"Paula factor" is what I learned tonight as I call the lesson and remember to use it in my pre-mat routine before my delivery. I had the game in my grasp and was sure of the win. But, as I was thinking as a skip and not as a player who had to make his shot I did not study or try a shot which I might have to make later. There is a point of staying focus but there is sometime the fact that you just are so sure of your self that you forget your focus and game play as a player and let slip that long learned lesson developed and being applied. (I could say this is the first competition of the year but not an acceptable raison for not drawing 1 of 3 bowls to within 2 feet)
The blog stats (above and at right) show "Using the Head" stats of blog readers with the total readers now at 116,276 as of yesterday on the 260 blogs over the last 10 years or more. The winter blogs was about the ability to influence the subconscious and the ride home from tonight's game with Anne my previous club president brings up some interesting facts about this topic and how to trick the subconscious into performance.. but that note for later at the end of this blog.
Paula had been a member of a inter-provincal team preparing and asked me to coach them in preparation. Coaching for a major competition is not a few minutes on the green and a few words.. It is a study of the team and the team chemistry and teaching them to work together.
But tonight as we stated our "Super League" game I was happy in the first three ends to see the score was only 1 point ends; and was 2-1 after the third end. As skips usually talk in the head while waiting for bowlers to bowl; I said to Paula "It is a nice score, as the first four ends are to collect information and if they are only single points end, it is a good start" Because that information was part of the teaching I gave last year to her team's leads in preparing for the Governor Generals (a intereprovincal competition) she replied "I know" and a remainder to me that I had previously talked about that.
A good reply as it said nothing but said everything. How ?? Ok this was a money game and focus is important to win and have the high score with points and ends counting to win the pot. So her "I know" suggested to me that at her level she did not want chit-chat. I remembered that I had told her last year and her reply also told me that I often am too talkative during the game. It also said to me "Not one of your lessons again" as this year I try to fix this fault of a long time coach. (Now unless I am asked for information I don't give it).
As the game progress, I continued to study the opponents as to their forces and weakness to build my "Game Strategy" but her short comment had changed my thinking to the point that I had forgot a very important part of those first 4 ends of play. The time when I am on the mat as a bowler and not a skip. "Collect the information" applies to skip preparing his game but also every player must collect for their performance.. In my case I forgot to be a player and check those things I needed to know in order to play a great bowl when the time came to be needed.
To explain the "4 end Rule" of information and game strategy. In a 12 or 14 end game of play the game can be broken into 4 types of play. Collect the needed information (First 4 ends), Process it for Points gathering (next 4 ends), Keep your lead or Catch-up, (Change your strategy and get back into game - 4 ends) and Close with a win. (if more than 12 ends of play)
The green was slow and I expected it to speed up as the sun settled but with two ladies as the balance of my triples; I worked to build a point spread and try to use their abilities and jack length as points. At the 4th end (end of info gathering); I grabbed a 3 pointer and than another 2 and another 1 in the next 2 ends. I had only given up 1 end of 1 point. So with the score now 9-3 at the 6th I was ready to allow single point ends or lose only a single points.as my Game strategy. (going into "Keep you lead or Catch up" section of play)
The Paula Factor applies now in my pre-delivery thoughts, because as a player I must learn from my bowls and in those first 4 ends do hard shots to learn my bowl reactions on the upper side which was a difficult greens. As we move into the 2nd section of 4 ends; I was expecting that the Lead and 2nd would follow my game strategy. Sometimes a player feels they are asked the impossible (or so they believe)by the skip (as they know their own ability from their information gathering). A lead or 2nd should always be encourage to suggest the skip's call is not their choice. If the skip insists then go and do your best, but often a skip will respect your opinion.
But what happen, I was so occupied with using and gathering the information to make my game strategy that I forgot to do the shots which gave me a read and knowledge of the green I must play. Worst than that I am left-handed and so my bowls are 2 feet or more to the left than those of the other right hand bowlers. I collected the needed information for the skip; but I did not do my own preparation and study of my green for my best performance or ability.
On the 7th end after taking a few points they change the strategy of Mat-line to Short Jacks as skip Paula requested a 3/4 length jack and now my ladies short bowls not reaching the head, had the opponent's bowls all around the jack (5 or 6 points). I had just done a draw to within 1 foot of the jack in the previous end for a 2nd point and now with a long jack my draw and ability to read the green was absence.. Now having lost the jack for 2 points and a score of 6-9 I came to the mat with "saving our bacon" strategy. I had 3 bowls to cut the 6 points down to 1 or 2 at most, but I had never rolled over this area of green and a ridge (fall) stole my bowl as it ran straight across the green into the frontal bowls. New score 12-9. My lead had been destroyed and I was now in "Catch up" mode with a few end to play.
Of course we lost with them playing full length jacks and my front end not getting near the jack. I tried to steal the mat as this club and others in Quebec have a bad habit of not installing "Mat-Line" markers and players usually put a short mat. My first measure show a legal mat by 2 inches. And of course the opponent's lead and 2nd now are checking their mat lenght. ( tried as a short jack would have allow for a tied score as we approach the last 2 ends of play.
The "Paula Factor", as I now call it for my memory is "Collect your information as skip but don't forgot your information and study as a player". In some game like Bowls 4s the skip gives the information collection and play decision to the front end as a responsibility until he or she take back control of the game. As this was a "Pick up team" (random draw) of members from 4 clubs I did not know my players. But to forgot to read and analysis my green and performance is a major mistake. Important enough to be named and remembered in my Pre-mat routine and Post-Mat evaluation. A lesson I will not forgot soon. Thank you Paula.
Now about "Muscle Memory" and how to influence the subconscious or instinctive mind without doing conscious instructions to the muscles on how to do a shot. During the winter past my blog has been about communication with the subconscious mind which does our "Muscle Memory" and one of my students at this high level has been Anne who not only does National and interprovincial competition but also goes south to the USA for international competitions.
Last year, Anne began communicating with the subconscious mind and as she said tonight; "When one hears you say the mind collect information and you can modifies your "muscle Memory"; People would think you are crazy" But this summer in her new sport where quality coaches at $50 an hour or Corrective Coaches at $40 an hour are common place she has been seeing more of this Subconscious correction and modification. "She was even aware of such strong concentration of having experience "out of body" performance.
A "out of Body"performance occurs when you allow your subconscious mind or instinctive abilities to do the shot and you only think of what you want done. But even further concentration results that you visually see the shot and imagine seeing yourself doing the shot like a spectator watching from a distance. A strange experience which come at this high level of performance known by athletics but seldom spoken of because it seems no one will understand.
I explained to Anne that the next step would be Pre-Zone actions (touching a racket during the swing) which will replace that verbal (long worded) thought with a meaningless action to advise the subconsicious to modify "Muscle Memory". To those readers who have followed "Subconscious communication" this is like a "Tag" which was a corrective action.
The mind is a strong part of a "Closed Sport" where you and your performance is what make the podium and not the rest of the team.
