Bowls

Convenor: Christian Huang | Article by: Anne Marie Gutierrez

SCC did it again! Under leadership of Captain and skip of the team – Edmund, young Bryan and 11-year-old Arman clinched the gold at the National Men’s Triple tournament.

Captain Edmund kindly shared some words of wisdom encouragement and advice:

When I formed this team, I communicated a very important message to the team that the key is to do our best and enjoy the game. The results were secondary, although we were confident of getting past the group stages given that the top four of each group qualifies. To be honest, we didn’t start off the tournament too well, losing to tough opponents of seasoned National Squad members (Anthony Loh, Bernard Foo and Thomas Leong) and to another very strong SCC team (Srini, Hui Kai, Harriman). However, the fact that even after the two losses our shots difference were merely -3 gave us hope that we could eventually persevere and qualify for the knockout stages. In fact, we were leading all the way through these couple of matches until the lapse of concentration caused us to lose the matches in the final stages. Therefore, the team was able to focus our efforts on where we needed to improve, as the cause of our defeats was easily identified. Hence, after the two losses, we never looked back but instead we tightened our defence (even when we are down on the head) to start winning the remainder of the matches comfortably. As we progressed, the youngsters’ confidence in the team grew and we collectively felt less intimated by our opponents. Having said that, the team’s expectations remained grounded, and we took every progression as a bonus. SCC National Men’s Triple winners Edmund, Arman and Bryan. Another key success factor for the team was that we understood one anothers’ imperfection, so at no point did any of the teammates get frustrated with one another. We were just laughing off our mistakes, and soon found mistakes to be far and in between. In fact, it was such a learning journey that Bryan and myself found ourselves focusing on coaching the mindset and “getting the weight and line” for Arman during game play itself. Arman is already demonstrating a perfect delivery stance thanks to the great coaches in SCC that guided him along the way. As overused as the phrase “sky’s the limit” is, it is thoroughly fitting to describe Arman. To conclude, with no expectations, good team spirit and a nothing-to-lose attitude really got us through. Now, we can happily declare that Arman at the age of 11 is part of the team that is the current National Men’s Champion for Triples! This will probably be a record that is hard to beat for many years to come. I can already see the headlines: “National Champion before PSLE”. Hahahah!

The fist pump from Arman when we finally won our first match. The moment we huddled together jumping for joy when we won the tournament, although Bryan was SWEATING A LOT.

Bowls is really a mix of social and competitiveness. It doesn’t discriminate, so anyone can excel in it as long as you treat it seriously enough. Last but not least, Bowls calms me down from the daily grind. For the 120 minutes when I’m playing Bowls, everything else that keeps me awake at night will be blocked out. Therapeutic!

Always stay calm, no matter what situation you are in when bowling competitively. You certainly can’t be bowling well when your hands are trembling due to nerves. A related point is that you have to constantly believe in yourself and your teammates. In a team game, I’ve told many that success is derived from 80% teamwork, and 20% skills; this tournament win definitely proved that to a certain degree.

As I mentioned early, the game doesn’t discriminate. Treat it seriously enough, and it may soon be a part of your life and provide you satisfaction that you never imagined before. I’m actually still buzzing for Bryan and Arman now as I’m writing this.

Always stay humble and keep learning from more experienced players. As you become established enough, remember what you have benefitted from in terms of guidance and pay it forward. The Bowls scene can only prosper if there are more participants and thus we become more competitive collectively as a nation.

Arman surveying his toucher winning shot in the ditch with accompanying second winning shot.