What Line do you take ? 1/2 (AMem)

Google Ai clean up Nov 11.

Here in Canada, we are beginning our last month of this season's Lawn Bowls. This week, we have been playing on a very sandy green as the top dressing slowly settles into the newly "Aerated Greens."

Photo from Myamazingcanada.com

Late-Season Conditions  offer Visual Bias

To me, this is an important time for the development of our club athletes, and especially the newer members. With sunny days of 20 degrees and cold nights dropping to 10 degrees, quick temperature changes often cause dew to gather on the greens during evening games. Because of this, we can clearly see our bowl roll and observe its actual bias during our delivery. In my blog, I will suggest that a new member can visually track their bowl's "Bias" and use the memory of that roll to transition from a "Point of Aim" Line to a "Bias Memory" Line, relying on visual memory for their delivery.  

A Novice's Journey Toward Self-Awareness

The Novice who is ready for their next step toward the podium will stand like this lone tree (photo above) on a lawn bowling green, watching their bowl follow its "Bias line" to the jack. As their bowl stops in the head, they will see a performance as bright as these autumn colours, feeling "Alone" yet filled with a beautiful self-awareness of the shots they tried and made. This two-part blog will map out that journey over the many years ahead. Some readers will read this now and plan changes for later, while others—who have been travelling this path for many years—now need only a little help to complete the transition successfully.

Year-End Reflections and Asking the Right Questions

As the Lawn Bowls season ends, most of our members have completed another year of play. I say most, because some took a month off for a travel vacation, while others, like myself, have been off the greens due to an accident. Regardless, as the year-end approaches, many of us seek out the more experienced players to ask meaningful questions.

Last week, a club member with a very well-developed delivery asked me a common question: "What Line do 'YOU' take?" This member, who has won many competitions in a similar sport (curling), was on the green practising when I arrived. He listed several points of reference and even gave examples of his understanding of Muscle Memory. After several minutes, when he inquired about the performance of our best provincial elite, I shared a bit of what is in these two blogs. I replied that this individual—who has only a five-second delay between picking up his bowl and delivering it—does not take a line at all, but simply sees where he wants it to go and bowls.

The Value of Post-Novice Coaching

Since I recently changed clubs, I do not yet know if my new club offers Post-Novice instruction at the end of the season. Offering Post-Novice courses to advancing members as the season wraps up is crucial for helping them plan for the coming year. If they had a good season, they are already thinking about what they could improve if the season were longer. For the first time in many years, our Provincial Organization promoted three-hour seminars led by an elite player. Armed with these new ideas, the serious player will plan for the year ahead. However, if this season was just a repeat of the last few years with no major growth, that player might consider trying another sport next spring.

Moving Your checking "Line" to  a "Pre-Shot"

Because this club member's inquiry happened before the seminar date, I did not reply with a question of my own: "Which Line? Do you mean Line of Aim, Bias Line, or Body's Directional Line?" Sometimes, when advanced players ask such questions, they are referring to a "Pre-Mat Routine Line." Seldom, however, have I heard anyone ask about what these two blogs will discuss: "Pre-Shot," and how "Line" becomes a part of a "Pre-Shot."

To some readers, perhaps yourself, this topic may not align with where you are in your current Bowls development. Not ready for this yet? That is fine. What this blog aims to do is map out a path of development where "Pre-Shot" is the final stage—a stage we will all eventually become ready to develop.

The Five Sections of the Delivery Routine

So, what is "Pre-Shot"? In their beginning years, many club members ask "which line is best" because they have tried several and ended up returning to what they were doing before. They are not looking for an advanced bowls development answer; they simply want an opinion on what you are using.

Perhaps this blog is something to save for later development if your delivery has not yet become a multi-tasking routine that is perfected and left to Muscle Memory.  Actually, the delivery routine can be divided into five sections. Over the coming years, you will move closer to using the most important of these five sections: the "Pre-Shot." This is a part of your delivery routine which eventually becomes just a few seconds, right before "Muscle Memory" is instructed to takes over, used to quickly verify your delivery's variable like direction and weight.

Each of us, in seeking to perfect our delivery, should place these five sections into our long-term development plan, even if the Pre-Shot and Post-Shot are years away. This is not a plan for next year alone, but for several years into the future, as mental and physical improvements work together toward that tight "Dead Draw" or "Perfect Roll." to the jack.

Sometimes, it is best to wait a few more years before attempting the major changes suggested in this blog. If you cannot yet imagine "Dropping the Aiming Line" and trusting your "Muscle Memory," it is okay to simply be aware of the concept and wait. As another Bowls season passes, you will gradually realize how important that few-second "Pre-Shot" is to your delivery and overall performance.

Evolution From Novice to Post-Novice

New Members, or "Novices" learning to bowl, need a specific direction of Aim to roll their bowl. As they learn how to deliver the Lawn Bowl and watch it bend toward the "Centre Line," managing both weight and line is already a lot to perfect.

However, more experienced members with three or four seasons under their belts—whom we often call "Post-Novice"—are still trying to figure out the best "Line of Aim." This blog explains how bowlers (including the Post-Novice reader) will eventually abandon the "Line of Aim" and learn to rely on Muscle Memory performance and delivery. Once we have used the same bowls for a few seasons, we advance beyond the crutch of "Line Aiming." Instead, we actually see or visualize our bowl's bias bringing it from our delivery back to the "Centre Line."

What Experienced Readers Are Searching For

Even my 232,725 blog views show that readers' topic choices shift as the bowls season ends,(or begins as in Australia) trending more toward subjects for Advanced Members (AMem). After several months of rolling bowls, their focus turns to "what to work on next," and they search online for answers to the questions.

The photo of Blog Stats (above) shows an increased interest in topics like Wind, "Green Speed," and "Conditions of Play," alongside performance techniques like "Walking the Mat," using your Natural Delivery distance, and adding or taking off "Delivery Weight." After several years of bowling—and shifting their "Line" from the "Distance Bank" to a "Spot on the green," or even the "Bias Curve's Shoulder"—these players are looking for a better way.

Why Post-Novice Development Matters

If you have NOT been rolling bowls for more than three years, this lengthy blog may make no sense to you. It is intended for more experienced members, and to a beginner, it might just sound like someone rambling on about LaWn bowls ('LaWN' being my acronym for the three-second Delivery). During these closing months of the season, many of the better clubs begin offering Post-Novice coaching and courses. If your club start lawn bowls with someone with no prior knowledge of bowls and only offers them coaching during their first year; I am sure they also experience a significant loss of membership with every new season.

Over those first four or five years, as newer members hear people talk about "Muscle Memory" and how a delivery becomes instinctive, they begin asking more serious questions. While they have been busy developing their delivery, they have also progressed to participating in one or two serious competitions. By playing alongside better athletes, they are now ready to understand what truly makes a top Lawn Bowls player.

Bridging the Gap From Novice to Competitive Athlete

Although an old photo taken many years ago, it clearly does not depict a beginner's clinic, but rather a "Post-Novice" discussion and game study. Here in Canada, players with three to five years of experience are still officially classified as "Novices," with special competitions designed to let them compete against peers at the same level. At this stage, advancing players are actively fine-tuning their mechanics, picking up "Performance Tricks," and learning how to break their delivery down into distinct, purposeful routines.

Structuring Your Routines and Mental Focus

For a bowler with several years of experience, Post-Novice courses are of major importance because they introduce the concept of breaking a single delivery down into distinct, purposeful "Routines." By using each preliminary routine to properly prepare before stepping up, your actual time on the mat becomes dedicated solely to executing a "Perfect Delivery." At this stage in your career, you have likely heard discussions surrounding mental restraints, concentration, focus, and the need for positive self-talk—all critical questions that experienced players must learn to answer for themselves.

Decoding the "LaWn" Pre-Shot Routine

Mastering these subtle mental adjustments represents a more advanced side of "LaWn Bowls," where every small detail directly impacts your final delivery performance. Even "LaWn"—my acronym for the three-second "Pre-Shot" thinking routine—assigns a specific meaning and level of importance to each of its four parts, indicated by capitalization:

• L (Line): Capitalized because establishing your line is more critical than what comes immediately after.
• a (Apply): Lowercase because it represents what you are attempting to apply—a fleeting thought that may not even consciously register at that moment.
• W (Weight): Capitalized because judging and committing to the proper weight remains essential to the shot.
• n (now): Lowercase because the trigger to release the thought and bowl "now" is deeply personal and unique to every individual.

Just like the teams in the photo on the right—and just as we still see today—players often linger on the green after a match to place bowls and hold long "Team Discussions." These post-game "Skip Talks," alongside formal club coaching seminars, are invaluable learning opportunities for Post-Novice members to understand shot selection and strategy. 

Once you are ready to drop the beginner's crutch of a "Point of Aim" line, your next step is to structure your time on the green around three foundational phases: the "Pre-Mat Routine," the "Delivery," and the "Post-Mat Routine." Mastering these three ensures that your time on the mat is dedicated solely to executing a "Perfect Delivery," without yet worrying about the split-second mental triggers that come later in your career.

Expanding Into the Five Routines

For the seasoned athlete with another five years of competitive experience under their belt, their delivery evolves from these three routines (the Pre-Mat, Delivery, and the Post-Mat) to  also integrate two new parts to their Delivery Routine;. The "Pre-Shot" and the "Post-Shot." Over the coming years addressing several mental actions, these two actions will eventually develop into a rapid, three-to-five-second mental part of your delivery. 

At the Post Novice level of your career, you have likely encountered discussions around mental restraints, focus, concentration, and positive self-talk. The corrective actions to these mental interference to Muscle Memory are addressed and evaluated in the Pre-Shot and Post-Shot part of delivery. In advanced Lawn Bowls, every subtle mental cue directly impacts your physical execution. and in Pre-Shot you will detect their absence and/or not in the Post-Shot. 

Yes, we are aware of many of these mental problems interrupting our delivery, and we find ouselves using the period of time between the Post Mat analysis and next Pre-mat  Preparation routine to try to address them. Athough we learn Positive Self-talk or breathing exercise as  performance  mental aids before going to the mat; we still need these two mental checklist as part of our Muscle Memory delivery. As we continue to analysis and identification the many interference in our delivery.

 Therefore, the Pre-shot and Post-shot are mental actions immediately before and after releasing the bowl. Beside allowing an athlete to know his mental state, it is our Muscle Memory performance without interference as it is allowed to use suggestions or important data collected through practice and game play. We can be amazed as we discover what we can do with our Muscle Memory.

However, the Pre-Shot and Post-Shot must be able to briefly identify their present or not if a players want to develop the  "Quick Pre-shot/Delivery".  The more competitive an individual becomes the more likely sport psychologists are involved with them. Especially if they become part of the National teams.

The three to five seconds  of Pre-Shot for feelings has it's importance because if you linger too long in some types of thoughts before delivery; your conscious mind steps in and attempts to micromanage your concerns.   We learn to let "Muscle Memory."  uses Pre-Shot thoughts strictly as quick reminders to your subconscious, and Post-Shot feelings as a review their absence. Quick thoughts which never become conscious instructions dictating  your best muscles performances.

 Once your Pre-Shot "LaWn" thinking  is complete and the "N" of "Now"  has approved your Muscle Memory performance; the subconscious has taken over and the next thought is seeing your bowl  on its way up the green. Now, immediately upon release, you are entering your three-to-five-second "Post-Shot" (or Post-Delivery) period of thought. This brief window is developed and is vital because it is the few moments when you can physically feel many feelings - good or bad - about the delivery you just executed. These feelings might indicate errors or give confidence of a well performed Muscle Memory Delivery. The following Post-Delivery should be to watch and read you bowl for the next 10 to 15 seconds of it roll.

An "Elite" in his  Post-Shot Thinking

To see just how fleeting and decisive this Pre-Shot window is at the highest level, look at the four screenshots at the end of this blog taken from the YouTube video of  the 2025 Musgrave Easter Open Singles between Ryan Bester and Michael Burgess. As we watch Ryan Bester's decision-making process, which clearly illustrates why the Pre-Shot wamted action ("A") and Line ("L") and Weight ("W") must be no more than a micro-second thoughst. Also, Good decision and Muscle Memory execution require confidence in one self. 

The decision of the shot was made as Ryan walked back up the green to the mat and his Pre-Shot communication confidence, which was right before Muscle Memory; took over to perform the shot.  Also we see the danger of what a bad decision or Pre-Shot interruption could cause in the bowl's roll. Even a miss is acceptable because the decision and Pre-Shot had allowed for what might happen and accepted the percentage.

Post-Mat Analysis and Shot Decision

So we see in this 2025 Singles game how a "Pre-Shot" "Action" ("a" in LaWN) is a small thought after all the Post-Mat analysis (and the in-the-head analysis) was finished. The photos (edited screen shots) at the end of this blog are placed there to show Ryan's shot decision.

 Why the Post-Mat Analysis ?  with the previous delivery as Ryan watch his  bowl rolled to the head, he learned information about the green speed and other playing surface facts. He was seeing and the subconscious was collecting it as data. When he was at the head and as he did an analysis of what was possible he was again collecting information. He could see the danger of what a mistake would do and so Ryan saw, not only how to play the shot in a safe manner, but also how not to be too loose and give away 4 shots to  Michael Burgess, his opponent.

The subconscious saw and remember all these thoughts because mental practice and visual (or audio) collected data lead to his decision for too narrow a line. It there was something in green effect on his bowl's roll he was confidence he had considered it in his "Percentage of shot" and his Muscle Memory confidence.

All of this was following his delivery and his visit to the head after his opponent's bowl and  is called "Post-Mat Analysis,"; after his previous delivery and while he visited the "Lawn Bowl Head", When he is on the mat doing his Pre-Shot his "Action" or expected shot is just a thought. I believe that without the conscious mind interruption the subconscious would play back all the previous thoughts and know what was expected. His "A" was an image of seeing the bowl touching the bowl he wanted to hit or miss. Myself,  I would visualize the target bowl as a flat clock and want to hit the bowl at "7 o'clock").

An example, give here, will show this. From the Youtube Video of

The 4 screen shots of Ryan Bester's decision are at the end of the blog; but this example is only to show how important the "Pre-Shot" must be only a micro-second thought before Muscle Memory Delivery performs the shot.

So we see in this 2025 Singles game  how a  "Pre-Shot" "Action" ("a" in LaWN) is a small thought after all the Post-Mat analysis (and the head analysis) was finished. The end of blog photos are placed to show the decision of Ryan's shot. During the Post-Mat Analysis as his previous bowl rolled to the head, Ryan learned information about the green speed and other playing surface facts. When in the head he did an analysis of what he could do; and he sees the danger of a mistake. Ryan saw not only how to play the shot in a safe manner but also how not give away 4 shots to his opponent, Michael Burgess with too narrow a line or green effect on his bowl's roll. 

All this was what is called "Post-Mat Analysis", and Ryan's shot decision of seeing the possible shot of removing the one bowl of Michael, which is shot that with luck might be more than a single shot gained. He felt that with a lucky rebound his bowl could remove the other bowl to give himself 4 points. However, he also saw that if his line is wrong (photo #4) he could be sending the jack back for a lost of 4 points. So his decision is "Better to be wide than to be too narrow" (my self I would be visualizing the target bowl as a flat clock and wanting to hit the bowl at "7 o'clock".

As Ryan walks back to the mat for his delivery his mental focus is positive and confidence and without doubt of his decision. Players who know and understand Muscle Memory and subconscious communication knows that these thought during the walk prepare for the "Pre-Shot". They know that on the mat a long thought of the action to be attempted would invite the conscious mind to get involved.  He has everything right as he steps to the mat (Mental and physical) and does his few second "Pre-Shot" where he know the action ("a") is a remainder to play safe and his Delivery will be perfect. 

Myself, being visual and not auditive in nature, I would simply think of "image of a clock at 7 O'clock" (The auditive individual may think "7") and move immediately to "W" (weight) and NOW (delivery). Most important that thought of the "action wanted", if it is part of the "Pre-Shot", is only a split second image and is a remainder to the subconscious "better wide". So Ryan does his quick delivery with "Line" ok, "Action" ok Weight and Now. (LaWN) The screenshot image (photo above) has at the end of the blog, 4 other screen shots; which helps the reader better understand the thought..(skip there now to understand).

 Self-confidence is important but this example show the need for "a" to be just a micro-second memory image. or thought as a remainder. Maybe it will take another 4 or 5 years of practice for the reader to learn how not to think the shot but just pass a though as a "Muscle Memory remainder" of the action of the shot. One might ask were I get this experience. My previous sport of Archer deals with a lot of mental and subconscious communication. In instinctive Archery you become one with the bow, become the arrow, Become the target and draw the arrow to youself. all micro-second performances. As for performance, one of the many blogs show the gold medals won at a Canadian National competition.

(End of example) .... So your Post-Novice course and instructions will attempt to tell you that no longer will you be take a point of aim "Line" and that you must separate "Non-Delivery" thoughts and actions to be performed at a "Pre-Mat" Routine and after delivery be using a "Post-Mat" routine for the collection of information and any decisions on the next "Delivery".  As Post-Mat information is processed, and you are waiting for the opponent to finish their delivery; there are  many things that become a part of your next delivery and mental problems like emotions must be now consider and addressed..

 Now with this new development these three routines as a Delivery, when you go to Mat, it is uniquely for the performance of a  "Perfect Delivery" and not to stand and have discussion with the skip. The many preparations to bowl the next bowl are performed off the mat. (Yes, you can do the Pre-Mat Routine's action while standing on the mat but only if your mental strength is strong. To each their method of delivery. But to have yourself on the mat for a mind-free delivery is to seperate your preparation from your performance). Take possession of the mat but anything but Delivery should be a step back of the mat and restart your Delivery.

 Usually the making of decisions of shot or actions, like checking line or bias; is done before.  If the only things done when on mat is delivery the many interruptions to Muscle Memory will not happen. You will do a three or four "Pre-shot" and be looking at your bowl rolling up the green as you return from an absence of thought.

I mention that this time of the year is important because during the evening games we now have "Dew" on the greens and can clearly see our "Bowl Roll"  bias marked in that dew.  When I was asked about what I take as line I should have answered " Is that during my "Pre-mat" or "Pre-Shot" routine ?" because both are done before the Delivery. The "Pre-Mat" are actions performed before stepping to the mat while the "Pre-Shot" is a Line, Apply, Weight and NOW few second delivery checklist. Yes, as a Novice learning a perfect delivery, we stand on the mat to take our "Line of Aim".

The Per-Shot's few second of the Muscle Memory delivery "Check List" is imporrtant in that the mental preparation for this instinctive performance must be created. This first few seconds of the Final Delivery which is often seen with elite athlete's performance is morre than a "Check List". It is a few seconds of thought and communicate with your subconscious prior to your instinctive "Muscle Memory" action delivers your bowl in a total void of thought. As we do the Pre-mat to be certain that all our Bowl preparation are completed; we must also check that all mental baggage is absence from our delivery. By doing both, Pre-Mat and Pre-Shot we welcome that feeling and expectation of a "Perfective Delivery". A Zen Moment where we experience a "Void" of thought as our conscious mind regains control of thoughts and we watch our bowl roll from our hand.

 The Pre-Shot are actions or thoughts of a very few seconds before you authorize the Muscle Memory to perform your well developed delivery.  Myself, a acronym Checklist of "LaWN"  is used where the small "a" is because this expectation of an action may not always be needed or always present.)

You must stop taking a "Point of Aim" line as the only correction of a delivery error. By havinh confidence that after placing your self in your proper delivery position that you have a proper body alignment. By doing quickly  a "LaWn" thought where the "Now" command instructs  your Muscle Memory to execute. Confidence that your body alignment and that perfect delivery performance is going to happen and your final result will be good because of years of practice. 

With this change, you are now putting down the "clutch of blame" and building your Muscle Memory's Pre-Shot Routine. Routine because each of us will find a prepared sequence of thoughts for these few seconds. If you already have a "Pre-Shot" started then lets keep going and Practice it as part of our Delivery. To this point our bowl practice has been physical. Now we move toward a mental performance practice. (my biggest "LaWn" Mental "a" was the word "Cool" with all it different meanings). Imagine the feeling when upset with something you are doing your Pre-Shot and "cool" is your thought instead of the interruption or emotional problem.

This blog is a part of my Post-Novice Course for developed players who roll a good bowl but seem to be at a point where they feel as if their improvement and development is stuck. You have been going from one correction idea to another, every year and most likely after a season trying something new,  you have returned to the old method. This is "Bowl Stuck" or "Ground Hog Day" at the Lawn Bowls Club. 

During the few seconds after your delivery, as you watch your bowl begin it's Roll; you are looking at the "Pre-Shot Line" where your bowl is rolling it's Bias first section of 4 parts (Line, Belly, Shoulder and Finish). At this time, as you exit your Muscle Memory "Void"; you  see and feel all aspects of your delivery. Seeing the bowl roll over the "Bowl's Bias Line should give you a confidence of the expectation of this delivery. This confidence is important because many things may now effect the bowl's roll.  This confidence, which is a feeling may be the strenght for any one of all the other feelings you may have when you experience the bowls final finish. This first few seconds of your "Post-Shot Routine" is a collection of feelings and information in the evaluation of your delivery before your bowl arrives in the head. A developed "Pre-Shot" must be balanced with a "Post-Shot" because in these few seconds as your bowl begins it roll you can feel everything needed to be remember as your Post-Mat Routine is executed. The Post-Shot (feelings) and Post-Mat Routine after the "Delivery" may be several minutes of evaluation and decision. A development to come later after your continual (every shot) "Pre-Shot" performance. (Yes, we are so confidence in our Delivery that we may go several ends and even a complete game without doing our Pre-Shot)

Because the "Pre-Shot" is not a "Routine" but only three to five seconds of thought and actions it can be forgotten, I use the  Acronym: "LaWN" for my thought and Memory pattern. (Line, Applied (the expected Change), Weight (needed), before the "Now". The small "a" is because your "Action" may not necessary be  a physical action which you are attempting as a change or an improvement; it may be a mental action you need to keep.  

There is little difference  between a  "Dead Draw" and a "Touch-Tap Draw". Your method of adding those few feet may be a thought rather than  a Weight adjustment action or maybe nothing. I use my "LaWN" as my thinking "Acronym" because the "Now" is my Muscle Memory delivery trigger. In these few seconds my thoughts finish as I see the letter "N" and the delivery is done. (This trick to your Muscle Memory, will be your own "All is good" thought to trigger your "Muscle Memory Delivery". If done properly you next thought will a feeling of returning from a state of a lost of thinking. This lost thought or "Void" is different for each and seeing your bowl's roll and feeling it, will be your start of your Post-Shot.

It is here the feelings of the "Post-Mat" become important because this feeling is like food to your confidence. You feel it and know the delivery was good.  A Muscle Memory feeling of "absence of thought" is that the subconscious was doing your delivery and with a "lost of conscious thought". Some call this a "Zen Moment" because our instinctive delivery was not a conscious muscle performance. 

 It tells you that your Pre-Shot was done properly and if the final bowl result is something else then what was expected; you must learn to discover or identified the cause and avoid it or address it for correction. Previously with your "Line of Aim" you blamed it on your line and went about changing or find a new line; no longer, as you know your delivery and line was good.

So in summary.  "Stepping to the mat for the Delivery Routine means "LaWn" where "N'' is "Now Deliver",  As a Delivery Trigger you will have transfer a thought to the instinctive or subconscious mind and feel  the empty mind return after your subconscious  "Muscle Memory" delivery.  The Acronym is not thought of the letters as "L","A","W","N"  but  your practice action to verify each of the three values.  If "L" means "Line",(you see your body line is right), "A" means "Adjustment", (you remember your change to be "Applied ); likewise for " Weight" and "Now"(Deliver the Bowl). 

To this point I have shown hat is the Pre-Shot action, timing and thoughts, the second part (2/2) will show how you get there through steps of improvement. It not everyone who goes the Pre-Shot path to the podium. In part two we will see what could be call Pre-Shot Preparation. Where the athlete has not left the crutch of "Line of Aim" and "Weight Finding" from their earlier new member Delivery learning.

In preparation for Part 2 I would like to leave here an idea.  A kindergarden teacher showing a child to multiply 7x8 will first show how to say or see it and the result. Example "Seven times eight is 56", Here is the same "When on the mat, "Line ok?, Attempted shot, Weight needed, Now (release)", but because I am visual in nature I see those four things. Same as I have shown, a fast (3 to 5 second) Pre-shot.Next blog I will show you how you get to that point on each of the three parts of the "LaWN" Pre-shot. (the "a" is not always implied as it is just a remainder thought).   

So how does the teacher probably explained her math to the child ? They probably start simple. with "8" and "0" is "80". which is 8x10 times. but it is not "10" it is "7" or 3 number less. My self with my grandkids I would make 8 lines of 3 black pennies on the table and have them count them. Of course, they would then tell me it was "24" pennies. I would then explain "ok the "80" less "20" is "60" and "60" less "4" is "56"." With one grandchild which does not accept everything made me had to put out "8" lines of "7" pennies. She took time  to  count them. and as she was in a minute of deep thought I said. "which is easlier the total counting of "56" or the  counting "24"? This will be important in Part 2.

In the second part of this blog, after I having explained briefly the five parts of the Delivery Routine quickly; as well as how each country has a different way of their teaching Lawn Bowls to new members.  In some elite athletes from Australia, we longer Pre-shot as Preparation to find the "W" of weight having a "multi arm swing" to feel the "Delivery Weight". In dealing with the Post-Shot feelings and "Post-Mat Routine" (after your Delivery), I will show the "Post-shot" feelings, the "Post Mat Routine", the "Post Mat Psychologic Healing" and even "The Head visit" Routine".

As the old Children cartoon use to say at its end "That all there is Folks"

 The "Post-Novice player, will at this point in their development, no longer just be learning to bowl or do a good Delivery but learning skills of mental control. Sometime our personal character has an influence on our performance and to go further in our self-perfection we look "Inward". The best we can be may mean handling  more than just some sort of distractions. (like fear of Losing). On Youtube, a sport psychologist Eli Straw has over 150 short videos on many mental problems like a quick "Reset of your Mindsets" after a bad performance or game.

An extra few screen shots  at the blog end will give as example above of the Too Long a Thought during the game of Ryan Bester explained abovein the example above.

I will say that now over 80, that all my bowls performance during a big competition game; that now I find that all this detail thinking is just too much.

 Yes, the habit of step-by-step is still there but not for a two hour game. Sometime in Pairs, I will do a two-bowl Complete "Five Point Delivery" and  the remaining two other bowls during that end will be a "let it happen" Delivery. The question then becomes which of the four bowls are most important.

You are learning to build a confidence performance with a structure like "Shot Routine" with "Pre-shot" and "Post-Shot" thoughts and actions. This detail and basic instruction of  the two "Shot Routine" is probably what you sometimes do already. But now every time you go to the mat these two extra thought and action routines are a part of your Delivery. The "Pre-Shot" just prior to instruction you instinctive Delivery and the   "Post- Delivery Routine" consisting of a "Post-Shot" collection of feelings and the "Post-Mat" Routine being your thoughts and feelings as you wait for your next delivery.

A normal weekly (7 days) Viewer/Reader Stats as the end of the month arrives.

 As it took several years to get that near perfect performance it will take several years to fine-tune it or sand-off the rough mental edges.. Enjoy the game.. Practice at Practice Sessions not during games. 

Ryan saw the shot and analysis when he was in the head. As he walked to the mat he thought of the danger if he is too narrow. So he had decided to accept a miss wide then the error too narrow and give up 4 points. His Pre-Shot was seeing his bowl (orange) as a clock and wanting to hit it at 7 o'clock.   The shot being tried (#2) is to roll the bowl of the jack and get shot but if a bit wider could rebound onto the other brown and give himself 4. Certainly can't draw for shot so accept to miss and give up one or try the tap-back and hope on a rebound to push the 2nd bowl a few feet to count the front bowls.           

Actually the final shot as seen in the video of the 5th end was to pass in the hole between his bowl and the 2nd brown bowl of Michael. 

The danger was if too narrow he would have hit Michael bowl and thrown the jack back toward the re-spot. You see only 3 brown bowls because Michael has a bowl near the re-spot mark. This is call playing the percentage. Accept the miss rather than narrow and make a mistake.