SEASON REVIEW

Five years down the line now in this crown green bowling adventure and the trajectory of improvement continues it's steady course upwards.
Playing in one of the top divisions of local league this season has had it's challenges and particularly away from home, but that Thursday evening environment has brought me on no end. Our Eagle Blues team is competitive with a good spirit and from an individual point of view, tens wins from twenty matches in the Leyland & District League is a sound starting point from which to believe I can keep getting better. My record in the Chorley League was also my best so far.
The season started for me by beating Accrington bowler Simon Pearson quite convincingly at Longridge Spring Singles and then ended losing to... Accrington bowler Simon Pearson quite convincingly at Longridge Autumn Singles. A lot of stuff happened in between, but the Simon factor requires more attention than just the sheer coincidence.
There's not a lot between us as bowlers I don't think, but there was a steady and steely belief about Simon in our second meeting and his form late season was testimony to that. You can look up to the top bowlers, admire and try to replicate them. There's no harm in gazing too far up the ladder, but the next rung is what really matters and there was something about playing Simon that made me realise how I need to equip myself in the future and how close I might be to even better results if I can just keep more of a level head and grab on to some consistency.
I still get excited, probably too excited. Every game is an intense experience and I enjoy that side of it, I've always been that sort of sporting competitor and for me, that drives improvement. But as I have been told by teammates past and present, I need to stop beating myself up and getting in to a dark place when I make mistakes or just happen to be having one of those days when it's just not happening.
This still remains a big challenge and ultimately will still define when, or if, my game develops further or reaches a plateau.
This season had it's disappointing moments, but generally it has been one firm step in the right direction and having beaten or given some good games to quite a few players of repute. But it's an 8-21 defeat at Brownedge towards the end of May that I'll probably most fondly remember the 2025 season for.
Playing the ultimate legend of the game Brian Duncan was as much an honour and a privilege as it was an unlikely twist of fate. Too much of an honour perhaps as I played the weight of the game's greatest rather than concentrating enough on the actual match. I can't beat myself up for not being able to put the blinkers on the enormity of my opponent that evening though. If I hadn't have been so nervous and oozed so much respect, then one might question just what the hell I'm doing playing the game in the first place.