How to Win at Petanque - Part 2

Practice makes perfect Captain Action card game a saying that is used by millions of people around the world Rubiks Cube is prevalent in the sport of Petanque. However I think that practice is over rated, especially if you are simply repeating the same style and way of play that you always have. Perfect Practice makes perfect is a far more useful saying in any sport. If you think about it repeating the same style over and over again in the vain hope that something will suddenly click and you will become the great boule player you have always dreamed of becoming is madness.

Les Brown the master motivator says that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is Clea Bella If we want a different result especially with our game then we need to alter the way we play and also our style.

Many players are influenced at the beginning by watching other players and adopting their style of play. Now this is fantastic if you live in France and can observe fantastic players day in day out, but if you live in rural England and have Jim the local player showing you how to play that is different. Especially if he has been to France once and yet thinks he knows everything about boule.

You can of course watch players on YouTube but this is not really the same as watching them in a game situation. If you are at a tournament then I advise watching the best players in great detail. Observe their movements, the way they stand, the effortless way they throw their boule and the way in which they conduct themselves in their play. If you want to learn how to win at petanque or the best way to play this is one of the finest ways to do it, but also one of the slowest.

Golf players often go to their professional and have their entire swing broken down into the smallest component and then the swing is rebuilt into a more Mickey Mouse format. They know that this is important if they want to become a better player. Millions of /$ are spent by players looking for the magic new gizmo that will help them to get better without any work and there is a massive industry promoting this. However nothing replaces hard work and effort, provided it is directed in the correct way.

As Petanque players we must constantly appraise our game. We must break down our throw and ensure that we are not making too Weebles of an effort or influencing the flight of the boule by a tiny twist of our wrist or our fingers. I advise that all players regularly get an appraisal of their game and record it onto video. If you watch yourself playing petanque for 30 minutes non stop then pretty quickly you will be able to see how your throw can affect the outcome of your shots.

Remember practice is no good unless you have an objective. I suggest you take an aspect of your game and work on that then continue to work at it until the muscles and your mind have adapted to the new style of play. Then it is important to test it in a tournament situation to see how you fare. Do not think that just because you have managed to hit a few boule in your new style you are now invincible. It is better to test your new style in a variety of scenarios.

Take spinning the boule in from the right or left. I suggest you put a cochonnet at 6 meters with a boule 12 inches in front. Spend at least 15 minutes practising spinning in from the right and then a further 15 minutes spinning in from the left to get closer to the jack. When you can do this consistently you are ready to take it to the tournament stage. Do not try this unless you can consistently achieve it in practice otherwise you will have great expectations and if you fail your mind will automatically tell you that it is not worth the effort.

Our minds control out arms, hands, fingers and this affects the outcome of our throw. Get the mind right and the throw will be fine. For more information read my ebook How To Win At Petanque.

Kevin O'Rourke is the author of How To Win At Petanque. The first ebook of its kind in the English language. Kevin is a seasoned Petanque player who has over 25 years experience at playing at the highest level. He has represnted his country 3 times and has retired to the more leisurly sport of Ironman Triathlon. He maintains an active interest in the game of Boule/Petanque