVIVE in The Championship-Esher at last playing to there Strengths- running from everywhere without fear without the shackles of a game plan.

And my boys-London Scottish-I cannot connvey how proud I am of how we played,how we reacted to the 5 Esher tries, how the pressure never got to us. Every time Esher scored the Scottish boys huddled and set out what the next job was. At no point did we panic even at half time trailing 12-21. In fact it was the calmest half time meet I can remember this season-the players sat took on fluids-the coaches talked then the players talked-nothing was to change stick to the GAME PLAN!

The game plan was to play structured and disciplined Rugby, drive the lineouts as much as possible, to keep the work rate higher than our opponents, to pressurise the Esher set piece and to keep pressing in defense-to quote  our defense coach, Alex Codling before and at half time;

keep coming forward in D we will score off an interception

How right he was as we sealed our Championship status with an intercept try from Charlie Hayter.

This coolness under pressure didn’t just happen by accident I put it down to 2 main ingredients-

1 Amor and Codling prepared the London Scottish team to play Esher throughly and left no stone un turned-the work done enababled our players to see weakness in their game and recognise our key strengths.

2. The players gave it their all and left nothing on the pitch-every single player emptied the tank. However the key was that despite giving everything and playing with great intensity the players kept their minds in the fridge and made precise professional decisions that got us the outcome we deserved. No stupid off loads or penalties just disciplined yard by yard inch by inch play.

Please enjoy the following video that features our tries v Esher on Saturday to keep us in The Championship and also David Howells try that got us promoted last season. And please feel fee to comment….

Please note how hard the LS squad celebrated each score which was a key objective before the game!!!

Snap Shot

Here’s a look in at what one of my Athletes is looking like at the moment as my squad prepare for a very important part of the season.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lH0-lnVB6o&feature=youtu.be

Whats an Easier Job….Preseason or In Season ??

The Preseason is the Strength and Conditioning Coaches busiest time-his bread and butter so to speak – So much planning, testing, retesting and so much to deliver. The Director of Rugby will hand 90% of the sessions to the S&C Coach (at least he should) in order to prepare the players for the tough season ahead and this will last anything from 6-12 weeks-it’s bloody hard work but of course very enjoyable (for the coach!!).

This is a challenge of course but in my opinion the In Season training is an even bigger strain on the S & C Coach. How do you keep getting Fitter, Stronger, Faster????

Honestly….you DON’T because you cant! In our league, The Championship, we have a game every week. Sometimes the games are on a Friday/Saturday-sometimes on a Sunday, so the week make up can mean an 8,7,6 or even 5 day turn around.

So to try and get my athletes any fitter, stronger or faster is pretty much impossible so the key to it is getting the players to recover and maintain what they have achieved in the busy Preseason period.

Its all about getting your players FRESH for the weekly battle.

I’ll Blog about what methods I use to help with recovery and maintain the performance levels of my Athletes as well as how I am preparing London Scottish for the Play Offs in March.

Elko

The Big I….

If you are going to coach your athletes anything coach them the importance of Intensity.  Intensity by definition is; Strength/Amplitude/Level/Magnitude. The gym should be the epicentre for your sporting organisation. In elite sport if you don’t have The ”Big  I”, forget it.

He def had the Big I

For the last 4 weeks I have been in my new role as Head of Strength and Conditioning at London Scottish Rugby Club and when I arrived the biggest thing I noticed was a lack of intensity. Without it nothing really happiness, guys ‘turn up’ for training, they ‘get through’ the sessions but the results are minimal and the culture of the place can be cancerous.

If you compare the first session my guys did  to what they are doing right now it is night and day. I can’t tell you how happy I am with their effort and change in attitude. Guys rush to training, get there early ready to go, they don’t ‘get through’ the session they smash whatever is put in front of them and push every one around them to do the same.

An organisation with intensity is a winning organisation and luckily intensity can be established anywhere by educating your athletes. By explaining what they can achieve, why rest time is as important as what they are lifting and how many times.  By getting them into organizing and planing their workout stations so they have smooth transition and efficiency. And most importantly when they do buy into it and the atmosphere in the gym changes, congratulate and praise them!

Establish intensity and watch your athletes achieve PB after PB.

Good Times Good Luck Goodbye

Elko leaves Esher Rubgy Club

 

 

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Simon Elkinson Head of Strength and Conditioning at Esher Rugby Club for the past 4 successful seasons has left the club for pastures new as he looks to push his career forward and develop in a challenging, professional environment.

For the past 4 years I have been working for Esher Rugby Club who play in The Championship-the 2nd tier of elite Rugby in England. My history with the club, however, goes back a lot further. In 1998 I played in the 1st team when the club was promoted into the 3rd tier and I played again for 2 years before injury forced me to retire.Thankfully the club took a chance on me and gave me the Head Strength and Conditioning role.

In my time at Esher Rugby I have made some incredible friends and had some amazing experiences. The players have been a pleasure to work with and I hope they have very successful careers in front of them.

A new challenge awaits me now, a challenge I need and want in an environment where I know i will develop and push myself to the limit to be successful-just like my athletes do. Its the right time and the right move.

I would like to say thank you for the good times, good luck in the future and see you soon…..

Elko