Ted's Coaching Page
He has been an accredited lawn bowls coach since 1980.
In 1981, Ted was the first Chairman of the R.V.B.A. Deputy Coaching Committee,
he was involved in coaching coaches and up until 1988 was an examiner of potential coaches.
Ted is also our very capable Green Keeper and Green Director.
Life Membership was bestowed upon Ted in 2007.
Using the Chalk Line for Practice
The chalk line from the 2m. mark is used to align the jack and the mat, however, it can be used for practicing……
1. The delivery of the jack
2. Learning the arc line of your bowl
3. And to check your delivery action.
1. For delivering the jack ………..place your right foot
(for the right handed person , left handed person is the opposite)
onto the left of the mat, your left foot is on the green. Now swing
your arm , holding the jack,
back and forth along the chalk line. Decide upon the length you
require ,then roll the jack along the chalk line.
2. Learning your bowl …………
Your bowl has a unique arc built into it by the manufacturer and to be successful
you must learn the arc that YOUR bowl takes
(not anyone else’s bowl ) …..Place your right foot alongside
the chalk line (right handed people)……..
bowl your bowl along the chalk line and WATCH your bowl carefully
. Keep delivering your bowls like this until the arc is firmly
in your mind and etched into your memory. Suppose you wish to test
to see if another set of bowls are narrower or wider than yours……..
Bowl your four bowls down the chalk line (they should finish all in
the same spot) Place a jack where your bowls have finished and remove your bowls.
Now... bowl the four bowls that you wish to test,
along the chalk line.
Wider arcing bowls will finish outside the jack and narrower bowls
will finish inside the jack.
3. Checking your delivery…………..
Take your stance along the chalk line. Deliver your bowl along the line but
DO NOT LOOK UP.
Now, take note of where your front foot is placed in relation to the
chalk line. Ideally it should be parallel to the line and the
width of your back foot from the line……… Where
is your delivering hand ???
Hopefully, it is palm up and immediately above the line.
These are three exercises that are best practiced on your own so as to enable
you to concentrate fully on improving your game.
The green should be running 13 seconds or more. Preferably choose a calm
day to get the best results
Young Bowlers Taking Over
Unless the trend is stopped, the mature aged group will soon be displaced from the top teams and will have nothing
to aim for; in their bowling future.
The problem is not caused by differences in their physical make-up, but is of a psychological nature.
The teenager comes into the game with an open mind, is willing to listen and learn from the club coach.
He will spend time on technique, practice regimes and tactics.
On the other hand the mature bowler enters the sport with a preconceived idea of his own ability, barely tolerates interference
from the coach, and cannot be bothered learning the basics.
His natural ability will take him part of the way to the top, but unless his technique is correct, he is unlikely to reach his potential.
At some time the two groups will clash, be it in their club championships, club pennant, or association and interstate selection.
Selectors faced with a choice between a well coached teenager meeting their criteria, or a self-made mature bowler, who,
while he has obvious skills, possesses a faulty technique, will invariably choose the former.
Who can blame them?
Communication Breakdown
The message should always be positive, but judging by the behaviour of some of our bowlers, especially skippers,
our coaches are not spending enough time on this important subject.
Sarcasm, negative remarks followed by signs of frustration can be seen at most games.
The skipper "paints a picture" of the head to his team some distance away and indicates by verbal and non-verbal communication
what each bowler should do to gain an advantage. His instructions should be clear and simple (the kiss method), but this is
sometimes difficult when traffic and adjoining rink noise intrudes. He must then rely on non-verbal communication such as
clapping, smiling, riding the bowls home, anything to lift the team. Negative communication such as, turning away, talking and
complaining to bankers, lack of interest etc. is unlikely to get a positive result. Although it seems logical that team members would
try to lift the performance of team-mates, too often remarks such as "what do
we have to do?" followed by "they are having all the luck" and "the skipper keeps calling me (or you) on the wrong hand".
None of these negative remarks are likely to lift the performance of the team.
Switch To Automatic
We refer to those times when you think your bowl cannot draw around that short bowl,
or again (and you are not alone), when you tell the skip that you cannot draw under that blocker and hold up long enough to draw
the shot.The problem, as with all sports, is that you tend to have a mental (probably negative) input into your physical action,
so that when you cannot “see” the shot………
you cannot play it. However… THERE IS AN ANSWER… and it involves totally ignoring the blocking bowl,
picking a line to the jack, switching into auto. and letting your bowl do its work.
While we are on the subject of seeing a shot ,we note that some bowlers can “see” alternative shots to those chosen by the skipper.
They are not concerned that the skipper is building a head with a view to a certain outcome, but instead ,
from the mat , can “see” probably an easier shot.
If tactics can be worked out from the mat end…….why do we need skippers?
Sportsmanship
Sadly , there is a tendency among bowlers (and some others sports people) to claim that they have been beaten by their opponents,
more by luck than skill.
Let us look at the end of a game when your opponents are the winners and you are about to become graceful losers.
What the onlooker hears goes something like this…..”The green was awful!” ( it seems to have suited the opposition.)
“Their skipper killed the end whenever we held a few “( our skipper could not hit the side of a barn) “Their leader murdered ours”
(dob in a mate)“He wicked in off a bowl on the boundary and took our bowls clean out” (the only luck we had was bad)”
I thought I played pretty well” ( in case any of the selectors are about).As you can see, the loss was not your fault because the
odds were stacked against you. Coaches on the other hand, take the view that you should have overcome all obstacles,
but at least when you are beaten, have the grace to see that they were better on the day.
Wind Direction
While this may be helpful in checking on the wind direction and velocity at the top of the pole,
the game is being held at ground level.
It would be more appropriate to look at the flags placed at each corner of the green.
The Club and The Coach
All clubs would like to improve the bowling standard of their
present and future bowlers, but few have a set coaching policy in place.
It would appear to be essential, in the interests of bowls in general, and
the clubs in particular, that clubs (with input from their coaches) examine
ways and means of rectifying the situation and find answers to the following
questions.
1. When should a new bowler be coached?
2. Should the club have a policy concerning new bowlers?
3. In view of the fact that experienced bowlers point the newcomer towards
a particular coach, does the club have a policy to share
the work with their other coaches?
4. Does the club ensure that coaches who play in a lower grade are able
to coach bowlers?
5. Does the club actually supervise coaching policy?
6. Does the club actively seek to raise the bowling standard of their bowlers?
Some bowlers appear to ignore the coaches, preferring to “do
their own thing”, but should this be encouraged if it is not in the
best interest of club?Some coaches teach their own version of bowls technique
(rather than, as per the book). ….
Should the club tolerate this? Finally… most sports coaches are paid
by their club, or by the candidate.
Would bowlers be more likely to take notice if they had to pay for advice?
A New Attitude
Pennant bowls is only one aspect of a bowling clubs activities, but nearly all members want to play pennant.
Most players probably want to play in the top side, and selectors have the unenviable task of grading them according to their ability.
A popular attitude with some members is to assume that results don’t matter as long as we do our best and enjoy the game.
But we believe that the majority of pennant players want more. And that is….. to win, and eventually reach the pennant finals.
If the club hasn’t attracted new ready-made champions, they will have to go with what they have.
This means that they will have to rely on you to look at the aspects of your game that can be improved.
Why Not Try Something New?
1. Have you realised your potential??
2. Have you no room for improvement??
3. Is it unlikely that promotion is coming your way??
If you are open-minded!!…… then sit back, ……put pencil to paper,….. and list the weaknesses in your game. ....be honest.
For example,
1. Are you better at long or short ends?
2. What is your coping ability on fast greens and slow greens?
3. Can you draw to a jack off line or to one in the ditch?
4. Are you mentally tough when you are a few shots down?
5. How do you play in windy conditions?
6. Can you play weighted shots when needed?
7. Do you keep a good line and generally reach the head, particularly when you are shots down???
If your answer is “No” to any of these questions, then these problems can be fixed!
THE COACH CAN HELP YOU…
So try him/her, and surprise yourself, as well as everybody else, as to your new found abilities