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 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment