In the "Part 1" of Neville Rodda video "Heel Toe Delivery. Neville says "When it comes to the Bio-mechanic of Lawn Bowls, if I can actually start to use my body as a tool,... I can use the body weight as a lever to push the bowl, rather than pushing with my shoulder; I would have a weight that I could much more repeatedly control".
Neville says " If you actually go through the footage of some of the better players in the world right now, you will find that their weight control is quite immaculate. I think I know why it is immaculate ... as I have spotted something in the past which give these players a huge advantage, and it is a new way of playing.. a bit of a revolutionary way of controlling your body weight.
In the past a club coach would suggest doing a longer step to play a longer jack. But Neville approaches this from the reverse approach as he says "If I was to lower my head (during my delivery) I would be taking weight off my bowl". "So by the method of placing my heel (to the green) I can control the weight of the bowl (delivery) through the rhythm of my body movement".
The photo (right) of the England Bowler Izzie White is a screen shot of her delivery from the Champions of Champions Women's Single Final on 25 September 2025 as part of the World bowls Series competitions. ( Club Barham, New South Wales, Australia ) As a good example of what Neville called the "Toe Heel" style of Delivery, we can actually judge from the photo the jack distance as Izzie, low head position, short step would suggest a reduced body movement and also a reduced bowl weight.
Neville says that after studing the delivery of several of the best athletics he saw this common style of delivery. With the Youtube video "Bowling Deliveries" by Bowls World, (6 years ago) you can study these great athletics in their delivery as the video creator show the type of delivery of most of the great athletics . As per the photo, below right, you will also see in the video the various method of holding your bowl. Recently on Youtube and World bowls TV, there has been an increase number of "Interview videos" asking winning champions to explain how they hold their bowls. Interesting interviews.
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| Bowls World Video |
Neville also has a series of videos on Coaching but like any thing that is free be careful as not every thing you see or read is good advice. Why? The information may be good advice but as you are learn something new, you are using your interperation of the advice. The individual doing the blog or video actually is suggesting something for you to consider.
I blog and often say "Discuss it with your coach". So, although you are alone when on your club green for a practice, you are also attempting to remember what the video or blog suggested. Talk with an advance performance coach and let him/her build you a practice list of steps to achieve that point you are working toward.
Remember, your delivery is now "Muscle Memory" performed and in changing or adding something, you are removing and adding actions to your establised delivery. As you now have years of practice finished and you are doing a great delivery performance, please don't try something new without serious or profession advice. Like my ankle problem mention below, it can mean a problem which will take time to correct.
Several years ago when only a few years bowling, every time I did a couple hours of practice I was leaving the green with an ankle problem and my performance coach (level 2 or level 3) showed me my error was my long forward step for long jacks. That summer it took me the complete bowls season of work to correct that mistake. When being coached as a beginner or skilled player your coach is expected to watch out for actions in your delivery which later will be serious. Even if the advance coaching advice is not free, the $20 for a profession hour of advice is money well spend.
My problem, at that time was that as I learned my bowls delivery, I believed that we are only allowed that one step forward during delivery. With such a delivery I was doing a "Break Stop" on that forward step ankle. And that "Break Stop" cause such pain I was ready to quit bowls completely. Probably an error in my understanding "Foot Faulting" which now looking back I know that the coach should not have been mentioning it.
Since then I have moved to larger bowls (5 and 6) for that extra distance and my quick body movement is with in my force of delivery. Without a coach correcting my error, I would not be now into my more than 20 years of bowls. Today, when the greens are extremely slow, and canadian greens can be at 12 seconds, I do the British Isles double or triple walking delivery step.
I have always used Body Movement as part of my delivery and yes like Neville said you control your forward movement and you create a consistance weight.However, there is a more important lesson to learn from Neville suggestiion video. He said he studied many of the great athletics which we should all do; and also watch their body language as you can sometimes see the invisible delivery action which they are performing.
For example: If after bowled to inches in front of the jack and asking the 2nd. " how far I am from the jack" and being told "10 inches"; I know to feel my front foot pushed into the green give me that extra10 inches. Find those little mental actions which don't seem like they would make a difference. The feeling of my foot into the green forces my forward movement a small bit faster as I place my body weight over that front step foot. A small increase in movement is extra delivery weight.
This summer, a local player doing a major competition lost their qualification for a inter provincial competition because she could not bowl to the long jacks. A great bowler, but on in age, it was not for me to tell her to do a big step. Instead I suggested she look toward the British style of delivery and their triple step delivery. Even suggested doing a fourth step if necessary for that extra distance.
Also it would have been dangerous to suggest to her to do a longer step as per the style of delivery suggest by Neville's video because in Canada we often find major competition with the use of the "Protective screens". Such a fast step and longer than normal step would cause the screen to slip under foot and certainly create pain .
Because my blogs sometime are very long, to get 760 views in a single day, would mean several visitors. Usually, a club discussion or coach will result in visitors to the site and blog. I appreciate their interest and their searching for information by new bowlers and experience bowlers.
This winter (in Canada) I will look toward older blogs and do a few re-makes. What has been previously presented on the subject of the Subconscious and Zen Performance will remain the same as I believe that some of my reader are experience players; but most visitors are searching for ideas on improvement to their performance. The topics and these areas of discussion are what will build the reader's experience as their fellow club members and them work on this new idea. Enjoy .. Wish I could be with you down-under and bowl until the warmer weather arrives in April or May.
Thankful to World Bowls and its new list of Competitions as the best bowls athletics have now been defined as qualified for the finals. The finals will match up the top 10 men and top 10 women of the World Bowls Series for their final competition which will be in December 2025 . Check out the schedule at World Bowls after the Australian Championship finish this week to know those who will play; and it is sure to this game will be televised on World Bowls TV.
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