The Principles of Front Coaching

‘Trial ends’: Standing on the mat, the Director chooses his aiming point and imagines the line of delivery on the green’s surface. He then walks forward – to a distance where the player can still see his foot, (at a maximum of five meters in front of the mat) – along the delivery line. The Director may stand facing the player with his foot along the delivery line (in which case the player is bowling to his foot) or place his foot at right-angles to the delivery line, with his toe on the line (in which case the player is bowling to his toe)., Please refer to following pictures by way of illustration. Of course it is incumbent on the Director to get his foot out of the way before the delivered bowl hits it! Any bowl hitting the Director’s foot is declared ‘dead’ and must be removed from the rink for that end.

The principle of getting the right ‘line’ is the same for the visually impaired player as it is for the sighted player:

The correct ‘aiming point’ has to be identified (either a point in the distance – rink marker, litter-bin, end-of-bench, etc. or perhaps a distinguishing mark on the green’s surface) and the bowl then delivered along the line of delivery. If the bowl finishes to the left of centre, ‘more green’ needs to be taken and if the bowl finishes to the right of centre, ‘less green’ is needed (assuming a right-handed bowler). The sighted bowler therefore needs to memorise his aiming point and watch every bowl in order to make the necessary adjustments for his next delivery. In V.I. bowls, the Director (front coach) has the responsibility of identifying the correct ‘green’ and then giving this to the player by the placement of his foot.

The diagram on the left (NB NOT TO SCALE) represents the rink with the centre-line, aiming point, line of delivery and course of bowl marked.

Above Left: Having practiced this repeatedly, director Barry Walsh has stepped out five paces from the mat and, again through experience, knows his player needs to take the green at the end of Barry's toe. Above Right: Barry can either give his player the green by standing front-on to him or by standing to the right of the string (for a right-hander's fore-hand) and indicating the green with his toe-end (below, left).

Below Right: Barry gives the green on his player's back-hand.

With each bowl delivered, it is the Director’s role and responsibility to watch the bowl down the green to its resting place in order to make the necessary adjustments to the placement of his foot for the bowler’s next delivery. Of course, the placement of the Director’s foot can be altered according to the type of shot to be executed and, with practice between bowler and Director, it should be possible for visually impaired players to consistently execute all the variety of shots fully sighted players are capable of. (eg., draw, draw to off-centre jack, draw to ‘cover’, play positional shots, play to take out and stay, drive, etc., etc.)

Over time and with practice, the Director should know the approximate ‘green’ to give his player from the outset and, it will not always be necessary to identify an aiming point because instead, he will know the distance ‘off the string’ to place his foot through experience. This ‘distance off the string’ can be measured using the Director’s feet, for example. IT IS VITALLY IMPORTANT, HOWEVER, THAT THE DIRECTOR STANDS THE SAME DISTANCE IN FRONT OF THE BOWLER FOR EVERY DELIVERY. IT IS EQUALLY IMPORTANT THAT THE BOWLER TAKES THE SAME STANCE ON THE MAT FOR EVERY DELIVERY – albeit different for forehand, backhand or jack delivery. The issue, for both player and Director, is

that they achieve consistency in all that they do. Small differences at the mat end can mean big differences at the head.

Although everyone has their own style of stance and delivery, sometimes dictated by their physical abilities, the principles of bowls remain the same for ALL players and may well be worth re-visiting frequently:Adopt a consistent stance on the mat, with feet pointing along the line of delivery; Shoulders should be square to the line of delivery;The ‘step’ (if taken) should be along the line of delivery;Straight-line arm swing, with shoulder, elbow and wrist in line;Follow-through along the line of delivery, ending palm-uppermost, with fingers pointing at the aiming point (along the delivery line).

AND THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO IT!!! Practice the technique with your player(s) and although it may feel ‘strange’ to players and Directors alike initially, perseverance will develop familiarity and confidence, resulting in increased success.

©David Stott – Team Manager, Visually Impaired Bowls EnglandUpdated 22nd January 2021