THE SPORT OF BOWLING

Taranaki Daily News, 31 October 1935, Page 10

THE SPORT OF BOWLING

ON AND OFF THE GREEN BETTER COACHING METHODS NEED SHIELD PLAY OPENS SATURDAY.

(By

“Running Shot.”)

The draw foi‘ the opening series of Shield matches, which commence on Saturday, is as follows:— Awakino and Urenui v. Fitzroy, at Fitzroy. Leppertpn and Fire Brigade v. Paritutu, at Vogeltown v. New Plymouth, at New Plymouth. West End v. Waitara, at Waitara. Weather permitting bowlers throughout .. North Taranaki will on Saturday next throw off the yoke of haphazardness and apathy and with club matched against club, and player against player, each endeavouring to bring about the defeat of the other, in the first series of matches for the Taranaki championship shield, the serious side of the sport will be entered with a vengeance. Last year’s opening matches produced one or two, mild surprises, the most notable being the defeat of the strong Fitzroy team at Av/akino and New Plymouth’s close call against Vogeltown, the former winning by the narrow margin of two points. At this early stage the true strength of a club is difficult to assess, and with many players lacking the practice that reproduces a true eye and a feeling of confidence in the ability to play the shot asked, it is easy for a team to be defeated by another whose strength on paper looks much inferior. With these conditions again predominating owing to the shield matches following close on the heel of opening day Saturday’s results are to some extent in the melting pot. Fitzroy will again play Awakino, but on 'this occasion Fitzroy will be on its own “dunghill” and the northerners will have to produce their last year’s form if they want to repeat the performance. Selector Ted Harvey is sure to pick his eight best men, and on a true drawing green a keen and close game should result. If anything the honours of the day should go to Fitzroy. Vogeltown’s performances in the past have to some extent been disappointing. Year after year this club’s play has, at the commencement of the season, been full of promise, but at the end of the competition its record of wins on the ladder is disappointing. Its opening match last year with New Plymouth was a fine effort and only two points separated the contestants. These two clubs will again meet on Saturday, and with the solid practice that the Vogeltown members have had on. their wonderful winter green during the last few months New Plymouth will find Vogeltown a hard nut to crack. If the members of the suburban club infused more force into their game and did not rely so much on the dead draw (and they can draw) it would enhance their winning powers considerably. West End, last season’s champion club, will visit Waitara, and a good game is expected. Waitara is not in the same happy position as other clubs for, as a general rule its full strength is not available for the first two or three games owing to seasonal work which many members are engaged upon. This unfortunate position weakens Waitara’s rinks considerably. Last year Waitara lost its first match but during the latter' part of the competition had a good run of successes and was well up in championship points. Waitara on Saturday will put up a stiff fight and West End will have to give of its best to win the day. The L'epperton, and Fire Brigade v. Paritutu contest will prove a very even fight while Fitzroy should at least get one leg in with a win against Urenui. Improved Coaching Necessary.

There are hundreds of bowlers in Taranaki, yet of those hundreds only a comparative few really become topnotchers. Of course there are many players who reach a certain standard of efficiency but get no further and are classed as solid players. But the large majority just learn the rudiments of the game and never improve. Of course there are some who have not the ability and would never make good, but there are a great number who should play much better than they do.

To what cause is this attributable? The answer is bad methods of coaching, especially among young and new members. Take the West End Club for example. Year after year it turns out consistently good teams consisting of players of more than the average calibre, and its record of wins is a fine one. This is solely due to correct coaching and the keenness of older members to impart their all-round knowledge to new players.

The principal trouble among many of the clubs is that the . players are not started on right lines. How often is a new member told to hold his bowl so and so and if he rolls it along the green to a spot indicated on the bank it will curl back to the kitty, and that ends the instruction. He is allowed to take up any stance on the mat, and apart from occasional instruction by any club member, he has, as a general rule, to work out his own salvation. This state of affairs is to be deprecated. It is, ■> unfortunately, very rare that we find expert bowlers ready to give instruction. They as a general rule prefer to play among themselves. If. however, new players were taken in hand from the commencement and taught how to hold the bowl correctly, how and where to find correct green, how to deliver the bowl, and also the importance of playing and practising both back and forehand, they would not be troubled later on. These points all go to the making up of the art of drawing, and in the making of a good and consistent bowler it is the only sound and concrete basis to begin on.

Another bad practise adopted in some clubs is that weak players are too often placed by selectors in rinks where there is an abundance of players of their own standard and the chances of good prac-, tice are nil. It is only by mixing -with and learning from experienced bowlers that an improvement can be made, and the good players should not be averse to asking a beginner to join them and give him the benefit of their knowledge and experience. If these points were more fully considered and more time given in coaching the novice (it must be remembered we were all novices once) the standard of club play would show a large improvement and stronger club teams would make for better and more even competition play. Hints to Beginners.

The most important thing for a beginner first to accomplish is how to deliver the bowl from the hand, and every effort should be made to acquire a perfect delivery at the beginning, for a bad habit once formed is hard to correct. The best method, and one that is followed most, is to step off with the left foot across the corner of the mat, at the same time swinging the right arm forward with a clean follow through movement. Care should be taken not to bump the bowl on the green. It should be delivered quite close to the green to get a smooth take-off. The player should

also not lose interest in or sight of his bowl until it has ceased to run, otherwise he will not be able to correct any mistakes that he makes with his first delivery.'' Another important point is not to look at kitty when delivering. Your width of green is what you are aiming for, and what you must always find if you are going to play good and consistent bowls. Concentrate on a correct green and you will find that length will come with practice. The throwing of the, jack is also important. Most good leads find their length from it, and a player must always endeavour to throw it to where his skip is standing. Many a game has been lost by the jack being thrown into the ditch when a three-quarter head was required. Don’t keep on playing the one hand. No man can be classed as a good bowler unless he can play both hands with confidence. If you find you are weak on one hand keep on practising that hand until you overcome that weakness. Also do not try playing fast shots until you are expert with the draw. A bowler often spoils himself by trying to drive before he has learned to draw consistently. Another point is not to choose a bowl that you cannot grip comfortably. It would pay new players not to buy bowls the first year until they* have found which particular size and weight of bowl is the most suitable. Unless a player has an extra large hand he will get more control over a bowl which has a diameter of five inches. A. Dickinson in Form. During recent years one of the most consistent skips in Central Taranaki has been A. Dickinson (Avon), and on Labour Day he opened the season auspiciously by marching off with the prize at the Hawera Club’s rink tournament. He came into prominence in 1931 by skipping the champion rink in the Taranaki “open” and since then has had a great run of successes. Last season he was at top form and reached the semi-final in the “open” and was runner-up in the New Plymouth Club’s jubilee tournament He was also the champion singles player of his club and figured prominently in the champion of champions annual contest. A fine record of consistent bowling.

Labour Day Bowling. Once again Labour Day was graced with its usual weather conditions and bowlers generally had to resort to a game of cards or a talk on the season's prospects. In New Plymouth the majority of the clubs had., arranged pro-

gressive pairs or rinks competitions and after playing a game or two had to abandon the fixtures. Unfortunately vacant Saturdays will be few and far between and unless an odd day can be set aside in the near future these games will have to go by the board. Hard luck bowlers. Compiling Records and Results. For the benefit of recording the. results of matches played and in compiling, the weekly bowling notes the assistance of recorders has been much appreciated in the past and “Running Shot” hopes that once again these services will be continued. It is, however, in regard to the score-cards that; an improvement could be made. It is most essential that the score-cards themselves should be handed in to the Daily News riot later than Sunday evening. As two sets of cards are generally issued for a match it should not be difficult to arrange for one set to be sent in. If this is done it will save a good deal of time and trouble in compiling true records. Tire writer also suggests to any bowler in Taranaki who has any bowling items of ne'ws value to forward them to “Running Shot,” Dally News, where they will receive prompt attention. j .