Staff Reporter
Windhoek-The Namibia Bowling Association (NBA) hosted a training course for Level 1 coaches as part of the development of the sport of lawn bowls last week between Thursday and Sunday.
The four-day course was conducted by Con Dixie, a Level 4 coach and member of the Standing Committee for Coaches, Bowls South Africa. It is the policy of Bowls South Africa to assist their neighbours, as they are the strongest bowling community in the region.
Six candidates attended the gathering with ages ranging from 16 to 70 years, dispelling on the myth that Bowls is just for old people. Four facilitators, who had already attended a coaching course, were in attendance to help Dixie present the course and assist candidates where they could.
A great deal of hard work, in the shape of the theory of coaching, was put in by the candidates but together with facilitators, they also had a lot of fun out on the bowling green doing practical work.
In addition to being taught how to coach able-bodied athletes, candidates were introduced to the coaching of people with disabilities, such as being blind or deaf, and those in wheelchairs or bowlers who cannot bend their knees and have to make use of an aid called a bowling arm.
The candidates themselves were “pupils” for this exercise and got to experience for themselves how it feels to have these disabilities.
On the last day of the course, candidates were obliged to present the first coaching lesson to a new bowler, demonstrating and emphasising the correct techniques they had learned over the past days.
The NBA, by training new coaches, hopes to improve the overall quality of lawn bowls in Namibia by teaching new bowlers the correct techniques from the beginning, whilst also honing the skills of the average bowler and national team players.