Petanque Coaching tip. Jack is the scoring area marker

We have been talking about the jack and how it is the centre of the scoring area. In this tip we revisit jumping jacks just as a reminder. If the jack moves, the scoring area moves with it, of course it does! This means you can move the scoring area to your advantage or disadvantage. If the jack moves close to a dead boule line then the scoring area is reduced and will have a flat line on one side of the zone. This is particularly important if you are playing a boule to a moved jack. Do not be jack obsessed and point to the jack. Look at the scoring area available to you and use it. It depends on whether the opposition have boule left a whole world can open up. Do not worry if the boule looks a long way away from the jack. The key is if it is scoring or not. A boule 6 inches away but over a dead boule line is no use to anyone if the scoring area is 6 feet in diameter.  A close boule is vanity a scoring boule is sanity.