Presidient Trump Come Bowl

At one time Bowls was a Gentleman's sport but is it now ? Would you invite President Donald Trump to come over and roll a few Bowls

 As a coach, we take  the younger players into our sport

and teach them good skills which allow them to develop as better citizens.  The point of respect when a player is on the mat is the same as allowing an individual to finish their sentence before beginning to talk.  Similarly, each player has their opinion of the shot which should be played by the skip, as in life each person has an opinion on others but each opinions must  be respected. 

We can make the joke that “Trump Bowled over a lot of American with his win” but more important there are a few important Lawn Bowls Lessons to be leaned here. 

Woke up this morning and turning on the radio for the results of the American Presidential Election; I was greeted by two CBC radio commenter's discussing the speech which President Trump gave.  It seemed the female commenter found that the Donald Trump of the Election Campaign was not being sincere in  saying the good things he said  about Clinton and  that his attenot to unite the Anerician people was not in keeping with what he said in previous months.

Yes, we see two sides of the President Trump.

 And his bad and rude side  of the campaign will never be forgotten. But is that not the game of American Politics and has the American people not shown their anger with the system.

 Last season we played a type of Triples which like the tiebreaker of a indoor singles; the team won only gave one point for having won that end. Yes, we tend to build the head for points but if you must get that point, you use what ever tricks or strategy that is necessary.  If an out-of-bound respotting is important to get that end then burn the jack. I have always taught that " One point lost is two points to make" because you need to make two points to regain the previous position if you had won that point.  Better to win the point.

After  the game, Anne said, ‘’ I don’t  like playing that game” of which her partner replied ‘’ Yes, but during a game you must always consider  ‘What-if’ and this game teaches that” How many Americian saw this Electial Campaign in the same manner.  "A Political Game" Should  Election Campaign be such a game which is forced to be played by both Presidential candidates,and both sides have to do so much mud throwing.

The Canadian  female commentator this morning on the radio was talking about her daughter’s tweet about a non-white friends reaction to President Trumps victory.  Truth is, 8 year old are honest and say what they feel.  But the point in making by the commentator is “How do I explain to my 8 year old how such a anti-feminist, etc etc person can be elected president?”  The answer is clear. 

 Parents must realize that children develop like their parents and unless that women teaches  her daughter to accept that some things happen which seem unjust; then the child will become like the parent. It was clear from the conversation that the female commentator  has a hatred for Donald Trump. But was it right to show that hatred to her child. Who wants their child to learn it is "OK" to hate.There has been many children who heard their parents give their opinion on the two candidates.  What is their expectation and views of others.  Be better than those faults  we see in others and show our disagreement with in opinion or type of person without becoming like them.

We all will agree that the election .Campaign was not nice but many people from media, to politician and individuals showed a very bad side of character.

  Last week, I was playing a game which end at 13 points and I was  at 8 points.  On the surface, I  had only 3 points as I went to play my last bowl.  I saw that if I removed , or back-off their closest , rather than draw for the fourth point; I could get the 5 points needed to win.   My teammate, standing beside me as I announced the coming of a “Runner”, to prevent any accidents said “Why a runner, just draw for 4?”

Of course, I was on the mat and in the process of doing the shot and not only missed the shot but was very angry with my teammate.  After missing the runner and getting only 3 points, I was still boiling.  

A few hours later in the evening while I was thinking of the game, I realized, I could have got off the mat and explained that by removing that bowl we got 5 and whether we had 3 or 4 we still had to play another end and could still lose the game.  I knew my communications could have been better

Photo Shutterstock.com

Maybe, President Trump will now bring a new game to the theatre of American and International Politics.   Yes, we are all afraid of his finger on the button and his short fuse character, but maybe the nice guy approach to international crisis is best seen as having a need to change.  Our own  Canadian Prime Minister was criticized because of his lack of comments about Trump time during the campaign and Trudeau certain lost value as a strong feminist supporter because of his decision to not speak. Sometimes in Bowls it is better to say nothing rather than make a team mate feel bad about an error.

Take life to the green and learn to play whatever game your opponent presents. Recent blogs here have been to suggest that as a club member we have a responsibility to develop and protect our club.  Bowls is more than just what passes on the green or between players.

Everything in Life somehow will improve how we play the game.  Patience is as much a skill on the green as a great DRAW or “Runner”.