Teaching Delivery Weight

 When in my early days of Coaching I was occupied with new members of our Club and teaching them the finer points of Lawn Bowls and the correct actions of a "Good Delivery"; I discovered that the previous sport they played was important to their rapid learning. A golfer has it easily to understand the Bias of a bowl because of their experience with putting on a green with a small slope.

They have a "mind-eye" for the slope and easily now to learn a "mind-eye" for the bias of their bowls. One would say you see a memory of your bowl roll and Bias as you have seen it for many years. I don't know if a bowler with several bowls see other bias.

 And with the "Mind-eye" of the bias they are getting away from aiming their delivery at an object at the other end. Becoming a good Lawn bowler is using the "Bias Mind-eye" to see the delivery line as the bowl's bias as it rolls, they also know it will pass a bowl and stop where it is expected. At least on the  "Centre Line" or "Jack Line" depending upon the actual bowl weight which was used.

 I use to tell  my students that curling happen when Lawn Bowler wanted to practice during the winter months on the frozen lake, and that in the beginning curling must have been like Lawn Bowls as they tried several distances for the "Centre of the House". With all the changes, even today, the distance to the "Centre of the House" is still 21 meters from the release line (where the curler releases his stone on his slide). If you are old time Curler, like myself, you will remember that the delivery style in curling was the same pendulum swing that we still use in Lawn Bowls. This week a club member with nearly 10 years bowls experience was changing his Lawn Bowls delivery style to be similar to his release in curling. Probably because of  a Video from Western Canada that show a similar style being developed.

When asked by a student "In the game of Lawn Bowls what is the most difficult thing to learn or develop ?" I must reply that it is "Weight Control" or better called " Delivery weight".  Why is it so difficult to develop?,  It is difficult to develop because when you hear "Control" you are first going the wrong way.  If we think "Control" we consciously think we can control the force needed to roll your bowl to the jack.  One of the important parts of  "Muscle Memory" is dropping into the "Zone" or "Void of thought" which can only be developed after many hours of doing a good delivery. If we are consciously trying to Push the proper  " Delivery weight" and we have develop a method of  calculating the actual "Jack Distance", I believe that without being in "The Zone" we can not perform a "Controlled Delivery". Yes we can have confidence in  knowing  the "Jack Distance" and our calculation are good but unless that " Delivery weight" is created from "Muscle Memory" while in the Zone; it is difficult.

First, lets look at how we (humans) judge distance. You decide to cross the street and you look up the street and see a car. Your self survival instinct is based upon the mind (subconscious) judging the distance and speed of that car.  Is it moving or not ?

Your subconscious mind will not provide that feeling of security before it has judge the distance and speed of that car. My wife, who is blind in one eye, will often stand and wait for the car to arrive and pass or even begin looking for the nearest Crosswalk  because both eyes are needed to measure the car's distance and movement. If she does not have that security because one eye alone does not give her that information: then she does not feel safe and resorts to walking all the way to the crosswalk or asking for help.

 How does your mind perform this?  The human mind seeks to identify danger and make decisions based upon facts of  that Danger. Remember, since your youth, you have seen a car  at different distances and even seen it coming a different speeds. This memory over the years is what is called "Survival Memory" as also in Bowls you hear people talk about "Muscle Memory" where the subconscious has memories and can use those memories in decisions. We know that muscles don't have memory or  "Muscle Memory"  but the subconscious mind's Memory of previous muscle actions which we had performed many times; allow for us to repeat that action without thinking. Survival Memory is the use of memory before offering a security feeling and permitting us doing an action. Fear, means braking a car because of the a danger while driving, and even our body functions like  chocking are automatic. Action done without our control by our subconscious mind.  So why do we  think we can control our Bowl Delivery.

Ok.. how do we judge " Distance"?  To calculated Distance, the mind is feeling the tension between the muscles of the two eyes as it focusses on that  distance object, (the car or the Jack). A car on the street is a big object while a Jack is very small but to calculate distance the object size is not important. An exercise for the truth of Survival Memory is that the next time you look up the street at a car, you can actually feel your eye re-focus on that distance. At some point you accept to know that it is not moving. 

 If you are driving your car and you see a child playing with a ball on the side of the road; your mind will identify this as a possible Danger and began sending information (or Data) to your subconscious mind to be analysis and identified.You probably will not brake immediately but if danger arrives the subconscious mind jumps into action. The ball moves or is kicked a little bit, your foot goes to the brake.  Because there is no danger in a Bowls Game, we don't find the "Subconscious Mind" often being involved.  However, for advance Lawn Bowls players, who has trained themselves in Muscle Memory and have a collection of data; have also trained the mind to  the use this data. In a Alley Bowling blog I found an bowler training or adjusting his Muscle Memory.  The better Lawn Bowlers will seldom talk about their  success of developing a perfect shot or delivery by exercises in it uses.

Now if I tell you that you can think "26 meters" and  your subconscious mind know the weight needed to roll the bowl to that distance; you will tell me I am crazy. You can use the idea of "26 Meters" to relax your thought during delivery. You are thinking something and your subconscious is busy doing your delivery. This focus on something else allows players to move into "The Zone" of emptiness.

 However, every day and every green, we know that the playing surface is a different speed. So, we do a trail bowl roll to compare our own Natural Distance and the green speeds. (Trial end or Cross Green Trial). Our "Natural" Relax Delivery may be  "25 meters" for a short jack on this day. So the thinking "26 meters" has the subconscious knowing you must add-on 1 meter to get that good roll to the jack.  In your "Pre-Mat" routine you have made a decision on how to put that one meter more into your delivery.

It might be a "Wrist flick" or "Small step" (where no step would be your shot jack routine) or maybe you will think to "Feel Front Foot" as you step.  All tricks for 1 meter more. No little remainder to the subconscious because if you consciously try to make that change you will lose you "Muscle Memory" Your decision though tells the subconscious mind and it occupies your conscious mind with a stupid thought. When the delivery is relaxed and "in the zone" your bowl has been delivered the best it can.

 In bowls, too often we think that we "feel" the distance to the jack. Yes, with years of experience you do have a "Muscle Memory" feeling, but it is important to always engage your Subconscious mind to judge that distance to the jack. The development of the "pre-mat" routine  by advance bowlers is their learning of how to inform the subconscious mind of decisions like how to calculate that distance. The photo (right) show the natural distance (or applied add-ons) as the same colors are together. This is a fine example of "Muscle Memory" not being modified for the next bowl.  (no add-on after 1st bowl)

Photo is from 2024 | Laser Eye Centre National Champ of Champs Triples | Day Two (youtube.com)

 This week I start a 4 night "Pickup Triples Games with club players and in the first game, I gave them the distance when the jack was thrown. I indicated "26 meters" and  I waited and watched if it helps with their delivery. Of course, it was a club fun game and no one did a green speed check with a Trial Roll. But becaise  I have never played with these players before I was concern to learn how they adjusted to the helpful information and if they had  a Add-on or Take-off action. I also indicate the number of feet their bowl was short or over during their delivery. Giving this information has forced them to think about their results. Even if  their thinking was only  to ask "why? ". Such Club Pick-up games are meant to help club member to improve their game. But also some players just come and play and want to have fun. I have to know which is which on the mat. (A skip must accept both types game)

 A blind bowler is told by the individual placing the jack, following their "Jack roll"; the actual distance, which he read exactly from Distance Cards placed on the side boards. This exact distance in meters allow the blind bowler to instruct  the subconscious to roll to that distance.  After years of Delivery, the subconscious mind remembering how much force your muscles need to delivery your bowl to that jack distance. (if you always do a perfect delivery, then any short or long bowls will not be the bowler's error but conditions of the green or weather. (wind, rain, Sun drying green)  Without, the Subconscious mind being allowed to be totally involved you are attempting to control the muscle performance yourself. I will always say that you falsely believe you can  give a  muscle force that you think is right for that distance. How often a beginning bowler roll his bowl because they think they know or feel that distance to the jack. .

The subconscious mind is what you must learn to apply in the Delivery of your Bowl but because there is no danger as you look up the green to the "Jack" your subconscious mind does not automatically  become active. In some of my Blogs I discuss methods of teaching the Subconscious mind. If you are doing something wrong in your delivery and you try to change it; more likely than "not" the minute you relax thinking, the subconscious mind takes control (because of muscle memory) you find that you have return to the old bad habit and even repeated the same old movement you are trying to correct.

 Once, years ago, while fixing a bad delivery and changing my delivery style I took the advice of a Level 4 coach and worked every day all summer on the new release.  Yes it took a whole year (2 seasons) My fight was not doing the action but that very often my mind-control wasthat of letting the subconscious mind do the old (bad) action. I had to fight with  my "Muscle Memory" to do  a new action when I was asked that sort of a shot..

Today we hear a lot about computer AI and we are beginning to understand that artificial intelligence is able to do a lot of things we have lacked as doing with precision.  Our "Mind", although a biologic computer also has “AI”, the subconscious mind. Just for discussion reason and discussion let us say that we are doing an essay on your laptop, computer, and typing away on the keyboard.  As you think and build your document into paragraphs and each paragraph covers a unique topic your fingers are busy putting those words into the computer.

Before the use of the iPhone, and texting when I was typing, I thought of the word and my fingers simply produce the word on the keyboard. For example, if I thought "Action", my hand automatically found the six letters of “A” and “CTION”. Today, as we are texting on our smartphone, we type the “A” and then we look up to the suggested word area  of the screen (above the keyboard of the phone and just pick the word “Action”. "AI" is being discovered every day by Lawn Bowls elite or normal players.

Applying this same idea, to Lawn Bowl and the use of your mind (bionic computer) is the most important development change in Bowls, It is our need to control everything, that hurts our Delivery and it's development  of us into a good Lawn Bowler. When we are thinking and doing what we think, we are in control and imagine what your typing on the computer would be like if you were thinking of where the letters was  on the keyboard and then the next letter.. We know that if we think of the word “Action” to be typed, our finger automatically goes to the several location on the keyboard and puts the word on our screen (desktop or iphone).

First as a new member at the club usually has played some sports before deciding to try Lawn Bowls. I find it easlier to explain the Bowl Bias to a previous Golfer because they have seen it before and they don't have trouble understanding or developing a mind-eye view of their bowl's bias as it go to the jack.

Some of our new member come to Lawn bowls from curlng and they have a lot of instruction like doing their thinking before getting into the hack to deliver the Stone.  Curling, is easlier than Bowls because is one distance from the hack to the centre of the house but in Lawn Bowls the distance of  the Jack can be at the hog line (23 meters) and even at the far “Ditch” (33 meters). This is a possible distance to the   “Jack” of 10 m so you must learn how to get that distance..

So how does this apply to rolling a ball up the green towards the Jack. First it starts with the initial teaching by the Club Coach on how to do a proper Delivery. In my days as Club coach, I had taken the "Curling View" of teaching their delivery because like in curling it is easlier with the object of the delivery (the Jack) always being  at the same distance. I would show them a delivery and after they had done several delivery I established what was  their "Natural distance" ( maybe 25 meters) and without guessing the Jack Distance I start them at just that distance as they are working on their Delivery movements.

 In Club Coaching after the movement of delivery is well learned by the student, it must now be work  into their teaching on Bowl Delivery weight. How do you put on extra weight ?. you teach them "More Pendulum movement"  and after some success; the jack is again moved to another distance. Maybe now learn to do a longer step on your delivery, and learn what effect it has on your delivery. Then the jack is moved again.  This way the jack distance is a part of the teaching. Wrongly, so many students are quickly put to the green and expected to reach the Jack wherever it is thrown.  How discourage it is to learn this way by mistakes. Soon the Mat Routine in learned as these new learnings become the thoughts before going to the mat for your delivery.  Or of course, you can just keep trying all the different distance jack and find some success.  But maybe a lot of disappointment.

The two points being made about Bowls is first, that we have to judge the distance from the mat to the Jack before doing our delivery and secondly as the most difficult aspect of Lawn Bowl is judging the distance we start like in Curling with fix distances. I say that I have three natural distance and a delivery style for each. Actually for a shot jack I do no step. for medium I do a regular delivery and long is a lot of effort with all the tricks I have learned.

Very often I will explain to the new student the various problems that the subconscious mind has in engaging distance. A  large building at the end of the green (like our Westmount Sherebrooke green) will make the Jack look smaller and apear closer. Also when the mat is brought up and the jack is at the edge of the ditch, will it be closer. Likewise, with  an open field behind it will the Jack will appear to be further then actually. In both cases, if we were judging the distance, with our eyes like mentioned above with the car. To help players develop a different perspective on the distance our calculations  must be based on real information.  This can be a skip giving a sign to define the actual distance and the student or bowler can decide their "Premat Routine" thinking of how to get that distance with Natural Distance.

Intransigence Attitude in Bowls

Is there an "Intransigence attitude" in our game of Bowls ?  In an recent Politico News reporting by Josh Gerstein  about the different of opinions of the Supreme Courts' justices,  Justice Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett,  Josh writes "Thomas, famous for his intransigence, might not care about  backlash".  The Cambridge  dictionary defines "Intransigence" as the quality of refusing to change your opinions or behaviour. Which I believes apply to Northern Lawn Bowls attitude.

"Bowls is a Draw, Draw, Draw game" to me is intransigence attitude to game strategy, especially when I read from an local Discussion group a coach saying "Don’t bother telling me that having the last shot in an end is an advantage. It’s not! As a skip, more times than I care to recall, with last bowl in hand, there is so much “shrapnel” in the head, I have no shot!" 

As I approach my 100,000 viewers this year from the last 10 years of 143 blog and regular 2,000 monthly visit of (now 94,996 this week), there has been a lot of changes to Blogger.  To the right a weekly stats of visits  5 years ago. Then I saw countries and each readers choice of blogs; but now such views is no longer available. As my 80 birthday approach, I thank all the regulars  from Australia, Africa, Canada,U.S.A and UK.

As a coach, I know and respect that the ability to draw to the jack is a major aspect of teaching new bowlers the proper action of a good Delivery. However, "If the head is filled with "Shrapnel" after both teams have played all their bowls except for the last two of the skips; it is because there is still the "Bowls is a Draw, Draw, Draw game" attitude. This year we will see World Bowls make many changes like the World Bowls Series with more than 45 world wide events to create a List of our best bowlers. And if Bowls is to survive we too must make change ourself, our club, our national plans.

In my last Inter-Club game the opponent said to me "It is amazing how you got through all those bowls". as I took 4 ends of 1 points in the final ends of play. Believing in the need for change is  the reason, I will use this blog to indicate a more open attitude as we see the importance of knowing your opponent and his game. Not every skip has a "Game Toolbox" of various shots or tricks which will allow then to develop a guaranteed strategy and lead a team toward a  game win.

In a four bowls pairs game which is usually 12 or 14 ends of play, one can break the ends of play into 4 sections of 2 ups and downs.  " 1-Data collection" , " 2- Points building", " 3- Hold or Build" and " 4- Defense/Attack". First 4 ends to collect data on greens, opponent, team ability and make a strategy. Well played if score totals of both sides after 4 ends is 4 to 7 points. Second 4 ends are to work to make a lot of points with either a "Lead control" the head or "Skip recovery" always for several points.Of the 4 sections of 4 ends this is the end of most risk-taking. Good 2nd, if the different is you leading with 5 or more points. Third part of 4 ends is hard because now after 8 ends of play everyone has a good feel for the speed and draw. Your strategy in wanting to gain points is to use the Mat and jack distance constructively. If your are up in points and it is to protect the points you have, be happy with a point or allow only one point to them. The final 4 ends of play should be easily if you are ahead and if not will be a hard fight to finish.. Remember "If down in points, up in the head means points" as skip rolls jack back to collect good amount of points.

First. "What are Free Bowls?" As a game progress and each player attempts to better the shot of his opponent, we have failures and most times the skip see the opportunity to place another pointing bowl into the head.  After two certain points, the next bowl to be played is a "Free Bowl" which can be placed anywhere to the advantage of the expected outcome of this end of play. One would say that the skip is "free" to balance his bowls as to the opponent's bowls or even create an defensive position of play. Bowls right are what we would like to see.

Yes, the skip has a strategy, unless he is pushed hard by the opponent to continually repair previous bowls the opponent has played. But does his teammates know his thinking. The "Do as the skip says" or asks for is an " intransigence in Bowls" because the skip does not believe that the teammates need to know the raison or strategy.

Another " intransigence in Bowls" is pick-up teams. When the same players always play together as a team, for years, they know and agree on strategy and know from the "chessboard gathering of bowls" what the strategy will become. When a pick-up team whom have been playing for a few tournaments or even a year are not developed into a working team, they follows the "Do as the skip says" behaviour.  To not have a post-game discussion with detail opinions from all on what happen and what should have happen; this attitude will not change and the team does not grow as a winning unit.

As club membership evolves and new players develop their skills and older players depart from competitive games; there has to be a systemic flow of skill and knowledge developed and passed. The intransigence separation of Coaches and knowledgeable players can be corrected with Workshops discussion of the recent winning skips in major national or international games.

Recently, while playing a "interclub" game on a Pickup team of 6 players I discovered my Pair's Lead, although a great draw bowler, had no knowledge of "End-game" strategy. Trailing 7- 9 in the last end of play; as I went to the mat with 4 bowls and down a point or 2, I had to get 3 points to win. The "Shrapnel"  of the first 8 bowls (4 bowls pairs) and the opponent's toucher (on 9 o'clock); meant strategy would be to "Re-spot it".  (photo right is an example of what might be called a head full of Shrapnel) How to get those three points depended upon my data collected on the opponent skip. His ability to draw long, his ability to see the need for a back bowl or two and what had happen during previous ends of play.

Another " intransigence in Bowls" is the lack of Communication, (Signals or verbal) and game's continual verbal instructions yelled either from the head or the mat to the team members. Certainly, my error as I could have mention to my lead as we passed in mid-field as I was going to the mat. "3 point Re-spot" verbally or even with a signal. (Three fingers and index finger  moving downward point at the ground (meaning "spot") to show my intentions). 

My first option for the three point need to finish with a win was to move the jack back to the right a few inches into the back toward the lead's bowls at "1 n 2" (o'clock) but  again blocked by the "shrapnel" in front of the head and jack. I would tried a "jack move" with a "light overdraw wick" on a 7 o'clock bowl of mine. (the need to use your lead's bowls is because of the danger of raising it. (don't need to move an opponent's bowls onto the jack). To wick and touch the jack gave me the 3 bowls in counting position to the right of the shot bowl and jack. A high percentage of success exist with the shot, as the opponent's bowl if hit would also send the jack into our bowls and if a bit heavy on the opponent's meant a re-spot as the opponent point would have send the jack out-of bounds to the right. Result.. the wick was good but a few rolls light and did not touch the jack. But the shot placed my bowl as 2nd shot directly in front of the jack  (at 6 o'clock) behind all the "Shrapnel". 

Ok, to win would be the "3 point Re-spot" development but as always when the opponent has no back bowls; with my first "passing bowl" to the re-spot area, the opponent would follow it with a similar "back Bowl". Having learned from the First 4 ends of play about a ridge on the left (going home) side of the green, I felt that as I am left handed and my backhand bowls is not affected by  mid-green raise in our green; I had learned that to the right handed opponent's always "high Ride" of that ridge with his Forehand draw.  This would probably be our lucky information to a win.

Follow the opponent's delivery of another frontal block, I did a nice draw to within a foot or two of the re-spot or so it seem. My lead who was standing behind the 10 bowls in the mid-green head (23 meters) saw this as missing the takeout (he thought I was doing) and as the bowl approached the area of my intended shot; he stop the bowl. (Probably thinking a useless bowl which like an out-of-bound bowl should be removed). After I spoke about not stopping the bowl.. he put it back.. which of course was too late and had to be removed.  

Now Two bowls to collect 3 points meant that now I was to go with the Jack re-spot shot and take the chance that the opponent with 2 bowls could not draw into the new "head" of the re-spotted jack. For my third shot (rather than us finishing with a tie) I could raise one of the three "lead" bowls. Game over and we finished the game 8-9 with only one shot but no win.

So as we look at our own "intransigence attitude" toward our sport we should see what we can improve in our game, in our club's coaching and teaching of team members and although the game will always be a "Draw Draw Draw" game we should always walk away from any game with having learned something new about being less fixed in our ways.