The Required Mind-Set to Tactics
THE REQUIRED MIND-SET TO TACTICS
Mind-set: Are you ready for the competition? Before you answer that, let’s try another question. Were you fully ready for the last game or competition, you weren’t! None of us have ever really been fully ready for some of the experiences that we have had to face in our games. Or at least, we have not felt ready. That doesn’t mean that what’s happening to us in the game is bad or wrong play. When something different occurs you probably don’t feel ready for what has happened or starting to happen within your capacity of knowledge and skill. When this ever occurs; be calm, cool and collective; give your head a chance to clear your startled or puzzled thoughts. Go ahead and roll with the experience anyway. You won’t be sorry. Worried? Don’t be, we have recorded a few basic tips that will help keep you in control of your actions. Some clues to the required mind-set to tactics is the team unity in what you do together as one, this is as follows;
Types of training plans: Often in the structure of team selection teams possess knowledge and ability, but their togetherness fails to capitalize on combining the individual talents into one performing unit. These tell tale signs are generally expressed by teams during game mutterings of: “Were tactically doing this wrong, or we should be doing it this way not that way”! Why do we do this? Its because in this modern age of lawn bowls; everyone is an expert, we all have a special field, we all pride ourselves on being up to speed in some key subjects, we all feel that in one particular way, about one particular thing, yes you’ve guessed it, we think we know more than anyone else! Maybe we do. Or maybe we are kidding ourselves. Maybe, in order to tell genuine experts from would-be experts, we need a special team of experts! To do that, what we should do is trust what we truly know, and have the wisdom to seek help when we are out of the team’s winning depth. What we should remember is that training plans bring together what we do know and what we don’t know, and unites us as one thinking unit. “Worried? Yes! No! Well you should be”. In this article we express; “Harmonize and unite as one, never go into a competition without planning and working to a training program”. Coaches, motivators, tacticians and players should be involved in both long and short term planning when it comes to competition. The whole aim of this article is to produce team unity with the best training for team members or individual bowlers up to the time of the respective competition or event. This type of training should involve the following;
- Long term: Consisting of months of training and competition against several opposing teams,
- Short term; Consisting of one week or one month’s training period for a series of games played over one day or a one week competition.
Long term: This involves periodisation training and refers to dividing the training year into three training periods which vary in their purpose and intensity depending on proximity to a major competition. These periods consist of;
- Preparation period; (pre-season) training of 4 to 5 weeks consisting of; pre-selection of teams, training drills that create uniformity, physical fitness, psychological skills, and at least three minor competitive games before the competition period involving briefings, game plans, debriefings and correctional training),
- Competition period (in-season), entailing without failure before and after each game; briefings, game plans and debriefings, minor practice and correction sessions,
- Transition period (active rest for 2 weeks).
Short term: Again never go into a short term competition event without planning a training program. Coaches and players should be involved in planning when it comes to short term competition. The aim of this type of plan is to produce the best performance for the club teams or individual bowlers before and up to the time of the respective championship. The term periodisation in its simple meaning refers to dividing the training into two training periods which vary in their purpose and intensity depending on proximity to the competition. They consist of;
- The preparation period: pre-sessions training of 1 or 4 weeks consisting of; pre-selection of teams, training drills that create uniformity, psychological skills, motivation, tactics and (if possible) at least one, two or three minor competitive games before the competition period which involve briefings, a game plan, debriefings and correctional training or discussion on the relevant points, if possible,
- The competition period: (in-session), entailing without failure before and after each game; briefings, game plan and debriefings, practice and correction sessions,
When a game is lost: Never blame yourself or yourselves if you lost the game. Always look for what part of the overall skills went wrong. Then analyze that skill to find out what caused that skill to falter. What we are implying here is that even though it may look and appear to be the problem; the failure may be caused by another skill e.g.
Tactical Skills: In order to have good tactical skills, one must also have the precise playing skills and knowledge of how and when to support the building and defense of the head. This also includes counter playing skills and intelligence to block or destroy the opposition’s intended head by using the capacity of perception and counter playing movements (training drill etc.) to restrain or block their mode or intention.
Performance Skills: Team members must influence two important factors within the team’s tactical environment. Firstly, how their performance is viewed and secondly, how they will do it. Their effect should be to govern their training and game performance efficiency so that they support, within the game their own team member who plays before and after them as follows;
- Psychological and physiology skills: Our emotional state and thinking are linked with our psychological and physiology skills. Psychological and physiology affects thoughts and thoughts affect the way you react and the way we physically stand e.g. It is impossible, for example to maintain a resourceful state and clear immediate thoughts; when shock tactics are confronted or in a hostile situation that influence your though time reaction, or, your body’s physically standing with a slumped posture, downward-looking eyes and shallow breathing. All these things culminating together at the one time are an explosive mix to work with! You have all seen it before or even experienced it e.g. a situation of shock and silence or an exhibition of driving at anything that lies still at the head, doom and gloom mutterings expressed by the team. “Do we need to go on, No!” but we must say, its imperative that you and your team members have the mental capability of self control and the know-how to study the tactical position of the head, to assist, these tips are as follows;
1. Have the required confidence and ability to direct team members to play the required shots to, into or behind the head e.g. draw, back-wood or blocking shots, on-shots, running and drive shots etc,
2. Must have the mental ability to perceive the opposition’s counter movement before such a shot as in 1 above be played,
3. Without changing your attitude of being cool, calm and collective, you must have the psychological skills to rapidly switch from one mental mode to the other in defense, attack or recovery.
4. Must have the knowledge and ability to employ tactical manoeuvres that counter the opposition’s practical playing skill,
5. Must have the practical playing skills that counter the opposition’s tactical manoeuvres,
6. Must keep in mind that mental stability is remembering that during any game; good physical playing skill can out play tactical skills. That good tactical skill can outplay physical playing skill. Your ultimate aim should be to take both skills into the competitive arena.
7. As a team member you must have the ability understand how, why and when to build a head and how, why and when to destroy it,
8. The team must be able to gain advantage by using the climatic condition of the green surface by tactically manoeuvreing the distance or position of the jack or mat,
9. Every team member must know the fundamental purpose of each shot and know why, how and when to play such shots e.g. the draw shot, on-shots e.g. 30cm, 1m, 2m, 3m or 4m through the head or directly onto a target. This also includes the running and drive shots,
10. For every game you play, go into that game with a disciplined framework of positive attitudes and expectations without unfavorable opinions or feelings like you have never had or felt before, never accept defeat, and perform the duties of your team position until the last bowls of the game come to rest.
Training focus points: These are the central points to which your complete mental attraction, physical attention and training activity must be aligned to your;
- Mental attraction to the competitiveness of the game or competition along the motivational lines of; club culture to win, attitude and compatibility etc,
- Physical and mental attention to being precise in every shot you play,
- Complete training activity towards the team training drills on defense, attack and recovery,
- Interactive communication through briefings, debriefings and game plans. These should be conducted along the lines of; not to look for who’s at fault but when, where and how to correct the practical skills and tactical faults that have occurred, no blame no shame!
Decision making: This is the power or quality of quickly determining judgment and firmness of character when making a tactical decision e.g. During the game, never dwell too long on it, because it can make you nervous and enter your original thoughts into your subconscious mind, which in turn will scatter your brain with many other disastrous thoughts, if this occurs it will alter the pure or creative picture of your visual and mental resolution to the problem. “Remember he or she who hesitates is lost”!
Compatibility: Team members should work on their compatibility; in plain words be capable of existing together in harmony. Compatibility often comes into conflict in the subconscious mind which is on most occasions unrecognizable to many bowlers unless pointed out to them. This relates to the bowler’s sporting desire conflicting with family life, the club or team commitments. Many conflicting aspects of these salient points run silent and occasionally come out into the open with dissatisfaction on both sides of an argument. Before anyone takes up such sporting endeavour’s they should always consider their commitment to their love ones, the club and the team members e.g. time away from your family, your social activity within the club and the required time for team training and competition. Added to this may even be your financial status which may also come to question. If these salient points are not consulted and appeased, it will, at times, have a disastrous affect on your overall lawn bowling performance and your suitability to play in the team, particularly during a game when needed.
Winning: Never be concerned about a slow start of slow periods during the game as long as you are not loosing by high scores against you; big games can be won from any playing period of the game, it’s not how you start but how you finish. If you know you can handle that and lift your standard of play it can only help your confidence throughout the game. To win games even up to grand finals you need to make sure all the little things are done right. You have to complete and execute with attention to detail. Your defense, attack and recovery structures must be second nature by the start of the season. The only difference is pressure during the game. The little things that become easy to lawn bowlers during the home and away games becomes a lot harder under the pressure and atmosphere of grand finals. The team that unravels first loses. That’s when any chinks in the stages of defense, attack or recovery will emerge. The big part of team preparation will be getting their edge on their playing stages right. Even at the best of times, if teams are not attentive to supporting each other they are capable of making poor tactical moves. Teams under training should always be under pressure to improve the decision making and know what is coming from the opposition. Fine tuning their angles and analyzing the decoys on the edges will destabilize the opposing playing modes of the game. Each game you play must project the heroes and winners of you team. It’s who’s willing to make that one last effort? The next effort that has to be better than before! These are players who are willing to support and look after their own team members that play before and after them, these little things make the winning results. Look after the process and the score will take care of itself. Plenty of cool, calm and collectiveness shown by the team rids the nerves and tension, the team that knuckles down into the game is the team that wins. If you have control of your emotions first and foremost you’ll step into the big games a lot easier than most others.
THE STEPS TOWARDS WINNING IS THE UNITY IN PLAYING AS ONE!
