Basic throwing techniques for a petanque boule

We have looked at the history of the game, the surface it is played on now we are getting to the real stuff. Throwing a boule. This section is looking at pointing. There are five main areas to cover the throw. Feet, Grip, Backswing, Release and what on earth you other hand is doing. Many coaches split the release into release and follow through. We will cover it in one note later.

So lets start with the Feet, Feet and Feet.

Everything needs good foundations, be it, a building, a bridge or a sports player.

If you can achieve the base it allows you to concentrate on the task in hand without falling over when you are trying to carry, hit, bend or throw something. It all starts with the feet.

Petanque is an interesting sport as far as feet go, it’s name is thought to derive from the French term Feet together. The concept of throwing from a circle allows the player to develop their own stance whilst keeping in the confines of a limiting area. The introduction of new plastic circles, once rare, now commonplace gives plenty of room for manoeuvre. Times in the past witnessed the jokers of the game drawing a circle 35cm diameter to constrict those players with a wide stance. Not really in the spirit of the game but jolly funny to witness. The wide stance player looking like someone had tied their shoe laces together and was just waiting for the swaying shooter to hit the ground like a felled tree. Different times….. Anyway the vast expanse of the new 50cm circles give plenty of room and allow a vast range of feet styles to be accommodated. Some players even stand on the edge of the circle just in case it blows away. It could be particularly windy and they use both feet to hold it down. Rest assured no matter how windy the player may think it might be, this is not allowed and feet must be completely in the circle without touching the edge.