The Balmy Beach Fours team needed a replacement lead because of injury in one
of their Ontario district playdown matches on Sunday last. I had the chance to
substitute. The match was against last year’s Canadian gold fours team modified
only in that Steve McKerihen, last year’s skip, was being substituted by Jeff
Harding, who is the reigning Canadian singles champion. The other members of
the opposition were David Anderson (vice), Adam McKerihen (2nd) and
Steve Walbank (lead). Here I was a novice, who had played exactly 12 months,
getting to play with a group of the best lawn bowlers in Canada! Pretty awesome
right?
Thank goodness for those two trial ends. On my second of four bowls, I grassed the wrong bias?!#
Fortunatel for me, it was very much up and up from there. Although our Balmy Beach squad lost, our competition did win this district 10 qualification tournament; and, I think it is fair to say, we lost because our team was outmatched not just the substitute lead.
Did I learn anything that might support improvement? Well one thing is certainly rather interesting. Jeff Harding has a smooth conventional delivery, just like we novices are taught by coaches when we take up the game; except for one thing. He stands in the ready position, crouched with both feet touching the mat, but with all his weight on the leg that remains stationary during delivery. This is so pronounced that you can actually see this leg, which he will step forward onto, dangling loosely in the air just occasionally brushing the mat as he begins his backswing. This seems to compel Harding to do two very desirable things. He must take a gradual, very controlled backswing, because otherwise he would lose his balance. Also this necessitates another simplification in delivery. There can be no uncertainty about the amount of weight that goes to the back foot in his delivery. It has to be all his weight, since his other foot is essentially off the ground.
Thank goodness for those two trial ends. On my second of four bowls, I grassed the wrong bias?!#
Fortunatel for me, it was very much up and up from there. Although our Balmy Beach squad lost, our competition did win this district 10 qualification tournament; and, I think it is fair to say, we lost because our team was outmatched not just the substitute lead.
Did I learn anything that might support improvement? Well one thing is certainly rather interesting. Jeff Harding has a smooth conventional delivery, just like we novices are taught by coaches when we take up the game; except for one thing. He stands in the ready position, crouched with both feet touching the mat, but with all his weight on the leg that remains stationary during delivery. This is so pronounced that you can actually see this leg, which he will step forward onto, dangling loosely in the air just occasionally brushing the mat as he begins his backswing. This seems to compel Harding to do two very desirable things. He must take a gradual, very controlled backswing, because otherwise he would lose his balance. Also this necessitates another simplification in delivery. There can be no uncertainty about the amount of weight that goes to the back foot in his delivery. It has to be all his weight, since his other foot is essentially off the ground.
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