now, it's time for a short petanque lesson. haha. i found a few articles on the sins of petanque by ray ager. and i find them quite useful. i did not copy & paste hor. i copied & edited it, before pasting it. haha.
sin no. 1: not playing as a team
playing as separate individuals, rather than working together as a team is the worst & one of the most common deadly sins to commit.
where should we throw the jack? the correct answer is to a distance that best suits our team and disadvantages our opponents. this means that we need to talk to our team-mates, consider different options, evaluate the relative strengths and weaknesses of both our own team and the opponents, the score, etc, and then make a team decision about how far to throw the jack.
if we are good team players, we should also be asking where to throw the jack- on a smooth area, on a slope, on deeper gravel, on a stony area. again, these are all factors that should be taken into account.
we also need to practise. throwing the jack, something often neglected but it's something that can be a vital skill to give us the edge in a game.
so, now we've thrown the jack- better, our team has thrown the jack. one of the most important principles to learn is to think & behave as a team.
we should always discuss tactics & hopefully take a team decision on what shot to play & who is going to play, e.g. when pointing we should decide: - what type of shot? rolling, half-lob, high lob - what line to take? - where to land the boule? - are we trying to get as near the jack as possible, tap a boule out, play onto another boule?
think positive, don't say let's try one shot, implying doubt and uncertainty. it's much better to say let's take out the holding boule, a positive statement that says what we're going to do.
when we've played our boules, don't walk off the terrain taking no further interest or part in the end. instead, stay together as a team & help to advise the other team players on what shot to play.
if one of us is the pointer & pointing well, he or she can help our team by indicating the best line to take, the best landing spot, etc. although he or she has played the boules, he or she is still part of the team and he or she should be involved and play an active part in team decisions.
if we stand together, we're showing that we're together as a team. if we've got one player behind the circle, one behind the jack and another chatting to players on the next terrain, this is showing that we're not together as a team.
another related sin to poor team work is the frustration shot. the pointer points a couple of boules in quick succession & fail to beat the opponent's holding boule. or, without thought and consultation, the shooter fires off a few wild rolling shots that end up off the terrain, missing the opponent's boule by a mile!
what sins were committed? - failure to consult and agree which shot & who is to play. - playing too quickly. - probably not filling in the last hole, then complaining about a bad bounce.
are you guilty of the 1st sin? i don't know who is ray ager. he also said that most of us are multiple sinners. i think there are about 5 more sins. so look out for them. haha.
we are a bunch of young & promising petanque players
we play, eat & sleep petanque
club: sports boules singapore
home: #01-02 Toa Payoh Swimming Complex, 301 Toa Payoh Lorong 6, Singapore 319392
boss: mr anthony peter ho
jiao lian: mr eddie lim
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