ToolBox ABC's (AAA BBB CCC)

A couple of Years ago, this blog was "Toolbox, Accessories and "Walking the Mat" was used by bowls athletics to achieve difficult shots. When I  was writing another blog shortly after the October 31 2023 publication of this blog, I was surprise to see Tryslan Smallacombe, of the Darwin Bowls using his "Walk the mat" option in his very 1st end of play as I watched a Champion of Champion Youtube video. At that time my subject was how Twitter (then to become X) was selecting and blocking certain efforts to communicate with my readers. This blog was then re-done to reflect more on the Actual use of "Walking the Mat" by athletics.

Now, (Nov 2025) as the 2025 Champion of Champion finals appear again on Youtube, I am remainded how Smallacombe was crowned the men's singles champion of champion in 2020.  For Tryslan Smallacombe, who was to  become the first male and the second overall bowler from the Northern Territory, the winning this prestigious title. (NT News) identified the great players found in NT.

 What is unique is that Northern Territory is small compare to Australia Bowls membership and certainly not able to afford the coaching of athletics of Australia and New Zealand.

Twitter (X) note
identifing the blog

 Coaching of competition athletics usually  covers the 'Toolbox ABC" in development skills for athletics whom have two or three years competition experience. These  are not tricks or different type of deliveries but more an expansion of the Bowls Basic. We (Canadian and Americian bowlers refer to a Toolbox of Skills although on watching Australian games we hear the announcer say, "He dug into his bag of skills"  For example; one of the C's of CCC of Toolbox ABC, is concentration, or "Focus of thought" which is important but seldom taught to new bowlers in the first few year.

 New bowlers to a club get the Basics of Bowls from their Club Coach and if they decide to bowl competitively after a few year of club bowls; they find skills which allow difficult siturations. Often we hear a Club Coach suggest that the bowler consider advancing to a few ToolBox skills to better their possibilities.

 As on Twitter I often post an invitation to my Blogs which are followed by many great Players; and often the twitter note notifies my followers my last blog on Bowls. Since the new "X" name change I have been doing less twitter posting. With nearly 2,000 postings and fewer followers since the name change (180) I attempt to follow nearly 1,000 world wide bowlers/clubs (or did on Twitter)

 

A few minutes after posting (the above photo) I went back to my list of Twitter posts only to discover that my post had been deleted by twitter. (Probably because I posted (photo left) a blog linkand Twitter sees it an action needing a subscription as a twitter user.

I use to in the past for Twitter to see the immediate following of the new blog and the next few minutes (when with twitter) of previous post  had 9 visitor\views. Depending upon the time of the posting of the blog and I think because of time zone near Canada, it was probably from UK,. (not a Problem, just mention it here as information on what seem like Censorship)

 In the past  (several years back) Google Blogger site would show it's user the world locations of the blog's viewers.  (in the original blog writing  I actuall posted it again after deleting the Twitter screen capture (photo above) for the nearly 200 lawn bowls readers or twitter followers).

When teaching a new bowler entering the club we put an important of always placing your feet the same on the mat and always rolling the bowl on to the green at the "Center Line" and all the basic to get that new member out on the green and participating in Club Games.

Over the years we learn to use the Toolbox's ABC more and more and now today, in reality, I have four different methods of  " Walking the Mat" beside this one which Tryslan has used and is a basic skill of Lawn bowls. The others methods of "Walking the Mat", I call ToolBox Xcessories because you  may only have to use them once or twice a season.

 For example,  as I was expected to skip a Club Competition for the Seasonal Play and some Cash for my team, I was just out of the hospital after a operation (Gall Bladder).  As I could not do the "Bend to the Green" delivery and because over the previous several years I had worked and  developed a "Double Mat" delivery (because my knees which were finished); I was able to take my team to a almost win. . A "Double Mat" is where instead of standing upright on the mat on center Line; I have one foot on the mat and I am standing spread leg with the Bowl Arm leg about 2 feet or more to the left of the mat. (I am a left hander bowler) which is legal because my right foot is still  on the mat. This delivery has allows quite a different angle of delivery to the head. 

 (The two other ToolBox Xcessories method are a "Tight Inside Delivery" and "Non step Cross the mat" Delivery which maybe I will have time this year to cover them. 

You may ask "Just out of the Hospital, why not just not play and let someone take your place? " ? Well, we all have our perks and my team deserved to win the money and also my replacement, the next skip on the list of Qualification was an individual who is a good bowler but more "I, myself" skip as to "Team Skip"; whom I would not encourage my team to have as a replacement.  . Anyway, the Double Mat" Delivery was well perfected and as good as my  "Center of the Mat" Delivery. However, just out of the hospital,  I found a lack of focus or skip "Game Control" as the two and half hour game approach its end. ( we were beaten by a few points)

When a new club member becomes a Coached Lawn Bowl student there is a lot to learns. The Basics such as " How to delivery the bowl", and of course the teacher should show the  many basics  even if they don't use them. 

Although there are three basic grips and the Club Coach with a new bowler will probably explain the simple cradle grip; all competition bowlers know the cradle grap is harder to use on long Jacks. Students need to know and understand all the grips and their advantages, even if in a 2nd or 3rd year coaching. (Claw Grip. Cradle and Dimple)  Had to ask the Internet ChatBot (Photo above) the 3rd Grip type as I am off the old school when bowls had dimples on them and we used the dimples for grip alignment. (used for "Off-Bias" or for "off-center" Deliveries).

After twenty years bowls, I know the value of having tools and knowing how to use them in Lawn Bowl Competitions. Here in Canada , in Secondary School studies, students  take either "Shop" or "Home Skills". And like with High School Students takingo "Shop work"; it is important to learn about the tools and how to use the different  tools.

I am surprise how even today with high level competition athletics, I am approached and asked to show or explain a tool from their Lawn Bowls ToolBox.  In "Shop" or "Home Skills" the woodworking student learn a lot of extra information like, how to grip the tool, how to best use the tool, and even how to sharpen the tool.  This same experience should follow them into their Sports (Lawn bowls is the 3rd "High Concentration" sport that  I have perfected and been active in high level competition. It often happens when on the mat and doing something different with a very unique result that a player approaches and ask about my " ToolBox of Bowls". In some of the Blogs which follow and which are dealing with subconscious mind training session; I have learned to evaluate the question and the experience of the individual.  

For example, When a winter curling athletic approached me with the term "Muscle Memory" and discussed the various jack distances I must remember that is their winter sport there is only one distance. And sometimes it is more important to let them develop the ability for various distances rather than showing a "Two step" Delivery or Mat walking technique. In time after they have learned how to chose a "Tool Box"  accessories they then are ready for more advances tricks or  Delivery tools 

The most important thing of learning Bowls is not the basic but how to develop your Mind Set between the start of delivery and the finish of your delivery.  In wood working at school "Shop" if you were using a Power tool you are at all times  be concentrating on security, proper usage, and visualization the final result of using that tool.  This is a Mind Set or Focus and Post Focus analysis of a "ToolBox tool and it's proper usage.

Likewise as there are various Delivery Stances which should all  be explained the rules of "Mat Usage" and "Foot Faulting" are all expected to be applied. Actually the old "Coaching Guide" method (from our Federal Association (Bowls Canada)) at one time required that we put a lot of history of Bowls and International information in our coaching sessions.  Today, with Youtube videos and  probably because of CoVid, our Club Coachs are too quick with our new members and has  trimmed the 4 week (2 - 2hrs a week) New Student Introduction to Bowls.Course.  (Previously, a new members received 10 weeks and playing after  two weeks or 4 sessions).  However, in  today Lawn Bowls Coaching I suggest clubs and coaches see the new bowlers through three years of different coaching. From the first year basic to the more advance various effects which can occur and result in a different  bowl performance.

In a recent blog, while watching a major qualification competition I saw the green speed change 3 times in less than an hour and of the 24 players on the greens only about 4 made adjustments. That blog had a lot of recent visit because even advance athletics do not evaluate in their post delivery analysis why the result was such. Too many of us blame it on a bad delivery instead of adjusting our Mind-set when they are preparing to go to the mat and doing their delivery. 

 In reality an athletic should be total "Mind Set" all the time except when walking up the green which become a break from the heavy study of your game and having a Focus or Keen Concentration.  As a example of you "Delivery Mindset" or Focus the cycle of delivery is .. Delivery Finished Leave the mat... Evaluate your Post Mat analysis... Collect or Study opponent Delivery (Why, What).. Refocus then  Pre-mat Analysis, Pre-mat Routine (as Opponent leaves mat.) See the Skip Communication (body language or verbal) Pre-Mat Routine checked and finished.  Then Delivery..(To mat, Line Position, Delivery Routine, Post Delivery Routine, Bowl roll Analysis, and with the Bowl stop rolling see the Result and off  the mat.. only to again repeat the complete cycle. (Cycle a "C" of "CCC" of the Tool Box ABCs)

How many times have you done this complete 4 or 5 minute Cycle in total thought and Analysis?  Yes, maybe once during a 4 bowls end of Play... Even two time this cycle is tiresome.  I actually had a Skip whom I mention something as we passed in Mid-Green and he later told me "Don't talk to me when passing on the green, you break my thought"

I question if he had an "Analysis Cycle" (as mention above) because he would know the value of something to think  about as one walks up the green from the mat .  Also some Skips start their "Mat Cycle" as they are walking to the mat from the Head, but the problem is that then you have two Mat Cycles.. one for the first Bowl and another for the other Bowls. Ofcourse, maybe he was tell me he had his next shot already decided and my suggestion only confused him.  Communication is another "C" of the Toolbox ABC (AAA BBB CCC) both of the Skip with his team and the players with the Skip or Vice.

Lawn Bowls and Chatbot AI ??

As a blogger, I am trying to give the reader/visitor another insight into "Learning Lawn Bowls" which I have received from over 20 years of experience on the greens. A couple of mornings ago, as I open my Desktop computer with Windows 10, I got an invitiation by Microsoft (Bing AI) to ask a question so I ask "What is the purpose of the Trial End of Plays in Lawn Bowls ?"; not expecting much from the Bing AI, I am thinking how stupid I am in asking this question. 

 How "Surprise" I was when the reply I got from Bing Chat with GPT-4 was.

123. (the 1 2  here refers to the Source that AI got the reply to the Question) Listed here

To North Americian Lawn Bowlers this present ChatBot has shown a common error.  For those who have been following the Court cases of Previous Americian President Donald Trump, and other similar news,  sometimes the only excitement on the US news: we had a Judge throw out a contested arguement because the Law Firm used an ChatBot to compose the Arguement. 

This appears to have also happen here as Bowls.co.uk does a very good "Beginner's Guide Manual on Lawn Bowls which can be PDF downloaded but a search for "Trial Ends" give a reply of no "Search Results".  Don't believe everything you read and of course yesterday I published a blogs where  I mention Trial ends many times and the Chatbot did not use in it answer.  (Even I can be wrong !! original search was "trial end" and the Bowls.co.uk search was "Trial Ends")

A twitter comment was

 "

Bonymaen bowls club

@Bonymaenbowls

·

6h

How long before "they'll" be playing the trial ends for us?!"

Good Question.. But guess my blogs indicate that we have to do the work ourself.. Actually Today, US President Biden just passed an AI Control Bill following what the UK has been doing for the past month.

But I am sure that if we have an AI on a iphone camera which follows the Bowl as it rolls up the green on a Trial End can easly create a map of the Green's Dips and Highs. Even speed variations.

At the 2023 Canadian National, this year in British Columbia, the greens had non-grass spots which meant a slower grass roll and a fast (sort of artifical surface) non-grass spot. Strange to watch and hard for the skips to judge. (when a full length Jack resulted in 4 of 8 bowls (pairs) in the ditch)

ToolBox Accessories "Walking the Mat"

 

The basic of Lawn Bowls is simple as doing two things at the same time. Chewing Gum and walking for example can easily be done together. But in Lawn Bowls you must do a Perfect Delivery which has many parts that can go wrong and judging your Delivery Weight to get your bowl to the Jack.

You may say, "What about finding your Delivery Line ?". While reading an article on "Trial Ends" and their purpose there was an interesting fact. "The jack distrance in Trial Ends is nothing more than a distraction".  True. If the "Trial Ends" are to inform you on the conditions and speed of the greens then to roll to a jack or to an empty green gives the same information.

Over a century ago, when the  Lawn Bowls season ended in late fall and Canadians Lawn bowlers thought about waiting 5 or 6 months for the following year's greens to open; they started sliding medal cans of Cement up and down the lake covered ice and called it "Curling". Today, almost as much our national sport as Hockey. 

The delivery techniques for Curling were the same although as Lawn Bowls although it has changed in the past few years. The Target or "the House" in Curling was several Rings at  the 23 meters distance from the "Legal Release Line".  I am certain that these first time Curlers and their new Winter Sport;  did not think about making the "House" like in Lawn Bowls with different distance ; as they knew one of the hardest parts of Lawn Bowls is to be able to judge the actual distance (to the Jack) and get enough force onto the delivery to roll the object to the target.

So back to the original question. "What about Finding your Delivery Line?"  You will amaze yourself by watching a Blind Bowler draw his bowl within a foot of the Jack and you tell your self "Amazing and  he does not see the Jack or Distance".  But if you think a minute, you will realize that seeing the jack, the green, the back board and the players are all a big distraction.  Like the "Jack Placement" in Trial ends. If your Line of Delivery is correct with you feet on two marks on the mat; then your movement of a Good Delivery will send the bowl alway to the center line.  Yes, before, or after the Jack depending upon the Delivery Weight but to tell a student "Find your Line" is a distraction.  You miss the jack and you change your line.again. Really a sort of endless loop of doing nothing but change. Do you need it ?? Maybe your line was right and your delivery was not perfect and the bowl stopped where it did because of some error.

So, I tell students in my "Advance Bowls Training"  Get your feet properly position for your line and "Forget about Line".  Now work on doing a Perfect Delivery. Correct the raison your bowl is not on center line.  Almost as bad as bowlers who seems to change their bowl every week or two. A different size, a different Manufacture, a different weight, a different grip and how many more differences. Sometimes you need to change for a better grip or weight. And a lot of bowlers have several Bowl sets.

The same thing with Delivery Weight. We learn about our "Natural Distance as that distance a bowl rolls when we just relax and do the same action over and over. Same force, same swing, same balance and many more things to be repeated. Eventually you will have your bowl always on center Line. Yes now like in the game of "Curling" you are ready to roll your bowl to the jack if it is your same distance .

Now, to come back to "Trial Ends" and the Jack Placement as a "Distraction". First there is a very good article by Jack Toucher on Trial Ends   When the lead throw the jack in the "Trial Ends"  What are they trying to do ?. If the lead is to throw the jack at the beginning of each end of play your team makes points then it is good to know the speed of the green for the jack. So Lead must be able to throw the jack their natural distance and now see how much the green speed has made that distance wrong. Likewise, Lead need to be able to draw to the jack so now is a good practice. Also, the rules are open on the jack distance in the Trial ends and the skip can pick it up and move the jack to any distance they want. So the Lead tired to position the Jack at their Natural Distance or the Distance asked by the Skip. Good reason for Trial Ends.. What about the other team members ? Most important on Trial Ends. Everyone should watch every bowl rolled and read the information it gives.

If the team has a "Common Natural Distance" the Skip can place the Jack at that distance rather than leave it where it stopped. (Ofcourse, also tell the opponent the "Team's Common Distance" but how important is hiding that information.) Is it more important than all players know how the greens are in relation to their "Natural Distance" ? Any skip worth their Salt will know with in a few ends of Play each opponent's best Distance and avoid a jack at that Distance unless it is an advantage to their team.

This Blog is titled "ToolBox Accessoriess" not "Game Strategy" but these few comments on "Trial End are often overLooked so good to mention it now. "Walking the Mat" is a Accessories of a Player's ToolBox. When you know how to do something and feel confortable to use it when needed then you have added a "Tool" to your ToolBox.  Maybe you will go all one season not using that "Tool" but then again you might just have to use it on your very first end of Play as you see here in this Match for a National Gold Medal.

As I put away my Lawn Bowls gear and Bowls for the 2023 Canadian Lawn bowls Season, I began watching the Tournment Play on Youtube of the Australian National. Sometimes I can go a complete game and never see an athletic go into his ToolBox. But watching this 2023  Australian Nationals Men's Single Final in Joodalup West Australia; I was surprise to see Trystan Smallacombe go to "Walking the Mat" accessory on his 3rd bowl of the 1st end of Play. 

My first thought is maybe he is not consistance on his feet placement on the mat, or he has a different foot placement for a ForeHand and a BackHand. We athletics with a  "Lawn Bowls ToolBox" know that it is not used  like a carpenter's toolbox where every two minutes there is the need to get a different tool for something that needs doing.  Sometimes, you just refuse to try a "tool" because there is another way to get the same job done.  And ofcourse, Bowls is a "Draw" game not a box of accessories.

Sometimes something happens during a game and you plan to study that event and understand why it happen but must wait for a practice or discuss it with a knowledgeable coach. This happen to me last week. Ram was asking me about something I was showing our Club President and as we were in a Fun game I explained briefly. "It is easlier  "Walking the Mat"  than doing that which requires a lot of practice". (An off-bias-Draw) with the comment "Sometimes it is good to move left or right on the mat to avoid a bowl.  As I attempted to show it in a casual manner I was surprise that I had resulted in getting double the effect expected on the bowl. I immediatley thought to myself. "Did I do a Off-Bias Draw ?" and then maybe, "Did my Subconscious know I wanted to move right and I did not need to "Walk the Mat". "Maybe I needed to relax the subconscious communication.  Certainly I thought "Later, I have to study this which happen."

The subconscious mind is a very powerful instrument and like a carpenter keeps his tools sharp the bowler got to keep his Subconscious sharp too.  Sometimes the subconscious  will do somethings just because we thought about it and went into a "Normal Delivery Void". It hear me thinking I want the thing done. As an Example My goal was to have a displacement of a few inches right. And I did talk about "Walking to Mat" with Ram. I realized that  as I was doing my delivery  I was thinking of the

 "Result" I wanted. So now after 20 years of Bowls I am in a habit of "Think it, Do it" and it over the years  my Subconscious listens and even mades the correction from a physical action to a mental action or deplacement. " Walking the Mat" is a "Physical displacement" Based on if your feet are right for your Delivery Line your bowls goes where you send it. I made the mistake of allowing my delivery mood to go into the "My Delivery Void",  where my subconscious does it work of mental Muscle Memory while I do my delivery of the bowl. 

I promised to make the blogs shorter this year (2023-24) So to the Youtube video with photo (right) showing Trystan Smallacombe 3nd Bowl Delivery and as you can stop the video you see his hand is pointed inward. In the 2nd photo as he finishes his delivery his hand has returned to the cradle or Grip position. To do this required a small few degree of counter-clock twist.

This bowl finished about 4 to 6 inches to the left of Jack because as Trystan did his hand rotation he also moved it a small bit to his left. A common fault on Backhand Deliveries. We notice his "Mat Foot" is near the right side of the mat and his delivery "Laydown" is directly on the center line (arrow). First, I will always delete any critizism of athletics used in my blogs as a teaching tool if they so advise me of it being offensive.  We all can learn and this collection of blogs has now 81,000 viewer\visits todate.

In the following Photo we see Trystan do another BackHand because the opponent's  last bowl has closed the foreHand approach; although a bit short of being shot.Both players are right-handed and  Cory (Packer (WA) did a beautiful draw toward the jack but short  by an inch or two.

 The tool "Walking the Mat" is a tool often used  to get around the frontal Bowl. The 3rd bowl of Trystan, now blocking the backhand approach, would have been on the jack had not his delivery had a very  small hand movement to the left.

An interesting fact here. In the next end, the 2nd end; Cory asks the marker prior to his 4th bowl; "How many 2nd Do I have?" and then does a great shot which removes Trystan's bowl Leaving Cory with 3 shots. Trystan still has last bowl but seeing  he had back bowls he was wide on his runner to put the jack to the ditch. Also great information from the game commentators. Very knowledgable

Here, Trystan, on the mat with his 4th bowl of this the 1st end, could have asked the marker "how far his bowl is from the jack". Instead of doing a "Walk the Mat" to get around his bowl; he could have accepted to raise it that needed foot to the jack. The decision should have been based upon the "Percentage of Success and Failure". If he missed on the right he could have seen a draw shot or  hit the shot bowl of Cory; and if he missed  it on left. it still allows for a " Fine finish shot" depending upon the speed of the green or even "Falling into Jack Shot" bowl.

A previous Blog explained the "Delivery Line" and the "Bowl Roll Line" as seen when the bowl first leaves the bowler's hand. If we look at the green as the bowl is laid down and gather our feelings of our delivery we can sometimes know these errors as the bowl is just rolled and we still have the feelings. Often we compare the Bowl Roll Line on the green to the new Delivery. However, as this was Trystan's first BackHand there was no reference for the Post Mat Analysis to indicate what delivery error occured.

In the time I posted this Blog and updated spelling corrections it has had 14 visitors and total visitors to all 136 blogs is 225 and still only 6 in the morning here. Must be windy in Australia and New Zealand as seems to be now a run on Blogs about bowling in the wind.. Enjoy.. If Life permits I will get more blogs in this year. (81,000 visiter/view; Blogger has changed the stats and I now not aware of from where. Appreciate the comments and will try to answer questions or direct to another blog for answers.

I thank Trystan and Cory for this great performance and although I have yet to get beyond the 2nd end of play I see very interesting Blog material here.  In the next blog or next few I hope to show the "Tell" of Cory as he does a Mental Communication of Jack Distance to the Subconscious and how he adjusts with his large forward step on delivery to a short distance (24 meter) mat.  Thank You Guys.