Bread Pudding Cup

Vs Wing - 1st Leg

First Leg of the inaugaral Bread Pudding Trophy and we were away at Wing.  I had some concerns about the team I had been left to field but Wing has always been a friendly game and I hoped they would make allowances for a couple of players that I had put in against my better judgement. 

Sadly, it was not to be. Despite the experience of the two players making up one triple, the poor old chap I put in out of kindness struggled to reach the head and the opposition bowled long jacks to make it worse. They went down 39-8 and took the rest of us with them.  On the first two rinks, my three and my wife's three both won by 8.... but that 16 was just not enough. Overall, we were down 27 as the other rink, which had started so well sunk down - the other player(s) I was worried about also gave up the game.  That's been the pattern and there are a few I am watching who need to learn a couple of things.
- That when you are up, there are ways to keep the concentration going and defend your lead
- That you need to fight not give up and say it's just a bit of fun... it may be a fun pasttime but you're letting your team mates down if you don't rally when the going gets tough.

Mentality is so critical in sport. You have to know where to find reserves and how to re-start your game.   I don't accept playing is all.  We mostly play to win.  We should look to win at least as many as we lose.  It's not fun to keep losing and that small minority will have to make way, sadly, for folks who understand what being part of a team means.

We have 27 points to get back when the second leg comes around. Even at home, that's a tough call.  My error.  I thought it would be played out in a kinder atmosphere. It proves that you should always put the best side available on the day in, especially when there is a trophy at stake.

Midsummer

Midsummer looms, Wimbledon echoes to the sound of heavy forehands and powerful services, the strawberry plants are laden and England are struggling in the latest test series.  Here at the bowls club, we are getting ready for our second open day on Saturday 28th June.

It's going to be a busy week.  We had the WI on Thursday to add to our usual coaching session. This week we have county in on Wednesday, Scouts join the coaching on Thursday, the cricket club come and play on Friday and Saturday is an all day open club day to recruit new members.

So how is it going?  About as well as I expected but not as well as I hoped.   We have recruited new members but I wanted 20-25 and we have managed a little shy of the 20 so far. Of those, I'd say only 10 will make team bowlers. 

I wanted to win about half of our matches but we have lost all bar one so in the end, no better than previous seasons.  We have lost more closely but lost none the less.  We'll change that, soon.   I'm seeing good progress.  It's just a small number letting us down in more ways than one.

I wanted to have the vast majority of people motivated and pleased with the progress and we have made enormous progress given previous years - an average of 3 or less new members, two victories and little change vs this season, nearly 20 new members, a refurbished club with 4 trained coaches holding regular sessions and all the signs that we are going places.

Of course, that's not enough. The doubters and moaners want to know how we are affording it all, don't listen and don't want to know about the opportunities and although they are friendly enough to the new folks, they don't seem to register their existence - if you say a name of anyone who hasn't been there for years the answer is usually "I don't know him/her"   Why not come and join the coaching sessions, recruitment days, initiatives that we run?  That little core of older members don't want all that.....  Maybe they'd rather we went bankrupt and closed up than everything changed.  I can't wait to see what they say when they find they haven't been picked for games because the new folks have passed them by.  

The thing is, the new players are keen, see the purpose of coaching and have been introduced into the club in the right way.  Soon, we will have a new core,built around the new, younger committee with more people who want to help and want progress.

I feel sorry for those who just cannot see it in themselves to make a bit of effort to change and enjoy the new offerings.  I suppose they think themselves above needing coaching and think they have seen it all before.  Wrong on two counts. 

Little Gaddesden is going places.  We'll be more than just a friendly club, we'll be a club with a bit of verve and energy.  People are going to know our name.

Midsummer Highlights and Lowlights

The coaching programme is proving an undoubted success.  We have put about ten or so people in one end and so far, five have come out of the other.   I have now begun work on the more complex subject of tactics and understanding the game.

Hilary, Marika and Frank have done a great job with the coaching, assisted by myself, Chrissie, David and Lesley.   We have definitely got four players ready for match play.  There are two others who will join those within a week or two.

 Now it's time to start putting more of the existing players through some coaching.  We could all do with improvement. Some could do with thinking about what they do more than others!

This week has been a disappointment.  Two games played, two games lost closely. The away game was always going to be a tough call against a strong Abbots Langley side on their green but we dropped the game on my rink after leading by a good margin, losing and regaining the lead twice only to lose on the last end. The second rink went down  more heavily.  Yesterday, we lost on our green by 5 overall. One rink went down by 10. We won on mine by 5. We ought to have won that one overall given we know our green (or should do) and the opposition play on artificial grass at home.  If a home team in such different circumstances can't set off to build a decent lead , there is something wrong. We were down on three rinks when I looked about. Only mine was leading and by a good 10 at that point. I expect good players to come back but we were already 10 or 12 down next door....

So there's a new lesson we need. How to concentrate and not lose when ahead and how to build a lead when we have an advantage.  We should know how to cut down heavy losses when the opposition has four or five against us but we don't always show good tactical awareness, such as ensuring we have woods behind the jack, blocking the route to a drive, coming the right way so we don't sweep the jack to their wood(s) behind the jack... and giving much better information about the head to those who are bowling into it.

Highlights and Lowlights for certain.  I hope as the Summer goes on, we are going to have more highlights to celebrate.  I'm beginning to grow tired of excuses why we lost....