UK coaches give Tigers a boost

MANY of Guernsey's best young bowlers have benefited from a weekend of coaching from two recognised English coaches. Mike Hayward and Richard Lovell taught the Guernsey Tigers Bowls Club youngsters over three days at the Hougue du Pommier.

The head of the club, Mavis Richards, said that the weekend, funded by Fly for Sport, gave the budding youngsters something to think about. 'It definitely gave the youngsters a lot of food for thought. They weren't used to having coaches of this experience and they learnt a lot,' she said.

'On the Friday evening, they were only going to watch the youngsters playing their league matches. However, there was one lad who was going on holiday on the Saturday, so they gave him two hours of individual coaching, which was brilliant,' she said. Every bowler received two hours of tutoring and, said Richards, just as important was the presentation that Hayward and Lovell gave at lunchtime on the final day.

'It was on how to conduct yourselves properly when you are on the green and highlighting the fact that you always need to show good sportsmanship. When our players travel to England for matches, they are told that they must conduct themselves in a certain manner. They aren't just representing themselves, they are also representing the club and the island.'