Carla’s Corner – Edition Two
Dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist and world champion Carla Krizanic continues to share her insights in her second column for bowls.com.au, as she lives through Victorian lockdown restrictions while eagerly awaiting the arrival of her second child.
After scratching the surface on preparing for events during this week’s ‘The Right Line’ podcast, I wanted to delve a little deeper into this crucial topic in my weekly column, because the most common thing people ask me is about their delivery and how they can improve it.
Deliveries come in all shapes and sizes and there is definitely not one size that fits all. When you look at the textbook delivery of Barrie Lester, the fastest delivery ever of Aaron Wilson or the slightly unusual looking delivery of Jeremy Henry, you notice much similarity between them. However, all three players deliveries are continuously effective and extremely successful, so they are obviously doing something right.
For me, it’s about experimenting on the green, working out what works best for you and making that delivery as consistent as possible. The most important aspect of a delivery is not how textbook it looks, but that you are doing the same thing every time you deliver a bowl.
We might master our delivery for a while, but it’s inevitable that we all develop little issues along the way, the changes are often subtle and go unnoticed unless you have a thorough look at your technique every now and then.
I have always taken the Victorian off-season as a chance to look at my delivery and make any changes that I think may be of benefit. It may be something as small as changing my grip slightly or my pre-shot routine, but every one-percent counts, so if I can improve my delivery slightly then it’s worth it. I choose this time of the year because I have more time to experiment with changes and make things a habit. Trying to alter your delivery in the days leading up to an event is a challenge, as it takes time to make the changes respond like muscle-memory and a habit rather than having to physically think about and remind yourself each time you go to bowl.
I personally have found that a technique coach who knows my delivery inside-out has been vital to my success over the years. Sunbury’s club coach Mark Cowan has videos of my delivery every year for the past decade that we can look at and analyse to identify where things have altered or where we can get better.
Unfortunately, we can’t see ourselves bowling so having a trustful eye of someone else is a great step in keeping your technique in fine tune, so I highly recommend finding someone you feel you can trust and work with to perfect your delivery.
However, it doesn’t matter how great a technique coach is at the end of the day, because the only person who can put the theory into practice and improve your delivery is yourself. The coach can give you the best advice under the sun but unless you’re willing to get out on the green and delvier bowl after bowl until that change becomes a habit, you will not see any benefit.
Until next week, stay safe and good bowling (for those that are fortunate enough to be allowed).
Carla Krizanic.
