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Petanque Performance Academy
52 members • Free
15 contributions to Petanque Performance Academy
9d •
Dealing with nerves video
After this weekends pool tournament I thought it would be fun to do a video that combines pool and boule https://youtu.be/_qFG7-npOgI?si=lq00uIb-Q3wwnglX
1 like • 8d
Thanks again, Kevin, for these wise insights. It’s really interesting to embrace the mechanism and to put something constructive in opposition to fear. I recognize that fear myself too, although luckily a sports psychologist isn’t immediately necessary 🙂. At the level I’m playing now, I don’t really suffer from anxiety, but some of our newer teammates definitely do. The real art is to make it something we can talk about openly, and to point them toward the path of the PPA offcourse.
11d •
House Rules and Game Variations?
Do any of your clubs have interesting "House Rules" or game variations that you play? Has anyone played with 2 cochonnes - scoring off of each? Lately, we've been playing some 3 vs 3 with each player using all 3 boules. That many boules out there forces practice of different techniques - precision pointing, lobbing over the front mess of boules, shooting to clear a path, etc.
2 likes • 10d
There is little training at our club. You can participate in various competitions four to five times a week. Four times a year, we organize three training sessions for beginners. During these, we at the end sometimes play “tic-tac-toe” or number-kubb.
11d •
Developing a unique playing style?
What do you think about playing style, and how do you actually develop your own? I mostly taught myself by watching YouTube, reading books, and searching for information online. At the club, people often say that everyone plays in their own way. I don’t fully agree with that. In my view, there are certain fundamentals you can’t ignore — for example, without a straight arm movement, you simply can’t throw a truly straight boule. That’s why I really like step-by-step explanations like in this article, which i use as a reference in my training: https://petanque.wordpress.com/how-to/how-to-throw-a-boule/ When I train to reach a higher level, I sometimes consciously try playing styles from top players like Suchaud, Cocciolo, Molinas. But how to incorporate the most useful parts for my own style, at what point does everything start to fall into place logically? Do you have your own playing style, and how did you develop it?
0 likes • 10d
Very interesting what Ciep describes — a very deliberate and systematic approach. Want to learn more on that. My feeling is that the Thai players also put in a relatively large number of training hours. I’ve met the flair players in France as well. You’d almost feel intimidated watching them warm up, shooting carreau after carreau. They’re outspoken and very present, but they can be beaten even by a Dutch tourist 🙂. With an audience watching, it feels like a huge loss of face for them 😢
11d •
Pool competition nerves
Weird situation today. I’m in my first pool competition for 35 years after not playing for 33 years. It’s not huge but I’m actually experiencing nerves and a slight fear of the table. In normal circumstances I’m straight up, smashing balls into the pocket and don’t lose many matches. But on a tough, fast unknown table against unknown opponents where I can’t be my flamboyant self I’ve allowed the nerves and doubt to kick in. So I won the first round and waiting and working on my head and let the flow commence. It’s quite a good feeling but an annoying one as I thought with my knowledge I wouldn’t have this. Just shows how the mind can play funny tricks on you whatever game you play.
0 likes • 11d
This is all very recognizable in pétanque as well. At the start of important matches, I definitely feel a certain tension. Because of that, I often end up playing worse — tension in the arm, mindfulness gone… I also notice that especially the newer players in our team struggle with this. It always remains difficult to put this into perspective mentally, despite all the tips and advice.
12d •
Just for fun… A Match scenario!
Lets say its a tight match, score is 11-12. You are the only one standing with one boule left. The opponent have the point in this round but it is like 1,5m from the jack. And you have the 2nd and 3rd boule. So shoot to win or point safe and play a new round at 12-12? Wich will you choose and why? Does it matter to you if its 6,8 or 10 meters? Happy friday all!
0 likes • 12d
Fun Friday question! My first instinct is always to go for the win and start shooting. But the safe option would be to point — that’s the certainty. In the end, it really depends on who I’m playing with… Shoot three times!
1 like • 12d
@Donald S At our club, some members have been playing the same way for over 25 years… very conservative. 😄 My feeling is that by doing so, they’ve always limited themselves and never really grown beyond a certain level.
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@thijs-poortvliet-7765
A la pétanque, on ne joue jamais seul. Tireur, focused on bettering my shooting and high-lob pointing.
Active 4h ago
Joined Jan 19, 2026
Middelburg, Netherlands