Kevin’s into the 1/4. 13-1 win first game this morning.

Kevin’s into the final.

Wishing you the best of luck in France, Kevin. I’ll continue supporting you and this awesome community you are creating.

@Lee Herring I learnt to control my arm speed more. Training became less about just hitting boule or more on being able to acknowledge the speed of my arm. I effectively became more present in my actual movement. This gave me far better control to release the boule how I wanted, more often. I’ve always had a tendency to release early and a bit flat and still do from time to time. Normally linked to fatigue or tiredness, old habits re-surfacing I think the mental rehearsal. This is something @Matt Blyton can offer some really good advise on. I pause and ensure in my mind I’m approaching a shot more like a lob or placement. Same can be said of the point. I’m crystal clear not just what I want to do but also how and what it will hopefully look like. This subtle change of thought completely changes the way I throw the boule or perform the movement.

@Lee Herring I’m not too family with Johnnys technique but I’ll have to pick his book up. I suspect it’s a bit similar. He’s obviously a world champ and I’m just a very good Petanque enthusiast, heh. Visualisation is incredibly powerful. The subconscious part of your brain understands it like its own language so rather than just stepping into the circle. If you can. Visualise it through rehearsed steps. Your more likely to manifest that outcome. Matt talks about the circle being an inner sanctuary, blocking out any negativity. He’s right. If you become inherently confident in yourself, I.e you believe you can achieve, then there’s 0 room for doubt. No doubt, no busy mind. Mind can’t think positive and negative at the same time. It’s impossible. You’re more likely to be balanced, frees up subconscious to do what it needs to do. I think the moment you allow your subconscious to think about the outcome, it’ll activate your conscious part of your brain. In short, no good. I’m extremely process driven in practice, to the point I don’t even care if I’m hitting the target or not. That’s not my measurement of improvement. Instead I’m mentally rehearsing like I would in a game and appreciating the feeling of the movement. My practice is focused on consistent execution of the gesture in a controlled manner. I kinda treat it the same to how I meditate in that in mediation I’m just focusing on the breath and all my other thoughts disappear and my heart rate slows down completely. If I focus on just how the boule feels in the hand or the feeling of the release as apposed to. “I must hit this shot” I always throw the boule miles better. You’re actually drawing your focus and concentration to a specific aspect. It’s quietens downs the thinking part of the mind so creates a better state of balance which is optimal to throwing the boule how you want. “With Clarity Comes Confidence.” It’s the Clarity which provides the visualisation. Visualisation is super powerful.

@Arnbjörn Rodt 100% I’ll let @Kevin ORourke share his wisdom. He’s recommend some amazing books to me. I’ve then gone on to recommend to many more people.

Sounds like it’s a bit about expectations. I used to put pressure on myself because I wanted to impress people and prove what I was capable of. Now my focus is different. Instead of chasing results, I focus on recreating the feeling of throwing a great boule. I measure success by the quality of my gesture and how consistently I can repeat it. I’m able to stay relaxed and focused at the same time. When you’re outcome focused, your mind drifts to the result, your opponents, or what might go wrong. That mindset makes it hard to bring in new bits you’ve been training to as your more likely to default to the old. Before every throw, I ask myself: 1. What’s the plan? 2. Where am I landing it? 3. What does the shot look like? That clarity helps me visualise the shot, stay present, and block out everything else. After that, it’s about trust. If you truly trust yourself, doubt has no space. Your mind can’t hold a positive and negative thought at the same time. It’s impossible. The key is also how you react to each shot. Your reaction shapes the emotion and type of focus you carry into the next one. Learn to respond well and repeat it until it becomes a habit. Shift your focus from “I must play well” to “I will execute this shot well.” The rest takes care of itself. "I trust myself"