Petanque Team Play Cont. Petanque Coaching tip

Petanque Team Play Cont.  So we are coming to the end of the Petanque Coaching tips and soon launch a more technical group aimed at Coaches as well as players. Here we are rounding up the series with Team play, Roles and tips to all the team. These tips can play an active part in helping a team to victory even if they are playing total rubbish.

Top Tips

We have mentioned in the past about swapping playing positions. It can be when one of your team are having a nightmare or you are losing and want to try something different. As you are not allowed to practise while the game is in play it can be difficult for a struggling player to turn his / her game around. One thing to remember is jack throwing can be tricky.

1. Jack measuring.

This can be a very, very contentious issue. Many games have been ruined by the simple act of getting a tape measure out. It would appear the game evaporates from a fun, just a laugh pastime into a serious, well if you are going to be like that! Grudge match. It is a very difficult thing to do carefully and graciously but the rules are very simple. The jack must be between 6m and 10 metres. 5.95m is not a legal jack, nor is 12.5 metres. What is the problem here? The reality no one is going to play a 4-m jack and most players will struggle to see a 15m jack let alone reach it with their boule. The main problem is Petanque is a game of few rules so people can play without a firm grasp of them. When fun players are involved with a team of players who wish to play at their best a short jack will cause the fun players a few difficulties as this is the length where boule control becomes magnified. Any mistake in controlling the boule will become exaggerated as the percentage difference is amplified. The natural throw is around 8 metres and trying to control a boule on a fast piste over a short distance can catch a lot of players out. Under 6 metres it becomes very tricky and thus a short jack is difficult to play. This frustration as well as the fact it is not legal can lead to a team measuring a jack thus the decline into anger. No one likes to have their boule and jack given back to them. Some people see it as un sporting. If I challenged a World class darts player and moved the throwing position to only two feet away chances are he would not produce his best play. It is this desire to play well that leads many to the tape. The other problem arises when teams who regularly play on 12m pistes become disorientated on a larger pitch and throw the jack as hard as they can to the far side of the pitch. This also takes out teams who are good shooters so sometimes this can be done accidentally on purpose.

Etiquette may help solve the problem with a well chosen " I think that maybe short, long" before the first boule is thrown. Jacks measured before the boule are played tend to be calmer affairs than when the boule have been thrown.

It does go against the "standing away while the other team are throwing discipline" but you do need to get involved at the jack throwing stage. Polite teams will generally ask if you think the jack is in the limits or not. It is very bad form to agree and then measure the jack after they have thrown a really good boule unless it is a long jack and the boule moves it. You are then entitled to measure it if you think the jack may have gone over the 10 metres.

As an aside I watched an interesting game the other week. Team A wanted a short jack. Team B were not bothered. Team A throw the jack and it looks short, They ask Team B if it is short and they agree.

Team A throw the jack again and it looks short. Team A get the tape out and measure the jack. The player draws a line with his finger at 6m to show the measurement and pronounces the jack is OK by six inches. He then winds up the tape and proceeds to point his boule to the jack. The boule stops 6 inches short of the jack. A perfect shot. Team B did not notice the boule had rested in the small line he had made as he measured the jack.

Jack throwing can be tricky!