Trial Ends and Lessons (part 2)

When teaching the Blind to Bowl, you give them the physical instructions of how to do a good delivery and then tell them to just relax. Why ?? Not too much instruction at first ? No .

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  I find that it is easier to explaining that everyone has a distance which if they relax and do a  good (not necessary a perfect delivery); that their bowls will stop within a foot each time.   This, I explain, is your "natural distance".
When building your abilities in a sport there is a need for a common starting point upon which to build your abilities. Then the coach will teach you how to add a few feet or yards onto this "Natural" distance.

 I believe most people have two natural distances, one, when relaxed, your natural delivery, and  a  second natural distance, when they are forcing. like making a long step delivery. In drills, or when teaching the new bowlers I often attempt to put the jack at the individuals "natural distance". "Practice makes perfect" we hear, but more exactly it is "Good practice makes perfect"   And "Good practice" for a beginner is to have the jack at the distance which will give a consistency of delivery.,

  Every green will give you a different "Natural " distance, at which your bowl will roll with that great finish. However, there is a catch, Catch-22, (that old war movie.."You can't be send home unless your crazy, and if your request to be send home your not crazy") What you learn in the trail ends  can also be seen as being told to your opponents. (If you bowl natural weight, your opponent will avoid to put the jack at that distance when they can)

    --- If  every one was to use the trial ends to see their natural distance on this new club's greens, then the opponent skip (if watching) has this information, So on a trail end you are, sort of,  prevented from just bowling naturally. Yes you should attempt to draw to the jack and learn from the results of your bowls.

Use the trail ends to know the bowls

If your style of delivery is to adding onto your "natural distances"; then analyze your Bowls to jack distance  of the jack on the trial end, and bowl to the jack.  You will know the speed of the green and your "natural distance" delivery effort  for that green.  One big mistake of skips in the trail end is to ask their bowler to do a forehand or backhand.  Yes, your skip wants you to know which delivery  of  the green is best, forehand side or back hand side; but he should let the player learn from their trial ends.. 
 

Of course if you're a skip, one of the information you will receive from the trial ends is the danger of your opponents.  Each opponent will have a strength "Jack distance" and will be best bowling at this certain distance. First learning of trail ends.... where not to put the jack in the first ends of play Team members should share information, and because certain positions of play give that player a different insight; a good skip will delegate collection of information.
 

Since there are only two trial ends, up and back, and the opponent throws the jack on one of these occasions, you may want (as mate) to bowl a long "draw to the ditch" shot. Your raison may be  to read more accurately the green, make sure your skip knows. Let each player of a team develop their own information in the trial ends; and also expect them to collect some information which is needed by the team.
 

In a game of fours each team player may be requested to learn a different lesson  in the trial ends. Example, the lead should be able to Bowl to the jack at any distance, and should fine tune this skill, however the second and third, may actually disregard the jack position and bowl short (on a long trial end jack) or long to read the variations in the green when a ditch jack is to be presented in the coming game. If the trial ends are to know the green; this can be a necessary information which will be useful later.
 

  Sometimes during trial ends we will see the skip practice their runner or over draw shot. This to me would indicate he is comfortable with all the other knowledge of green speed and  players' ability' as well as the opponent's ability to draw to the jack. When I see these runners in trail ends, I think of the head game to be played and this is to tell the opponent, "I can throw runners".
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Certainly when the team members pass each other in the center of the green a lot of information should be shared as well as other  positive communications.
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When the Blind bowlers rolls the jack , they are always given the jacks distance from the mat. Every bowlers should have a way to judge the jack distance.  One year, I had a 3rd year bowler tell me. " How do I know the distance if the mat is moved out."? This was their  argument for not moving the mat of the "mat line"  Remember, strategy is using all the weakness of the opponents.  If the opponent can not find their line unless the mat is on the mat line, this weakness will result in the mat being moved.

If the natural distance  of the bowler is 25 meter they must know and calculate that distances up their green.  If the jack arrives at 27 meter they should know from green signs (board marks or greens spots ) that it is beyond their natural distance by two meters. (even if the mat is not on the mat line) 

After having bowled to the jack in the first roll of the trial end; and walking to the opposite end of the green one should have notice various distance markers. For example a burnt spot on the green, might be at 28 meters (from the mat line), or an object on the sideline a 26 meters. When the mat is moved 2 meters out these markers will help you to know the jack distance. You should always be able to find a spot which indicates a certain distance in meters and then compare how the jack is in relation to that spot.

Sometime, it will mean watching the skips walk from the scorecard to the jack and counting their steps. (green is 33 meters, he did 10 steps or 10 meters walking,  and score card is 3 meters behind the ditch) so the jack is 7 meters from the ditch.  Yes, calculations.. but also being aware of what is happening on the green or with the skips

Sometimes it skip will have a signal to a player to indicate the actual  jack distance in relation to where the mat has been placed if it is out from the mat line.

For example, myself I sometimes use the forearm in an vertical line to indicate the distance.  (I use the elbow as Hog line distance and the wrist as  the  ditch or maximum distance). Of course if the mat is moved out I calculate the distance from the mat. With my open hand I show what I know as the distance to the jack.
If 28 meters (touching my wrist) or half ways (26 meters) attaching the middle of my forearm, should allow the bowler to incorporate this information into their own analysis .

Sometimes there can be unique things about a club's greens.  Most greens are 30 to 33 meters long,However, once we won an advantage, during  a inter provincial competition by knowing that the greens were shorter in one direction

This was because of a large embankment  on the limit of the club's land and it  prevented more green construction. There fore. the long jack was  probably less then 28 meters. (the green  in that direction was about 30 meters)

Another advantage before the game starts and during the trial end is to verify the last foot of green before the ditch;  because the skip may have to draw to the ditch the information is best known before that end of play

. One trick was that I as the mate would do a small foot roll of the bowls behind the mat line toward the ditch. After the Bowls the been collected, I would look at the skip and then flip a bowl with my foot to see how the green  rolled very close to the ditch. ( of course your bowl... don.t send an opponents bowl into the ditch and find it covered with sand, especially after them putting grippo on their bowls or in the morning with the dew still on the green and bowls are all wet)

Anther trick during the trial ends  -  Doing the coin Toss for start.  Sometimes in a competition game you would like to be able to match your player against an opponent player. You may know that Richard can out bowl the opponent Keith and would like them to play the same position. With the flip of the coin, if you were to win and give away the jack, this will  allows you the winner, to  tell Richard to take the same position as Keith. If Keith leads in the trial ends, Richard will follow, If Keith goes second, like wise.

However, Warning... Because  I have yet to see a rule which says the order of play depends on the order of the trial ends; I believe the rules do permit a team to Bowl a different order of players than those presented in the trial ends. Again, to switch after the trial end have been rolled will give away any advantage of this trick.  (if the opponent has changed his players order after the trial end, you are aware they know this trick and likewise change your order if you had given away the mat)  

I remember one game where the opponent skip had changed his players order and I changed it back, as we went to the mat, and he said to me " you definitely want Richard and Keith to bowl the same position ". Of course we laughed.