Sturt VI put coaching principles to good use in a hard-fought 54–51 win over Torrensville at home on Saturday 17 October.
Team Leader Wayne Berryman drew the principles from Club Coach Izzy Trenorden's recent Development Day.
"On the Day, I took three key points from each session and wrote them in my notebook for easy reference. I decided to use them in my team leadership role, for consistency."
Wayne was particularly pleased with the side’s belief, persistence and ability to keep bowls in the game throughout the afternoon.
Report by Team Leader Wayne Berryman
In the team meeting before the game, we agreed our focus this week was the coaching principle to “ignore perceived pressure and have strong belief in your next shot, knowing it is within your skill set."
We also welcomed back Richard Sismey as a valued, experienced skipper.
Bowling with a slight crosswind on our terrific greens, it proved a challenge against Torrensville who started well.
However, all rinks persisted with our coaching objectives and we entered sandwich time with skippers Martin Fry leading 10 to 8 after 12 ends, Phil McCartney leading 14 to 7 after 12 ends and Richard Sismey 6 to 4 after 10 ends.
After a nice lunch, we talked about maintaining our club spirit when the opposition inevitably challenged.
The last half was as expected with Martin Fry wining 19–18 with 12 winning ends.
Richard Sismey finished 13–16 despite winning 13 ends in a close game that could have gone either way.
Phil McCartney’s team held their composure to win 22–12, winning 12 ends.
Most pleasing was to win 37 ends against 26, confirming our coaching principle of getting “bowls in the game”.
The overall win was 54–51 and we take the points.
The game was played in good spirit and the rinks shared some laughs.
It proved difficult to separate best players. However, Martin Fry mentioned the continued improvement of Ned (Amanda) Kelly and all had their moments when needed.
Phil McCartney said it was a good team effort on his rink and was happy to report consistent numbers around the head, especially from Libby Lock and Giovanni Spagnuolo in a new role as second.
Richard was Richard and thanked his team with all contributing in a low scoring game with 13 winning ends.
It was good to get the points at home, and we look forward to continued improvement.