‘Talking Tactically’

with Lachlan Tighe..... 

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

‘… what winners do’ 

(edition 119  - 2004 of thoughts & observations on lawn bowls)

One thing I can guarantee winners do is strive for ‘pb’ performance (of skills) in training so as to make a reality of aspiring to that performance in competition.

And one other thing winners do is they do not do what the average athlete does. Is that the situation though with our bowlers !!!

With Craig Fox we watched our squad train in preparation for one pair to have a tilt at the Australian title. It interested us to observe the tactical skill training of some of these squad members and how in training there was a focus on results not on experimenting and sorting out (other) options.

The culture and tradition of bowls is that it is frowned upon (at the bar), and for the ladies maybe the powder room, to be serious in the approach to develop skill at an elite level. Our best bowlers do us no favours by ‘not standing tall’. 

Instead of joining ‘joe average’ at the bar you should be out showing us the way to a modern and better approach to training, performance and competition analysis.

At Richmond where there is a bevy of new and younger bowlers I hear them exclaiming concern about the same crap they get that I endured when I started the game.

Enough is enough.  Where are you strong characters in every club that puts paid to that nonsense.  And our best players in our clubs have a lot to answer for in not debunking the garbage that others foster.  Problem is, certainly here in Victoria where pennant is the be all end all, the best players, some of whom even coach, are so damn protective of their position in the team (especially if they are a skip) that no exchanges are encouraged. A really poor culture that flows up the chain.

I posed these questions for myself when watching the TV bowls last March and then sought some views from other sources.  How would you respond in attempting to improve either yourself or someone else, talented, in your club:-

....you watch a top winning performance, what preparation did the player undertake to be the standout performer

.....Did the winners do any separate work with coaches and what did it entail

.....What can we in clubs learn about the nature and content of post game analysis discussions from the elite performers, and how is that filtered down to the clubs to develop

....And like wise the notion of sudden death ends in sets play; what is the preferred training for these formats.

These are questions I see requiring answers for the state players hoping to hit the big time at national level. And the answers come via a regime of training to see the options.

Our new national coach, whoever that will be, has a responsibility to assist you and me, whether we are players or coaches, to acquire these skills so that if we ever get to the top of the tree we are ‘in sync’ with that national coach’s approach.  Hell why would he / she want to inherit  players of the future who have to be ‘retrained’.

Would’nt it be great if state and national coaches could be assured that clubs are feeding them with players who know ‘what winners do.’

Lachlan Tighe