Practise games for this unit. Rolling the jack.
Click on the bowl.
Coaching. The Lead.
The lead creates pressure.
* controls the mat and jack length.
* draws two bowls close to the jack.
* finds best side of the rink.
* establishes line for the team.
The lead is a specialist in the draw with a temperament to avoid “niggle” shots to the head under pressure.
The lead is the most important player in the team.
All team members:
* be positive.
* be compatible.
* act and play as a team.
* believe in each other.
* set team goals – together
* don’t argue on the green – sort it out later.
Remember! Remember! Remember!
The lead and the second build up the head.
The third and skip protect and add.
Don’t drop big scores through being smart!
It’s all about the lead. Click on the bowl for the video.
1. Understand the etiquette requirements of a being a lead and the laws of the game. Practise using a measure particularly if you are leading in a pairs game.
2. Place the mat each end in a position your skip, or you and your skip, agree will suit your team. Do not alter that until told to do so by the skip.
3. Be able to roll the jack to the length the skip decides will best suit the team. The accuracy of the length of the jack is important – within 600mm for lower grades, 300 mm for Divisions 1 & 2. Your accuracy in this can give your team control and the advantage in the game. Poor control often hands the advantage to your opponents giving them the chance to change tactics.
4. Do not hold your bowl as you deliver the jack. Rolling a jack and bowling a bowl are two separate tasks and should be treated as such.
5. The object of the lead is to get more bowls closer to the jack than your opponent. Concentrate on getting your bowls close to the jack as this dictates the way your skip can start building a safe and well-constructed head.
6. While a front toucher is a good start to an end, remember it is better to have two close bowls than one sitting on the jack and the other metres away. Only developing a consistent action will give you consistent length.
7. Two close bowls are all that are needed from the lead. Loose bowls are a disadvantage for the rest of the team.
8. Do not try to knock an opponent’s bowls away – you are not playing a game of singles against your opponent.
9. Play your bowls on one side of the rink – forehand one way, backhand the other. Then your bowls should require the same width of draw and the same weight. Decide with your skip after the roll-up ends which side of the rink may be better to play. Generally, it is better to play the narrower side of the rink as the margin of error is less. Do not change hands unless directed by your skip. No short bowl is in the draw – you can draw the shot around or under it.
10. Play to the conditions. Watch for any weather changes that may affect green conditions.
11. On a heavy green, play to trail the jack up to 600 mm –‘hunt the jack’.
12. On a fast green, play wider than you think and think about the weight to use before you take up your bowling stance.
13. Learn to judge how short or long a bowl is from the jack.
14. Be confident in playing either hand when asked. This can only come from regular practice and a sound well-balanced delivery.
15. Learn how to switch on your concentration before you step on the mat. Say a word or two to yourself like ‘My turn’ or ‘Relax’ to turn you on just before you step on the mat. Do not be led into idle discussion during the game.
Coaching practice for leads.
The lead has to be able to roll the jack accurately—not so much as dead straight but certainly to a required length. Therefore any practice routine for a lead must include a number of ends devoted to rolling the jack to short, medium and long ends. Importantly, any practice session should be measured. Set up targets using anything available (paper cups, other J=jacks, tennis balls or even kitty markers) and keep a record of how many times you can put a Jack within 1 metre of your target (distance wise—not necessarily straight) over, say 6 ends—2 short, 2 medium and 2 long. The other role of a lead is to put in 2 close bowls. Do a test and record your result. The next time do it again and see if you have improved. Also you can try bowling around a “bowl in your eye” as a variation to the normal drawing practice.
Rules.
The lead’s job is to correctly place the mat, deliver the jack ensuring it is correctly centred before delivering the first bowl of the end.
Reminders!
The mat needs to be placed on the centre line. If, before the jack has been delivered, a player finds the mat is incorrectly placed, the player who is to play first should correctly place the mat. If the jack is delivered, but before the first bowl is delivered, and the mat is discovered off line the opposing player should replace the mat and redeliver the jack making sure it is centred. The original player starts first.
When delivering the jack, you must be standing on the mat, one foot must be completely on the mat. If your mat is beyond the 2 metre mark, the jack needs to be at least 23 metres from the matline.
When the jack is incorrectly delivered the opposing player/team may place the mat in a position of their choice and deliver the jack again. If the jack is incorrectly delivered again the jack is placed on the 2m line and the mat placed by the first team at a position of their choice.
Remember the jack has to be delivered a minimum of 23 metres.
Etiquette. The customs and rules that govern social interaction; about our behaviour on the green and around the club.
The unwritten or conventional rules of courtesy between players.
Walk quickly when changing ends and walk within the confines of the rink you are playing on.
You shouldn’t walk up the green in front of the last player.
Bowls New Zealand has produced a series of coaching videos, a new initiative from the Bowls New Zealand coaching group for the benefit of the entire bowling community.
Topics include: technique tactics performance nutrition mental skills fitness
Click on the icon to go to the BNZ website. 
