If you play, you know this. There's the game that turns up when nobody's watching, and the game that has to find you when something is on the line. Those two are rarely the same. Most of what I've spent the last few years learning sits in the gap between them.
I started in the early 90's. The youngest player to take a Southern Counties Region singles title at the time. Two England caps later. A best-team award at the inter-regionals. And still I couldn't always trust which of the two games would turn up on the day. At the end of 2021 I gave up my English licence and took a French one with Cherbourg, starting the 2022 season. I wanted a new challenge, something to really push and test myself.
Five years in France has given me some answers. In 2025, Jérémie Bolle and I reached the Department Doubles final, one win from qualifying for the French Championship. That same summer I won the Jersey International Tête-à-Tête, beating former world champion Julien Lamour in the final. Two very different days, held together by the same quiet routines.
That's really the heart of this. The journal sits on three convictions and five small habits. Habits beat ambition. What you replay is what you keep. Progress is felt before it's measured. The habits make those concrete: mental rewind, slow-arm practice, a pre-shot routine, a session log, daily reading. I'm playing better boule today than I ever have, and most of it comes from doing those few things, quietly, on repeat. The journal is that structure, written down so you can run it yourself.
My next aim is to qualify for a French Championship. I genuinely believe I'm capable of this, and I sincerely hope I can share my journey getting there with you all.
If you see me at a competition or on a piste, please come and say hello. I would love to hear how the journal is helping you, what you are noticing, and what is changing in your game.
