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Bowls, a formula for being competitive

Bowls, a formula for being competitive

At a recent bowls function I attended, Kel Kerkow was asked this question by a bowler…how do you address a form slump mid game? Kel responded by saying…focus, concentrate.

As I listened I thought, does the bowler know what he has to focus/ concentrate on? Days later a premier league player said could I answer this concern…I lead well for 9 ends, go off my game for 6 ends, then return to form to finish the game close to the level I started the game.

And one other bowler put this to me…I want to be the best lead in Australia and represent Australia.

In all three cases I think they sought a ‘formula’.

Where do I start. Consistency is a word I would resort to in response to all three queries, but how do we acquire it.

A suggestion I provide is for these three bowlers (all good bowlers) to know precisely what is occurring when they deliver the perfect delivery in training and games. They need to know they have a pre delivery routine, they sight the line, how they get down and extend out and follow through and are aware of all parts of the body that enable that to happen. Do a repeat perfect delivery to end on the original for reinforcement of top standard – I call that ‘caterpillar”.

However the three bowlers must know, feel, observe what they do well every delivery in training prior to taking that consistent mindset into any game. And when they bow a crap bowl in training to make an instant  comparison to how they differed to the perfect delivery done also in training. That requires a mental mindset which good bowlers don’t always have, whereas champion bowlers most often do have.

Bowlers when you deliver the ‘ripper’ delivery you love, store it in the memory, treasure it, recall it, repeat it…at training. It can be brought then to your game. What we do in fact in bowls to my eternal annoyance is recall and repeat all the negative/ bad stuff. And you do it (enough with the negatives) at training so negativity is near perfect when you compete as it is your usual behaviour. Yuk!!! Let’s overcome that with some suggestions on performance.