Jan-Feb 2012 by Queensland Bowler

Jan-Feb 2012

Queensland Champs Grab your nomination form inside

to e m o Welc ry first e our v ! issue

Rohan Wilson and Sean Ingham Australia始s newest junior reps joined us for a chat

AN ONLINE BOWLS MAGAZINE FOR JUNIORS

February

19 Contact:

Sunshine Coast District Junior Training. Buderim Bowls Club. Ken Armitage - 5492 5780 Pam Diblasi - 5452 7742

March 31- April 5 Junior State Championships. Bundaberg District. Contact: Roxanne Bell - Bowls Queensland (07) 3355 9988.

School visits near you

3 7 10

Burnett Awards Follow the Tweeters Junior champs

4 8 9

February 29

Training Tips Bill Cornehls

March 1 March 2

Shrek始s Say Brett Murphy

Contributions: Are there any juniors going places at your club? Have a big under-18 event coming up that you would like featured? Any other junior related action happening in your area? Send us any junior related news so we can give your club a shout-out.

Our promo van is making plenty of school visits this year. Is your school getting its roll on yet?

Aussie reps

March 8

March 9

Dennison State School Emerald North State School Emerald State School St Patrick始s Primary School Emerald State High School Marist College Emerald Blackwater North State School Blackwater State School Bluff State School Blackwater State High School

Contact details Email: qldbowler@bowlsqld.org Twitter Account: @bowlsqld Official Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/bowlsqueensland Phone: (07) 3355 9988

Bolivia named Burnett始s best Burnett Bowls Club acknowledged some of its best juniors in a joint presentation day at the end of 2011. Boasting an incredibly talented junior crop, many of these winners are not only the club始s best but some of the best in the state. Unsurprisingly, the formidable Millerick twins featured heavily among the trophies in their last year as juniors. Bolivia was named the Dell Bawden Memorial Junior Bowler of the Year and was also the Peter Walton Tyre and Batteries 14-18 Junior singles winner. Cassandra edged out her twin to take out the Del Baxter & Betty Murray 14-18 Junior Consistency Singles. The sisters also joined forces to take out the Barritts Butchery 14-18 years pairs title over Paul Kajewski and Rikki-Lee Kemp. Another multiple award winner was Jennifer Boutell, who made the step up to the 2012 under-18 Queensland squad. Boutell won the Ros and Des Kemp Most Improved Junior Bowler and was runner-up in the 14-18 singles. The under-14 age group was dominated by Stephanie Buckholz and Matthew Bailey, who also teamed up to take out the Bundaberg Trophies pairs title. Runners-up Luke Thompson and Justin Holder, also came second in the Under-14 singles and consistency singles, respectively. Bailey was also awarded the Under-14 Junior singles title over Thompson and Buckholz received the Under-14 Junior Consistency singles over Holder. 2011始s most inspirational bowler, Patrick Cotter, received the Keith Ware Encouragement Award. After a long-term struggle to get on the green, Cotter now has a specially made wheelchair for him to help him further his love of bowls. Georgia Melham-Mackay was the recipient of the Amy and Danny Cummings Encouragement Award. With the Millericks turning 18 this year, it will be a tight race to see who can take their mantle in Burnett始s junior ranks.

Queenslanders to don green and gold Gold Coast products Rohan Wilson and Sean ingham have both been selected as Australiaʼs boys representatives for the upcoming Trans-Tasman test. The two talented players sat down with us to talk about their selection and their final year in the junior competitions in Queensland. First of all, congratulations on being selected as Australiaʼs under-18 boys for the 2012 Trans-Tasman test. What was your reaction? Rohan: It was good,yeah. When we first made it [into the under-18 development squad] in Victoria, I was surprised. There was four Queenslanders in the squad, two boys and two girls, so that was pretty good for Queensland. Sean: Well, we were playing bowls at the time. Rohan must have got his call before mine and I was still playing and had like five missed calls on my phone when I got off the green. I was stoked to be able to represent your country at something you love doing. You dream about this sort of stuff. Were you surprised to get the call up over the other squad members? R: Yeah, there was eight in the squad [picked at Junior Nationals in 2011] so six had to miss out. Itʼs pretty hard in the juniors because everyone is playing different disciplines so it was hard to know if you would get in. Were you worried about the possibility that one of you would be picked and the other would miss out? R: I wouldnʼt have been too worried [if Sean had made it], because I was just happy to make the squad and if Sean got in, I wouldʼve

been happy because it would at least there would be a Queenslander in the squad. Itʼs always been New South Wales and Victoria so itʼs about time Queensland dominated a little. Are you nervous about the test? S: Weʼve never played for our country before so itʼs going to be good. With state games we know what to expect, you get the feel for it. The nerves are going to be there [in the lead up to the Test]. R: Thereʼs only three tests as well. So, if you lose the first one, itʼs going to put more pressure on you to win the second and third tests. Does it ease some of the nerves playing with someone you know really well? R: It wouldʼve been a bit weird to play with someone from a different state because youʼre not sure how they play and what shots they want to play. Sean and I have played districts together and a couple of state events so we know each otherʼs games pretty well and we know how the other likes to play. This is obviously going to be a massive challenge for you guys. How are you going to prepare? S: [Iʼll] have a couple of rolls. We play heaps of bowls on weekends, representing our clubs.

R: It sort of makes it harder because itʼs Premier League and Super Challenge season and the Australian Openʼs coming up and thereʼs all these different events to play and with work and everything itʼs sort of hard to fit it all in. Last year, you went to Auckland as part of a development squad with state coach Bill Cornehls. How will that experience help when you head to Invercargill in March? S: When we went to Auckland, we got a feel for the different surfaces over there. Itʼs crazy what some of those guys there have to play on. Scoring range over here is really close, like itʼs really tight. Over there, youʼve just got to get them within a metre. Itʼs harder to get them real smack bang on target. R: It was all right. We found they played a different style of game to us. We play more of a yard shot, while they sort of had more of two types of shot, so you either draw or you drive because itʻs harder for them to do the yard shots. Thatʼs what probably caught us out on the first day. We were trying to play the yard and they were playing more aggressive shots at the head, and more draws. S: Itʼs harder over there because of the surfaces. Over here, itʼs a bit easier to play that yard shot because the greens over there turn a lot more than they do here.

You have both been extremely successful in Queensland junior competitions over the last few years. Is it hard to perform at the level which is expected of you? S: Yeah, expectations are pretty high from some people. R: Some juniors look up to us so weʼre expected to do the right things and play well. You donʼt want to let yourself down either, though. S: [Expectations within yourself] keep you going, I guess. If you settle down a bit, you might drop off a little bit so expectations can be a good thing. They keep you doing well. R: Itʼs also motivates me to improve. Itʼs like you know what you can do and so you try to push yourself that little bit more to try and stand out, especially in juniors. Looking to this yearʼs nationals, do you think more states will be gunning for you after some really good returns in 2010 and 2011 (Queensland won the overall trophy in 2010 and brought back multiple medals last year)? R: Weʼve probably got a big target on our back now. They want to come out and beat us.

Rohan Wilson Ingham shows his talent in last yearʼs state junior singles final.

S: They always think weʼre not going to go so well down south because the greens are so slow. Some people get the idea that Queenslanders canʼt play on slow greens R: They think that all our greens are quick. But when we go down there, like NSW, we play on slow tracks and especially in Victoria, where itʼs even slower. How do you think the Maroons will go this year with the extra attention from the other states? R: I think this yearʼs going to be pretty good for us. Weʼve got four guys from the team last year who are still eligible this year. But, some of the main ones from New South Wales and Victoria are turning or have turned 18, so they wonʼt be there. So, weʼre going to be the oldies of the bunch. S: Yeah, theyʼve got a lot of younger people coming through. The sides that we played against this year at nationals were all really experienced sides and all their players had played top grade down in their states for their clubs. So, this year, weʼve got that advantage. Then again, they could have those players there that we donʼt even know about yet. A lot of the boys in the side this year will have played against and with you, not only at state, but also at district level. Is there a bit of rivalry between the Gold Coast guys? S: In the state side, four out of the five of us are Gold Coast players. We all play in the same district so whenever district championships comes around, weʼre always out to get each other. But at the end of it weʼre all mates.

Age: 17 Club: Helensvale Greatest bowls moment: Winning the state boysʼ singles in 2011 Best achievement outside bowls: getting my driverʼs license and finishing school Best advice received: Trust your draw and back your drive Greatest Influence: My dad, Cameron. Favourite sport outside bowls: Cricket, rugby league and AFL Pre-game routine: If Iʼm at Helensvale, I usually have a roast beef roll and chips and just try to relax Most dreaded opponent: My dad because of his sledging. R: Itʼs tough because if Seanʼs not in a final or Iʼm not in a final, the two Leese boys are in the final. Weʼre always around if not getting beaten in the semis by each other. S: The competition definitely helps your standard of bowls go up. You know youʼve got to play well to beat them. R: Itʼs good for your state. Because four of us are Gold Coast boys, we know each otherʼs game and weʼre all good mates. Thereʼs no mixed emotions about it and youʼre more laidback about it. So, itʼs always good heading into a test with people you know. So, what are your goals for your last under-18 year? R: Youʼve got to put more practice in because you know youʼve only got one chance at it. So, if you lose then thatʼs it for the junior career. So youʼve got to put a bit more into it. Itʼs good to see some more younger people getting through the ranks, like we did. S: I donʼt have any concrete goals really. Hopefully, Iʼll win some junior state titles up in Bundaberg. And how are you going to approach the transition into opens? S: Our standard of bowls has got to go up another level again.

Weʼll be playing against the likes of Case (Australian player Mark Casey] and other top bowlers. Those kind of guys donʼt give you much room to make errors. R: It helps now, even in juniors, when you play for a strong club [Ingham plays at Broadbeach and Rohan is at Helensvale] even if you only have one district player, theyʼre still pretty good. To play districts in Queensland is a good achievement. Weʼre around the good players now and weʼll be playing against these top boys all the time. You really want to play well against them and make a good impression. S: Also, playing with these sort of players, you realise that everyone has a bad day. So if you do have a bad day, you donʼt get as hard on yourself because you see these guys do it. They all do it and it makes you feel better.

Sean Ingham

Wilson concentrates in the 2011 junior singles Rohan, how has playing at a club like Helensvale with so many top players helped your development? R: You definitely learn a lot from them. The way they play under pressure and the way they play shots and when they play those shots. The first two years I played with [menʼs Queensland representative] Anthony Kiepe and I led for him for two years. Iʼve had games with Nathan (Rice) and learnt from Nathan and Mark Casey. This year I was with Brett Wilkie, so Iʼve played with them all. It is really good experience in the big games because they help you, even if you are playing badly. They always try to keep you up for it. Itʼs always nice to have some support. I thought it would take a lot longer. A lot of them have been playing for like 15 years and theyʼre just breaking into the Australian side whereas weʼve been playing for five and weʼre in the juniors team. Sean, you recently made the move to Broadbeach. How has that helped your development as a player? S: Theyʼre really supportive, just like my old club. Broadbeach have got a lot of future and theyʼre holding the Commonwealth Games. Nerang built me up pretty well and a few of the guys there said youʼre probably better off going to a better club and play with some better players. The players at Broadbeach have had a lot of experience as

Age: 17 Club: Broadbeach Greatest bowls moment: Skipping the menʼs triples to the 2011 QLD title Best achievement outside bowls: finishing school (in 2011) Best advice received: Bobby Marron always told me when playing a game, try to get [to the jack] as quickly as possible. Also, always to stay grounded. Greatest Influence: Ken Spilsted and my parents Favourite sport outside bowls: Rugby League Pre-game routine: Zoning out and listening to music Most dreaded opponent: My sister, Lauren, because she has an ability to get inside my head. well. I played with Sean Baker heaps. He was really great to play with and heʼs young too. Heʼs left Broady now but weʼve still got others there. What aspects of your game will you be focussing on improving? R: End of the day, itʼs just consistency. S: Trying to get nice and close all the time. What would you say to other young bowlers trying to break into the top level of bowls? R: The best oneʼs probably to keep training and itʼs not all about winning events. Itʼs about being consistent in events so you get noticed. If you make three finals in a year, itʼs better than not making any. Even if you get to semis consistently, itʼs still all right. Obviously you need to get away from bowls sometimes. What do you like doing when you have time off? R: Hang around with the family and spend time with my girlfriend (fellow Queensland player, Cass Millerick).

Follow these bowls tweeters Each issue weʼll recommend some bowling tweeters to add to your tweets for you to follow so you can keep up with the world of bowls and connect with those in the know.

Who:

Why follow her:

Kelsey Cottrell is the Australian women’s singles representative. She has played over 150 international matches since her 2005 debut. Cottrell plays for Sydney’s St John’s Park and is studying Journalism (Sports Management) at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. She will be a key member of the 2012 World Championships team.

As a journalism student, Cottrell provides great insight into what’s going on in her career in an interesting way.

Who:

Why follow him:

Wilkie is the current Australian men’s singles representative. He debuted for Australia in 2009, the same year that he won the World Champion of Champions. In 2012, he will be attempting to regain that title as well as juggling club, state and national commitments. 2011 saw Wilkie reach a career-high world number two ranking.

He tweets pretty much everyday but won’t clog up your homepage with spam and pointless retwists.

Her messages of support to other bowlers also show the fellowship in the sport of lawn bowls and point you to some of the other high profile bowling personalities on Twitter.

Wilkie travels around the world to play bowls and his twitter is like a 140 character diary of his adventures and career, giving his followers a unique insight into the lifestyle of an elite bowler.

Establish a new routine Creating a pre-delivery process will help you do the little things right every time you roll a bowl. As a student of or new lawn bowls player, there are certain important areas that are regularly overlooked. Some key aspects of the game that are often overlooked are coaching, how to deliver a bowl, etiquette, training, and a range of other basic elements of bowls. These things may be neglected because there are so many things to remember in the sport or because they can be so basic that you sometimes assume that you have taken them into account. If youʼre at school, a good example of this is thinking about your morning routine. Every morning you get up and get ready for school in pretty much the same way. Even though it is the same each day, sometimes you forget to grab lunch or homework or your sports clothes or some other equally important item. Because you do it everyday, you follow your routine almost automatically each morning during the school week and, without realising, it can be easy to forget the daily necessities. As a bowler, you have probably improved a lot since you began in the sport and most likely still have a long way to go to. That being said, it would be almost impossible for you to list all that you have learned since picking up your first bowl because many of these lessons are simply ingrained in your game now. Your coach or club starts to help you along the pathway to your bowling career and they can help you to remember some of the things you may have forgotten. Looking specifically at the delivery of a bowl, you might neglect a part of your delivery. This could lead to missing an important link of your delivery sequence and in training or games you may bowl nothing bowls. So, how can you go back and discover what you missed unless your coach picks it up? Well, the place to start is at the very beginning. Many new bowlers or junior bowlers never take a close look at

Bill Cornehls Current Queensland coach and Australian representative bowler

the beginning of the delivery or their pre-delivery routine. Because you are so focused on the process of rolling a bowl to reach the best finishing point (the target area), bowlers often forget to look at the sequence that occurs leading up to the delivery of the bowl. I know when I first started playing bowls, and I think you would as well, I would ask why my delivery resulted in a narrow, wide, short or long bowl. Your total delivery can be improved by looking at what takes place before the bowl leaves your hands in a match. This is where a pre-delivery routine comes into play. When I was first playing bowls, I was more concerned with getting the bowl close to the jack and barely thought about what I did before I delivered the bowl. As I became more experienced in the game, I began to consider the difference my pre-delivery processes could make to the end result of my shots. Having a pre-delivery routine helps to organise all the sequences that you go through before stepping on to the mat to deliver your bowl. A simple pre-delivery routine helps the bowler to prepare to play a bowl. A regular pre-delivery routine will ensure that you: have a suitable grip on the bowl, check the bias, visualise the line, step on the mat, focus on the spot where you want your bowl to finish, get into the delivery stance and, finally, deliver the bowl. If you donʼt have a pre-delivery routine, speak with your coach or club coach and discuss how to go about it and the benefits of such a practice. As a coach I would recommend you think about having a procedure in place as a starting point to assist you to do the same thing over and over when playing a bowl, with either a draw shot or running shot. If you do, the pre-delivery routine will be the same for both shots and you will be able to alter the swing of your arm to achieve

Seven steps to success 1. Suitable grip 2. Check the bias 3. Visualise the line 4. Step on the mat 5. Focus on finishing spot 6. Get into delivery stance 7. Deliver the bowl these different types of shots when you want to.

ently so you need to establish an individual routine.

If you have a pre-delivery routine in place already, thatʼs great.

Once you have a pre-delivery routine that feels right for you, you will be less likely to forget to do the basic things right.

If you donʼt have a routine please consider seeing your coach and get them to help you establish one to suit you. Each person plays bowls differ-

Consistency is key and focussing on the process rather than just the end result will help you perform better all the time.

Shrekʼs Say

Your time has come The time for new junior bowlers to shine is coming up fast. The 2012 Junior State Championships will be held from March 31 – April 5 at Bargara, Tantitha and Burnett Bowls Clubs. All of these clubs have produced good juniors in recent years, so they will relish the chance to host the event in 2012.

A number of title races could go to anybody this year, most prominently the open girlsʼ singles. Carly Griffiths from Pine Rivers has hogged the trophy for the past four years but, now ineligible, she has no way of nabbing a fifth. Whoever succeeds Griffiths will be joining an exclusive club of bowlers, many of whom have gone on to become household names. National singles representative, Kelsey Cottrell, and her captain Lynsey Armitage have both won the trophy in recent years. The 2011 boysʼ singles champion, Helensvaleʼs Rohan Wilson, will be back to defend his title. Wilsonʼs title kicked off a stellar year for him, in which he collected a national bronze singles medal and was selected to represent Australia. He will have the perfect preparation coming into the championships, with the Trans-Tasman test earlier in March sure to provide some tough matches. His Australian teammate, Sean Ingham, will also have a chance to defend his pairs and fours titles in what will be his final year in the junior ranks.

2011 winners Joel and Josh Andersen, from Pialba.

Taleah Putney (right) with 2011 state under-15s singles runner-up Brittany Wiley (left). Putney is hoping to retain her title in 2012. Queensland representative Natasha Jones will be attempting to retain her 2011 pairs title, with partner Jessica Parolin,who will be competing for her final time in the junior division. Jones will also be hoping for a successful final junior titles for her triples teammates, Cassandra and Bolivia Millerick. The girlsʼ fours title holders have lost one member to an 18th birthday, in Elizabeth McKillop, but Lauren Wilson and Parolin could re-enter the fray this year. Braidan Leese will be a massive threat in the boyʼs competition, moving out of under-15 competition this year. Leese has won the boyʼs under-15 singles for the last three years and has also been part of the winning open triples side in all of those years. The boysʼ fours title winners will also be back for the most part, missing only Mitch Wilson. The under-15 open pairs should be an interesting contest, with defending champions Josh and Joel Andersen moving up to the open juniors competition. Taleah Putney, the 2011 under-15 girlsʼ singles champion, will be on her home turf to claim back-to-back wins and should prove tough to beat in her division. Queenslandʼs best will battle it out in the Bundaberg region from March 31-April 5. If you would like to nominate in any of the disciplines, turn to pg 10.

Are you a high school student who loves to play bowls?

to be decided by close of business on Monday April 23.

Want to represent your school in the sport that you love and maybe bring back a trophy for your school?

Once you make it through the clubs, your district winner must be announced by July 23.

Well, weʼve got the competition for you.

District winners will compete as one of twenty teams in the September state finals.

The eighth annual All Schools Cup state finals are being held in September this year and weʼre looking for bowlers just like you to get involved.

If you make it to the state finals, you and your partner could join the ranks of some top bowlers who have won the prize in the past.

September might seem like ages away, clubs should be starting to organise play offs to decide their representatives.

You donʼt need to be a bowling member to enter but you do need some support from a supervising teacher.

The competition moved from triples to an open pairs competition last year and we will be sticking with that format again, so all-girls, all-boys or mixed teams are eligible to play.

Once you have a staff member to help you, may need to have a competition at your school to determine your representative.

Teams will play three bowl pairs, with two nine end sets and a tie breaker if necessary. Both members of the pair must go to the same high school, with TAFE students ineligible. If you are the only bowler at your school, try and get a friend to come along and represent your school in a club play-off. If you are at a club with players from more than one school, you are going to have to fight it out for a place in the district finals. Your club must host their playoffs in Term 1, with the winners

The successful team can then head to your schoolʼs closest club and register for the statewide competition. You will then compete against other schools, with the winner moving on to represent the club at district level. With only two months to go until club winners must be announced, time is running out to get involved in Queenslandʼs only school-based bowls competition. For all the nitty gritty, go to the Juniors page on the Bowls Queensland website, http://www.bowlsqld.org.