ToolBox.. Mind Set as Team Harmony

 (Being Builded ) In the previous Blog I wrote "The most important thing of learning Bowls is not the basic but how to develop your Mind Set." and explained the continual thinking when playing Singles or Pairs where you are doing 3 or 4 bowl Delivery immediately after each time that the opponent has just finish one of theirs. The ABC of Mind-Set is Attitude, Betterment and Concentration. These 3 mental exercises should be the foundation of Mind-set as your Attitude is always positive and any Basic skill can  always  have a better success percentage. Concentration is a matter of keeping the objective of your game front and center of your thoughts. and  seeking the very best performance.

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If you have a tight Mind-Set when on the mat or preparing for your delivery, one would think there is not that much more to concentrate on or improve. But to be always Positive toward success or failure is hard to keep over the 2 hours of game time. A schedule of Mental relaxation is also necessary else we burn out.  Myself in a competition find that 3rd game about 30 to 40 percent of the mental activity of the first game.  Too much can lead to errors.

Where in Single and Pairs, we seem to be in a continual cycle of mental preparativeness, we often find therefore that  in Triples and Fours play we are spending time waiting for 2 or 3  other players to do a delivery. Yes, you can't be in full power mode all those long minutes waiting,  because unlike in Singles where you just get finished analysis and thinking of the past delivery and are immediately planning your next visit to the mat. We really don't have time to analysis the opponent's last bowl or the raison for your skips requested Delivery. Well this is where "Team Work" becomes a part of the  larger game. Each member of the team should be helping you better read or understand the game.

Often we hear comments like "The forehand is wider" or Green seems to have increased in speed" which are intended to remaind us of change we may not have noticed. But as Mind-set of a team advances we hear more comments on game analysis like "skip is attempting to have the opponent go to the Backhand" or "That was a good bowl, we needed a Back Bowl".  All comments in maintaining a Team Harmony.  Positive remark may be that turn-key a member need to forgot that bad bowl and go on to make a beautiful "near Perfect" shot.

In Game Strategy we say the 12 or 14 ends of play are divided into three parts. First 4 ends to analysis the greens, the opponent and your team harmony. The middle 4 ends are to use that information to gain as many points and as large a lead as possible and the Last 4 ends are to go defensive (if leading) and offensive (if trailing in points).  But the big mistake made by a lot of teams of Triples or Fours is thinking it is the Skip who does the think and Game Strategy.

The skip is busy studing a lot of what happens in those three sections of Game Strategy but without his team doing a "Detail Study" in this first section of play;  and collecting the data needed, the decisions he makes will be from the information he is getting only his observations.  Communication of  all the team players should mean that they are allocate different roles of  opponent study or actions, depending upon each position of play before the teamhas  even hits the green for play.

How often when you get finished at the other End of the Rink and back, having returned to the beginning  (1st) end of play to start the 3rd end, have you forgotten your previous play in that direction?. And it has been just one end of play past. Actually, from those beginning days of learning the basic of how to bowl, players are expecting that the Skip will remaind them of their line or their   previously delivered bowls..  You should have two basic Mind Sets.. "Your Delivery" and the Skips allocation of need information or Study; and be total thought to the collection of that Information.

In the first 4 ends of Play , The "Study Period" time of the Team Play the Lead and other front end players should each have a task of learning and communicating that information to the Vice. Why do you think a lot of winning teams has the Skip and Vice in the head for the last half of the game.  The vice is the "Recorder"  and "Data collector" for the Skip. A common question from the Skip to Vice is "what happen there?" and being in the head with the skip during the 2nd and 3rd part of game Division (ends 5 to12) it is important that the Vice can explain it. This will help the skip make  a wise decisions or foresee any necessary Strategy changes.

The Mind Set is maybe defined as.. "your concentration of play or performance during your game".

 During  the beginning  of delivery of your bowls; your time should be 100 percent on preparing to go to the mat (Pre-Mat),  doing a Perfect Delivery. and then some serious Analysis your performance (Post-Mat). A  complete agenda of thinking to be done before the opponent has finished doing their Delivery.

Your information collected and the  Analysis of their performance is a 2nd part of your Mind-set. But this data is "Collected and Dropped" as you must again go to the mat and do your Delivery Routine. (Pre-Mat, Delivery and Post-Mat). But never lost because when the time come to share that data it is fresh in your mind.

Previously, in an earlier Blog I wrote. " Example of (your) Delivery .. Finished your delivery. off mat... Post Mat analysis.., Study opponent's Delivery.., Pre-mat Analysis.. of your ressults.., Pre-mat Routine as preparing for next bowl to be delivered (as Opponent leaves mat.) Your Skip Communication. Pre-Mat Routine finish (as per Skip request)... To mat.., Line Position.., Delivery Routine.., Post Delivery Routine.., Bowl roll Analysis.., Resul..t and off the mat.. only to again repeat the complete cycle. (Cycle a C of CCC of the Tool Box ABC)"  and this is a lot of thinking which will take years to do more than once or twice a game. Certainly not just the few seconds between stepping to the mat and rolling the bowl from your hand to the green.  as per those first years of learn to Bowl.

But, now is Triples and Fours you are standing back watching others do their delivery. And doing a lot of thinking as requested by the Skip.  Here I will attempt to remember what was my Fours Instructioon to me as a players in a winning Inter-Provincal Major competition as given by a skip who was on a UK international team. The truth is a lot of Game Play and you meet a lot of people with good advice.

The Lead -  Your job is to build the game head. Like in Chess the first moves define how the rest of the game will go. A difficult task in each of the three Division of Game Play; which with always require concentration and the same self-centered goal. Communication between the skip and Lead should be not just while the lead is on the mat but when practice and discussion of preparing for the game. In fours, the Lead and Second is like a team of 4 bowls in a Pairs competition. The second will have to pickup where the lead misses the Game building  which the Skip was requesting. And the skip will also have to forgot his disappointment with his lead and move on to letting the second do this important building. In triples the 3 bowls of the Lead must do the building "Game Head". as the Second (Vice) will also be helping the Skip with shots which are probably more often by a skip. Game is still a Draw game.

What is the lead doing in  his own Mind-set  during these first 4 ends of play when the other team members are taking their turn on the mat. First, because the lead must be able to draw to where the Skip wants the bowl; their major study is of the Green. ( Speed, Unique performance or difficulties), and even how the speed changes as the game progress. (Speed changes with bowls rolled, Sun warmth or lack  of it, and even the sun direction). The Lead is also playing a "Opponent Single Game" as they study their opponent. Often this view of the opponent will mean personal decision to achieve the request shot  that the Skip has requested.

 Example: Skip asks for a ForeHand to the Jack ( A "draw") but the opponent's bowl seems in your line. Did you watch how the bowl rolled to it present location ?. Do you have confidence in your skip's decision that it is not in your line of delivery. Maybe it is only a "Mental Blocking Bowl" and not a "Real Block". Maybe you did not notice the opponent lead was left handed or has a delivery with an error and that  your "Bowl Roll" or "Bowl Bias" is not the same. All these things are what the Lead is studing about the opponent Lead because they are just one bowl away from the same head configuration.

All these study of performance of the opponent Lead and the Green is a full Mind-set for the Lead and a part of the Vice's responsible is to see how his Lead and the Opponent lead compares with the Jack Length of that end. No better critic of a Lead than another team player.  Never critize the lead. Yes there will be bad bowls, but study why or know what to do yourself to not have that same problem. Usually it is not the lead's performance but something else.

The Second - If the game is Fours then the Second is a partner with the Lead in getting a good head for the start of that end. Yes when the lead is on the mat the Second is busy (Mind-set occupied) collecting data from the lead's bowls, the green and the opponent's bowls. The second should in fours keep this data for the skip (by way of the vice) or for after game study or training to help the team and lead better perform

If in Triples the Second is of two roles. A Pick-up Player to finish what the Lead should have done and a Vice which has many task from Jack lenght study or legal to the change in strategy of the team or the Opponent. Many seconds are previous Skips because the Vice is always there to help the skip. Often the bowls of the Vice would be that over draw or take-out which normally they would do as a Skip. When in Pairs the Lead has 4 bowls and can use one to verify line or green speed; in Triples Second now needs to have all the information as with 3 bowls there is not "Trial Bowl".

Where the Lead was busy building the head and studing the opponent Lead, the Second is more interested in repairing hole in the Strategy. Balance the Head is a Bowl for Bowl so the worst is a 1 point lost for that end. Remember if there is no Back ball to balance the opponent's several bowls then maybe the Skip has to use one of his (valueable) bowls or gamble that nothing happens. A vice on the mat may also be more incline to question the Skip but I would suggest that this be a non-verbal question. Too much verbal ask of game strategy will destroy the Vice-Skip communication.. the "I ask you explain why not Chat" from the mat to the head is never good.

All this has been just about the task of the team mate during the first 4 ends of play. But without the information and data of what is happening it is a roll of the dice to wait and see what happens. We are either prepared and doing a game Strategy which is a foundation toward an end of Winning or we are being pushed into the opponent's Game Strategy.  Yes various bad luck roll of the bowls will cause a point change hand but only a point and only with the occational end of play.. All good and we go back to the Team Harmony.

ToolBox ABC's (AAA BBB CCC)

A couple of days ago, this blog was "Toolbox, Accessories, "Walking the Mat" and I wrote I was surprise to see Tryslan in the 1st end of play use his "Walk the mat".

However, I was impressed with his development because a lot of clubs don't have 2nd Year Coaching which usually covers the 'Toolbox ABC". These teachings are not tricks or different delivery or placements but an expansion of the Bowls Basic. For example; one of the C's of CCC is concentration which is important but can't be taught to new bowlers in the first year.  New bowlers get the Basics and bowl for a year or two before advancing to a few ToolBox possibilities. As on Twitter I post invitation to my Blogs and because I follow so many great Players often the twitter insert of my next blog follows another Bowl twitter posting. ( I am now following nearly 1,000 world wide bowlers)

A few minutes after posting I went back to my list of Twitter post and discovered that my

 post was deleted by twitter. Since I posted (photo left) in this blog and Twitter sees it as a

 reposting of a twitter post it deleted my post. Ofcourse, I had 9 visitor\views of this blog

 and thinking it was probably from UK, ( near time zone to Canada). However, I now think

 that my post was deleted because of the above photo. (9 visitor are twitter staff doing a

 control of content. (no Problem but mention it here as information of Censorship) HaHa...

 I will again post after deleting the photo for the near 200 lawn bowls 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 showed. His action is a  basic of Lawn bowls. The others methods of Walking the mat I call ToolBox Xcessories.  For example, I was expected to skip a Club Competition for the Seasonal Play (Cash) and I was just out of the hospital after a Gall Bladder operation. I could not do the "Bend to the Green" delivery and had been for a couple of years been developing a "Double Mat" delivery. (my knees are finished).  Double mat because 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. (as if that foot is also on a mat). This allows quite a different angle of delivery.  (The two other ToolBox Xcessories method 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" ? We all have our perks and my replacement would have been the next on the list of Qualification; a individual who is a good bowler but whom I find "Cash Cheap" and I would not encourage such a replaciement. Also the organization of this Cash Competition did not pay a 3rd Place Amount to a non-playing 2nd Place person who won the game against the 3rd place.  ( The replacement would win the total 2nd place money not the difference of 3rd to 2nd place or 3rd to 1st if they won first) . Anyway, the double mat  Delivery takes a lot to learn and although I had perfected it as well as my "Center of the Mat" Delivery: I found a lack of control and concentration as the two and half hour game approached its end. (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 ofcourse the teacher should show the  many basics  even if they don't use them. 

There are three basic grips which should be explained to a student (Claw Grip. Cradle and Dimple )  Had to ask the Internet ChatBot the 3rd Grip as I am off the old school when bowls had dimples on them and we used the dimples for grip alignment.

Likewise as there are various Delivery Stances which should all  be explained. Actually the old "Coaching Guide" 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. In recent years, probably because of CoVid, our Club Coaching for new members has been trimmed to a 4 week (2 - 2hrs a week) Course.  (Previously, a new members received 10 weeks and playing after 4 sessions - 2 wks)

Here in Canada the senior School students in high school  take either "Shop" or "Home Ecominic" and  if you do "Shop work" you must learn about how to use the tools  You 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 experience followed me into my Sports (bowls is the 3rd I have perfected and do competition at top level) and so with the ToolBox of Bowls" I took it to learn how to chose the accessories or tool.

The most important thing of learning Bowls is not the basic but how to develop your Mind Set. If you were using a Power tool you are at all times concentrating on security, proper usage to get the wanted result and never let your mind wander. This is a Mind Set of proper usage.  However, in Bowls we teach new bowlers the basic and as they began to bowl they have only a 15 second Mind-set when they are on the mat 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 continual Concentration.  Example of Delivery .. Finished . off mat... Post Mat analysis, Study opponent Delivery, Pre-mat Analysis, Pre-mat Routine (as Opponent leaves mat.) Skip Communication. Pre-Mat Routine finish. To mat, Line Position, Delivery Routine, Post Delivery Routine, Bowl roll Analysis, 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.