Tag Archives: field archer

Dec 1 2021

After a storm

Those of you who read this site and live in the UK will know that a few days ago the country was hit by Storm Arwen. This brought storm force winds and heavy snow to some areas, resulting in thousands of homes losing power for several days, some of these are still without power 5 days later. This was the first winter storm to hit the UK.

So what does this have to do with an archery? 
The impact of the storm on woodland has been dramatic to some clubs like The Redoubtables, who have seen countless trees uprooted, branches down and their course devastated. These are the obvious impacts from such storms, the less obvious issues such storms bring are the broken branches hung up in trees.

An example can be seen in the brief recording below I made when checking our field course. 

I hope it goes some way to demonstrate how important it is to check your field courses for safety . It’s very easy to focus on the things in front of you, paths, trip hazards etc., but it is equally important to look upwards.

The second recording is more of a stroll round and hopefully provides you with an idea of the woodland we use. 

If you check out my YouTube channel you will see a few recordings I’ve taken over the months.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP9TZikgZjhkYpRQTVOHjIA
Thanks for reading and viewing.

Old wolf
Sep 10 2020

Original rule of 6 had nothing to do with COVID-19

Old wolf

old wolf – just because I like the photo

It was a concept I think I heard of years ago and think it was north American Indian culture from memory. though I may well be wrong. It was concerning looking at something, a problem or concept and identifying 6 possible reasons, outcomes or possible rationales for actions. Effectively expanding your understanding and perception of the activities

So, if you take this onboard I have found it very useful when looking at computer systems, working processes and from coaching. Some of the ideas might be pretty straight forward or sensible others might be more out of the box, but it is a good exercise to broaden your perspective.

To give you an example of what I mean let’s look at why someone might post something on Facebook or a blog

  1. To share their thoughts / experiences – we are social creatures and some like to share ideas, concerns and thoughts.
  2. To be seen as knowledgeable in an area – possibly when talking about specific topics or theories, often something seen in work places.
  3. To building their fan base – you see this with internet social influencers, they wish to boost their own presence or perceived standing online or in the specific area, whether they have knowledge in the area or not.
  4. They might be trying to build self-confidence – COVID-19 has seen an impact on the mental health of many and some might find posting on social media or other sites help boost confidence.
  5. Doom bringers – some come across as always wanting to be negative and pull everyone down, destroy ideas.
  6. Like to hear own voice – possible gregarious and like talking and expressing views on everything.

As I have said I have a tendency of doing this, I would say almost naturally in that I do try and look at things from multiple angles, I think partly due to my struggles with health and education over the years, from childhood and onward. I have found this approach useful when coaching archery and in my working life.

So why am I talking about this?

The last few months have not been easy for many people and the new restrictions of group sizes due to arrive on the 14th of September in the UK, local lockdowns, return to office work after working from home, and more  is affecting lots of people so my example 4 of self-confidence is possibly even more important.

Lots of people are struggling with their stress levels, physical and more importantly mental health. I know personally I have been and am struggling a bit, probably more than a bit, if I am truly honest. I miss being out and about in woods. I really miss the coaching and social interactions that come with helping people. I think that was one of the instigators of me starting the podcasts in an attempt to reach out and support people.

I started this site and more recently podcasts to share thoughts and experiences, not to be seen as knowledgeable or expert,  as the one thing I have learnt is the more you learn, the more there is to know. I have no interest in being a social influencer and despite what some think I don’t want to be negative or enjoy hearing my own voice. Yes, I often see the possible problems but this is because I want to be aware of them and have counter measures, plans or ideas to overcome them. A problem shared is sometimes a problem halved as others contribute to the solution or offer support.

So, next time when you read something, hear something or have a problem to solve, take a moment and try to note down 6 options. You might not be able to come up with 6 initially, but over time you will find you broaden your perspective. You never know it might help.

Stay safe, stay well and thanks for reading.

 

Coaching and Covid19
Aug 2 2020

Challenges of coaching with social distancing

Coaching from a “safe” distance is something many of us are trying to figure out given current circumstances. Many archery clubs or organisations have put a stop on all coaching until further notice due to the risks of COVID-19 and the difficultly of coaching and remaining within government guidelines for social distancing are considerable.
So what are the alternatives available for coaches and archers? From my perspective, I see three options
  • Face-to-face
  • Virtual face-to-face
  • Filming
I don’t think any coach or archery student would argue that face-to-face coaching is in many ways the ideal option when helping archers develop their skills. But, this option is not necessarily practical at present, when you factor in elements such as, social distancing guidance, limitations on numbers who can attend, locations capacity and how many can meet up. Some coaches may feel they can coach effectively in the current climate and that is there call. I will admit I have struggled to coach effectively or as fluidly given these restrictions.
What I want to suggest here are other options, such as remote coaching?

Virtual face-to-face

Coaching live via conferencing tools such as Zoom, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams etc is practical in some ways or rather circumstances. It is an option if the coach or student is presenting information, though harder if trying to demonstrate shooting or some practical skills. The advantage of these modes of communication is the ability to have a live discussion with students about ideas and allows a virtual face to face chat. So if either has questions they can ask there and then and not have to wait for email responses etc. I know we have been using these technologies for the past few months extensively in a work context. The one technical downside is the quality of connection speeds of your internet provider.
Whilst talking about communication technology you could also consider social media for sharing recordings of shooting, from short snippets in Instagram to uploading longer recordings to YouTube. The downside of sharing the content on these platforms is that you are likely to get a lot of comments, some of which may not be that constructive or accurate as you would like. Everyone likes to offer comments, some for genuine reason in the hope to help, others simply because they believe they know best. So remember some people prefer to criticise rather than offer constructive comments. It’s their way or the highway so to speak. So whichever option you choose, be aware of the possible negative reactions you may get.

Filming

There is no doubt that cameras and recordings can be very powerful tools for coaches to use, as they offer the ability to capture, rewind, review and replay in slow motion actions that might be too fast for the naked eye to accurately see. I can’t speak for other coaches but I often use my tablet or phone to capture footage of archers as they are shooting.
From a safeguarding perspective, you need to be very careful when filming children and young people. Before you record anyone you really should always ask permission of the individual and or parents/guardians.
Because of this, I would like to offer one word of caution when it comes to filming. If you have someone recording your shooting then consider their safety.
Where will they be standing when you are shooting? 
How close will they be? 
There has been more than one occasion where I have had to stop an enthusiastic parent wandering into a danger zone as they search for the ideal angle.

Coaching at a distance, what angle to go for?

Coaching at a distance, what angle to go for?

It is very easy to get carried away when behind a camera, wanting to get the best angle for the photo. Slowly moving around, whilst focused on the small screen you can quickly lose track of your physical surroundings.
The cameraman or women should never be in front of the archer or in any location where they make the archer uncomfortable or offer a distraction to them shooting, as this can lead to problems or dangers.
It is also worth remembering that some people become quite nervous when they think they are being filmed, changing their natural shooting process, so you might need to take a few recordings for them to settle down.

Provides easy playback

Fellow coach showing ease of playback

There are a couple of Apps available which coaches or any archers may find useful, these being Coaches Eye and Technique. I use Technique quite a bit to record archers shooting and playing it back to them in sessions on the tablet.
I have a tablet mounting on my tripod that allows me to position the camera in a location where a camera person could be.

Tablet mounting

Tablet mounted on tripod

The advantage I find with using Technique over just recording video on the native mobile phone are numerous
  1. It is very easy to use as I can record within the app or import video shot on another device into it.
  2. I can slow the footage down to 1/8th speed if I want to, which allows me to analyse the smallest movements in release or bow arm.
  3. I can zoom in on areas of the screen and show exactly how an archer is gripping the bow or releasing the string. Especially useful on the larger screen of my tablet.
  4. The top thing with the app is I can annotate it. So I can have the archer shoot three arrows at the same point on the target. Then overlay each arrow on the screen with a coloured line showing exactly the arrow or bow alignment. (the stable platform offered by the tripod helps hugely when doing this).

another view of tablet on tripod

another view of tablet on tripod

Once you have the footage, you will want to share it with your coach there are a few options. You could use something like Google Drive or Dropbox to share it. YouTube offers users the ability to upload content and to have it unlisted so you access it via a link the author sends out. I’ve used YouTube in the past to share content in this way.
I hope this has given you all some ideas. If anyone has other suggestions feel free to share them here by adding a comment.
Thanks for reading, stay safe.