‘Talking Tactically’

with Lachlan Tighe..... 

(a new weekly edition, commenced 12/9/2001, of thoughts, observations and commentaries on developments for bowls coaching and competition)

‘...a high performance culture is a menu for success’

(edition 28, 20/11/2002, of thoughts & observations on lawn bowls)

Another interesting week in the sports industry as I joined with other (sports) personnel in Canberra at the AIS to listen to and discuss High Performance plans and objectives for various Olympic and Commonwealth Games sports.

We in the bowls fraternity need to move toward and understand the notion of high performance.

Simply stated, I see it as High (elite) performance is the modern terminology used to describe the people, training and playing programs, resources, structure and performances necessary to fulfil our vision of Australia being acknowledged internationally as the leading nation in competition and high performance management in the sport of lawn bowls.

The people that are to be the beneficiaries of this modernisation of skill and ongoing support and (professional)development include in varying degrees players, coaches, selectors, team managers, sports scientists and the boards of the sport of bowls.

The sports commission through its High Performance section is focussing on 
- sports who they believe can make a significant step up from their current performances, and 
-  sports whose current achievements are threatened by identified weaknesses and where the involvement of the commission can assist the changes necessary to remedy those weaknesses.

Bowls fortunately is one of those sports.

I recall my example in last weeks column of the contact I made with a young bowler, referred to me by a sports science colleague, and was not surprised to discover that the youngster had no firm goals, plan or analysis in mind for his bowls career and yet this guy is as I say a young gun elite bowler.

That approach and attitude would not be understood or accepted at elite level in other successful modern sports. 

And again last week I referred to where the English are in cricket nowadays due to their indifference to what is done by the best in the world of cricket !  

My ‘inside informant’ tells me the English cricket coach stated ‘……there was nothing wrong with the cricket side’ when contacted on the apparent concern about performance.

In Australian bowls, we should watch out for any similar adoption of that cricket analogy.  Year 2003 may well be the year of the phoenix in bowls where we rise from the ashes of recent performances to be the pre-eminent bowls nation in the world in the foreseeable future.

Lets push for a culture of success and be eagerly accepted by the elite from other successful Australian sports.

regards.                        
Lachlan Tighe

"....it is just not cricket!"

"...tactical analysis of or in competition"

"How do you assess the performance of a Coach"

"... no Limits"