So who needs a coach?

In the past Wick's we have talked about some of the physical and mental areas of sport and in lawn bowling specifically. The CLBC coaching department has been working on ways that would be helpful to our members around increasing accuracy, consistency, focus, preparing for a game, setting practice goals, and a few more areas of the game. What we want to do is help our members to have more good games and fewer frustrating games.

Booking time with a coach does not mean you need to change your style, but it is about maximizing the skills you already have and polishing any skills that might be causing you some trouble. It is about player development. 

I often wonder what, if anything, players do when their game falls apart. We all experience the occasional delivery where we miss the line, or our weight is off. We don't often understand this phenomenon that magically pops up and sends our bowls everywhere except where we want them to go. We often tend to blame the green, but in truth, we are usually the cause of our problems.

So, we can live with the occasional bowl going astray, but what do we do if the problem continues?

It appears that most of our members grin and bear it, slowly working through the problem on their own, frustrated while losing confidence in their game, and eventually playing less and less.

Some members watch successful bowlers and try to emulate them. Some people find this helpful, while others find it only adds to their frustrations. Although this approach can be successful in the short term, the real problem that made you change your style in the first place has not been addressed.

The club has a built-in solution. We are fortunate to have some wonderful coaches who share their expertise and time with any member to enhance their game. Yes, you see them spending time with new bowlers, and may I say there are a number of our new bowlers who are developing nicely and, in some cases giving the more established bowler a difficult time. This development in our new bowlers is no accident; it takes work by both the athlete and the coach.

As athletes, we spend time on our game through playing and "practicing." (I placed "practicing." In quotation marks, as we need to talk about practice, maybe next time). Having spent all this time, I do believe that we are interested in playing bowls at a better more consistent level.

Some people have told me they do not want anybody to change their delivery from what they use today to some other format. No coach wants to change your delivery, but a portion of your delivery may be giving you some grief, and a simple review and adjustment can turn back the years. For many of us, we learned how to bowl years ago. Over time, we have all aged, some better than others, but one thing is for sure, that what we could do fifteen or twenty years ago is much harder for us to do today.
On the green recently, I noticed the following issues with several experienced bowlers, and all were fixable with a bit of assistance from a coach.

• 80% of a player's bowls were either wide or narrow.
• Release issues causing the bowl to run off the desired line.
• Players were saying I'm not playing well today but continuing to do the same shot expecting something different.
• No pre-shot routine
• Poor or non-existent follow-through
• Bouncing bowls
• Feet all over the place on the mat
• Head not over the bowl when delivering
• Bowling arm shoulder either too high or too low.
• Negative talk about their game.
• Bowlers were only delivering backhands and no forehand over fourteen ends.
• The Elbow of the delivery hand sticking out during delivery.

Lastly, all athletes utilize a coach. Here is a list of many sports that use coaches to improve their performance.

• Lawn Bowling
• Curling
• Golf
• Tennis
• CFL Football
• NFL Football
• NHL Hockey

• Bicycle Racing
• Soccer
• Badminton
• Baseball
• Swimming
• Table tennis

P.S. the answer is every amateur and professional sport uses a coach/s.

Your club coaches will not tell you that you may need help. That is up to you.
If your game gives you grief or you are interested in improving your game, talk to a coach.