More Petanque waffle Tactics, Understanding and explaining Part 3

More Petanque waffle Tactics, Understanding and explaining                                      

In the cold winter months play is limited and this year especially so this month we are looking at some food for thought away from the chilly piste. This is part three of  Tactics. Basic and advance tactics.

1. Tactical discussions. These are important points that the whole game of petanque revolves around. They will start with questions, lots and lots of questions. Who is calling the coin toss, who is marking the circle, where is the circle going to be placed, what colour jack are you using, who is throwing the jack, how long is the jack to be thrown, where are the team going to stand when the player is throwing, in what direction should it be thrown, who is going to mark the jack, who is throwing the first point, where should this point be placed, who is going to agree the score with the opposition, who is going to measure. This is just the first boule thrown. I am sure there are other questions but before play starts teams should know the answers to these. As the end develops the questions are generally reduced. Most stick with the old favourite, shoot or point? Teams can be predicable and second guessing what they are going to do is part of the game. If the opposition are reluctant to shoot then a point maybe the best option. If they have an area to point into then you will be taking on the task of shooting a lot of boule. Shooting 4 or 5 boule is attractive but a single miss will give them a point and control of the game. It may be a point played at an early stage will be good enough to take all the oppositions boule. The head will be compact but it will give you the choice to take a small score but control of the game or play a decisive shot on the jack or take out their most dangerous boule. Part of the tactical play is to beat the team you are playing. If they do not shoot a lot chances are they rely on their pointing and thus are good at it. Even if they are not brilliant at pointing they will crowd the head making it tricky to score a large number of points in an end. It may lead to frustration but that is an enemy of your team and an ally of the opposition. 13 points is not a great amount and by taking one in a risky situation maybe the perfect tactic. Keep control of the jack, its length, direction and the first point.  The other end of the scale is the opposition that shoot everything. They are looking to score a big end and batter away any boule close to the jack. These teams need to be treated with caution and each boule played will need to be carefully analysed. Early points could well be aimed right on to the jack with a chance the opposition kill the end as the boule and jack impact will cause the jack to go dead. They could be placed in a situation that is in an on position but can be easily beaten by a pointed boule. If the opposition have a game plan they will shoot this boule without question but it can shake the belief of the player shooting the boule as they look at the gaping distance between your boule and the jack. If the barrage continues through the end then a big score is looking lightly and boule need to be played defensively. Either touching an opposition boule, touching the jack or placed short but taking into account where the scoring zone is to try and reduce the score. Not all the hits will be carreaus, hopefully! The other tactic will be to shoot back to reduce the oppositions score. Dead boule never count!  There can be no right answer with tactics, everyone plays differently. It is up to the coach to know the options and how ends develop so players can be taught to spot dangers