Amaze your friends. Astound your colleagues. Spinning a petanque boule sideways.

Amaze your friends. Astound your colleagues. Spinning a petanque boule sideways.

We have discussed last time the bonus of a front boule. We questioned whether to try a knock up shot on your boule or let the opposition do it for you. A front boule is always a good boule and can cause all sorts of problems. To ensure you are not on the receiving end of these dangers we are going to look at spinning a boule in from the side. Now we need to steady ourselves, as this can be tricky in two ways. One, to carry out this shot and Two, how to explain it in words.

For the first exercise, take a line and peg it at the front of your throwing circle and take it up the middle of your practice area or piste. This line will show how you can land the boule one side and spin it so it travels over the line and stops on the other side. If you are right handed the first task will be to land on the right hand side of the line and the boule will stop on the left-hand side of the line. Do not worry at this stage at the length the boule stops. Try seven or eight metres at first. The normal method of applying backspin is used to spin the boule. Take the boule in your hand with palm uppermost. Rest the boule comfortably in your hand. Turn your hand over so the palm is face down. This would be the normal attitude for throwing a straight boule. Now twist your wrist at forty-five degrees. The boule should be facing the ground to the left of your feet or circle. Told you this would be tricky. Now throw the boule with a back swing and then release when your hand is finished its forward swing. The trick is to keep your hand at the angle you first set it at. Do not try to flick the boule as you throw. The attitude of your palm and fingers will place sidespin on the boule. Hopefully you will have seen the boule land on the right of the line and spin left over the line. Or I have explained it badly and you have broken another pane in the greenhouse.

This is a rudimentary description of how to spin a boule but, once seen and you can believe it possible, this can be worked on to improve and perfect.

You may have noticed the boule travelled further than you expected. This is because the braking backspin is reduced in favour of the side spin. The next task is to focus on this problem. Place a jack at seven metres from the circle but 12 inches to the left of the line. Land on the right of the line and try to point to the jack. You will find the boule will travel further on landing so it needs to be landing closer to you. Here you can see the bend the boule takes as it travels down the piste.

Once you can spin the boule to the jack, try throwing the boule slightly higher. This can be used to correct the forward travel once the boule has landed. The boule tends to take a dramatic kick to the left. This shot can be used to get round that annoying front boule.

As a matter of interest this type of shot, using side spin, can be used to make your boule travel in a straight line along a sloping piste. No honestly!

If you are left-handed you can try to spin the boule left to right by reversing the instructions above.

It is possible to spin the boule both ways, but for now, we will stick to just one way. Time and the ability to describe how, forbids it.