‘Talking Tactically’

with Lachlan Tighe..... 

(a weekly edition, commenced 12/9/2001, of thoughts, observations and commentaries on developments for bowls coaching and competition)

‘…Elbows as a bowls squad’

(edition 95  - 2004 of thoughts & observations on lawn bowls)

Someone asked me again recently… what the hell is this ‘Elbows’ squad we keep hearting about ?

Well Elbows started as a personal squad of mine in 2000 that grew to a membership of 100 bowlers, and, my initial theme  of ‘be mindful of practicing habits’( which was my first 6 web coaching columns) moved to my current theme of ‘…attitude: all about practicing habits’.

And the more I see and soak up about elite sport, the more determined I am to provide a service as coach to the squad on competition matters as applied above the shoulders.

Elbows has done a phoenix and is now limited to twelve elite players, 7 men and 5 women all of whom played for Victoria in the 2004 National women’s sides championships. The squad has access at year round training to two other coaches and five sports scientists with different expertise which enhances our approach to development.

I pose the question to the squad, what skill level do you have at the present and what is your ’pb’ technical skill level in training and in competition.  And I expect them to be able to answer to indicate they understand this is the level of application we are on in the squad.  

It will be individually difficult for squad members to keep that level of application when they are away from the squad sessions and back at their club, because back in their clubs the locals will pooh pooh the Elbows approach.  For that matter our approach may not even be acceptable or recognized at higher playing levels. As humans it is automatic that anything you don’t understand, criticize.

To give squad members comfort, I have a series of retorts to counter the critics which I drafted in 2000, and still apply, for the squad to use in those situations: 

• If you want to be an above average bowler, don’t do what average bowlers do (which includes not heeding their comments)
• Most obstacles to performance appear to be emotional and mental
• Most sportsmen spend less than 5% of their training time in mental and emotional preparation
• 85% of success in sport depends on attitude rather than (technical) aptitude
• mental skills can be learnt and best done in training especially when you are back at your club where lesser lights will test your willingness to apply them in that club environment
• motivation comes from yourself
• to know where you want to be (goals) you have to establish where you are (performance appraisals, skills test )
• in competition move away from game result and focus on performance or objective goals based on a process you have to achieve
• getting the best from yourself may require a behaviour change
• not succeeding with the result or outcome creates an opportunity for behaviour change, rather than how others view it, failure or mistakes.

Over the period of time I scribbled down these positive thoughts and comments above which more often I gleaned from listening to, or reading about, other successes in sport.  And I certainly did’nt listen to the club members and other supposed good bowlers who ‘knew it all’ and were the loudest critics.

I vaguely remember the coaching column I wrote on Clive Woodward , the English Rugby coach, about self belief.  With the squad we can surge ahead as we have mutual peer belief. Also because we want to see each other and every one of us fulfill their own dream, work together toward a goal and revel in the fact that maybe a few of the female members get to be selected as 2006 Commonwealth Games representatives. And if they get that far then we can continue to support the level of training that might see them glisten with gold in March 2006.

Finally, the origin of the name ‘Elbows’ comes from a South Australian connection which is a coincidence given I am doing a coaching workshop in Adelaide June 2004 for the state players, coaches and the RSABA. 

When I first made contact with Paul Richards in 1991 he was the inaugural head coach of bowls with the South Australian Institute and captain of the Australian bowls men’s team.. I met him in my voluntary capacity in bowls to see how Bowls could get into the Victorian Institute (VIS) using his model and one aspect of my draft paper was to form a state squad which I gave the name ‘Elbows’.  

As the official organization was not able to pursue any VIS entry during the 90s and did not consider my draft document given my voluntary status, when I formed my own program and squad in 2000 I decided to use the name I coined in 1991, ‘Elbows’ as my way of remembering the support Paul gave to my approach to coaching.

It is a delight to know that in interstate and overseas bowls, there are respected elite coaches who now are aware of ‘Elbows’ and are regular in exchanging views and information of how they are developing programs to improve their elite bowlers.

Lachlan Tighe