Laguna Beach Lawn Bowling Club

Practice Sessions

Before you go out onto the green to practice, set yourself a goal to achieve while you're there. Be sure of what you are going out there for and practice on your own, unless you are doing it with someone who's practicing the same thing.

You will need two (2) jacks and one mat.

Set your first jack at long length.

Deliver all four bowls either backhand or forehand.

When your first four bowls have been played to the set jack, place the second jack on the green just in front of the center of the mat. Lift the mat and take it with you to the opposite end of the rink, placing it just behind the jack you were playing to and, at the same time, remove this jack.

Repeat this routine up and down the rink as long as you continue to practice, remembering always to delivery four bowls going up on the forehand and four going down on the backhand. In this way, you will always be bowling on one side of the green only during practice.

Remember, you must be a master of all lengths, so practice to every length.

The more I practice, the luckier I get. Gary Player

P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E
Rick Dickson — February 2006

P		PURPOSEFUL
R		REGULAR
A		ANALYZE
C		CONCENTRATION
T		TARGET (goal)
I		INTERESTING
C		CLIMATE / SEASON
E		EVALUATE

PURPOSEFUL:	In order to be effective, every session must have a purpose that aims at improving some segment or skill of your game. A roll up is NOT practice. A roll up may be relaxing, but it does little if anything to improve your game. Every practice session must have a purpose, which should be easily discernible.
REGULAR:	This involves setting a goal and managing your time. It is important that a definite time frame is put in place.
ANALYZE:	The purpose of regular practice is defeated if you do not analyze your results. It is essential that all practice regimes have a scoring system and that you analyze your results. For example: how is your consistency, are you missing with your first bowl, or is a particular distance showing poor results?
CONCENTRATION:	Have you found that your game seems to fall off at some point late in the game?
TARGET:	Purposeful training involves you in goal setting.
INTERESTING:	Consistently repeating the same skill program can often lead to boredom and a loss of interest in achieving an effective result.
CLIMATE:	One of the most used reasons for avoiding training is the weather. Just when you are due to train, it is too hot, too cold, or too wet. If your goals are high, you must train in all conditions because you will play the way you train, so the weather should not be an excuse to avoid training.
EVALUATE:	Evaluate your results or you will defeat the purpose of your training.

The definition of CONCENTRATION is "the ability to direct one's thoughts or actions towards one subject."

Common ways to lose concentration are:

external distraction (noisy crowd, etc.)
unsportsmanlike behavior by opponent or team member
criticism by team members of play or behavior
internal criticism — worrying about past errors or future failures

GAMESMANSHIP "is the art of winning games by distracting one's opponents and use of tactics of a doubtful or discourteous nature resorted to by a player with a view to obtaining an unfair advantage over his opponent or opponents."

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	You will need two (2) jacks and one mat.
	Set your first jack at long length.
	Deliver all four bowls either backhand or forehand.
	When your first four bowls have been played to the set jack, place the second jack on the green just in front of the center of the mat. Lift the mat and take it with you to the opposite end of the rink, placing it just behind the jack you were playing to and, at the same time, remove this jack.
	Repeat this routine up and down the rink as long as you continue to practice, remembering always to delivery four bowls going up on the forehand and four going down on the backhand. In this way, you will always be bowling on one side of the green only during practice.