The words on the terrain
Every term here is one the journal actually uses. Each entry links to the article that trains it, which is where the definition came from.
- Landing spot
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The place you want the boule to land, chosen before you throw. Not where you want it to finish. That comes later, and the terrain and landing decide most of it. Naming the landing spot first is what makes a throw reviewable. You can walk up and look at where it actually landed.
Read the article - Donnée
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The French word for the landing spot, and a term you will hear regularly on a terrain in France. It is worth knowing even if you play in English. The donnée is not where the boule finishes, but the spot where you intend it to first touch the ground.
Read the article - Jack
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The small target ball that starts each end and gives every boule its meaning. In French you will usually hear le but, although bouchon, cochonnet and petit are also used.
Some of the drills in this journal deliberately remove the jack. Without a final target to win or lose against, you can pay more attention to the throw itself: where you wanted the boule to land, what it did after landing, and whether that matched what you had pictured.
Read the article - Circle
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The ring you throw from. In a match, both feet must stay inside it and on the ground until the boule has left your hand.
In practice, the circle also gives you a fixed starting point. Come back to the same place for each attempt and you remove one unnecessary variable, making it easier to notice what changed in the throw and what effect that had.
Read the article - End
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One round of play. The jack is thrown, both teams play their boules, the points are counted, then the next end begins from where the jack finished.
A game is made up of a series of ends. Each one gives you a new situation to read and solve, which is why what happens from one end to the next can tell you far more than a single throw.
Read the article - Pointing
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Playing a boule to finish as close to the jack as possible, rather than trying to hit another boule.
A good point starts before the throw. You read the terrain, choose where you want the boule to land, picture how it will travel afterwards, then decide the trajectory and pace that give it the best chance of finishing where you want.
Read the article - Shooting
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Playing a boule to hit and displace another boule, usually an opponent’s.
Where pointing asks you to control where your own boule finishes, shooting asks you to remove or change what is already there. The target is the boule itself, and success is judged by the contact you make and what happens afterwards.
Read the article - Release
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The moment the boule leaves your hand. It is where the throw you intended becomes the boule you actually played.
Because your eyes naturally want to follow the boule towards its target, it is easy to rush past this part of the movement. Paying attention to the release and finish can help you notice what the throw felt like before the result tells you what happened.
Read the article - Arc
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The shape of the boule’s flight, seen whole rather than as a target. Picturing the arc does not control the ground — it cannot flatten a stone. What it does is let you decide the entire shot before you throw, instead of deciding only where you want the boule to end up.
Read the article - Terrain
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The ground you are playing on. It shapes what happens after the boule lands.
A small change in slope, hardness, stones or surface can send two very similar throws in different directions. Learning to read the terrain is therefore a skill in its own right: first decide what you want the boule to do, then choose the landing spot, trajectory and pace that give it the best chance.
Read the article - Piste
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A marked lane or area of terrain used for a game, often one of several laid out side by side at a club or competition.
The word is common among English-speaking pétanque players, but in France you are much more likely to hear terrain. For that reason, the French version of this journal treats it simply as part of the terrain rather than as a separate term.
Read the article - Frame
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This journal’s name for the picture of the next shot you carry into the circle: what you have seen, what you have decided, and what you intend the boule to do.
The previous boule can easily stay with you, especially after a miss. A reset helps clear that away so the next shot can be judged and played on its own.
Read the article - Quiet Eye
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A research term for the final steady look at a relevant target or location before the movement begins.
Studies across a range of aiming tasks have often found that more skilled performers hold this final fixation for longer. That does not mean simply staring for longer will improve the shot. What matters seems to be how vision, attention and movement come together as the player prepares to act.
Read the article - Slow Arm
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This journal’s name for deliberately slowing the throwing movement — to about half your usual arm speed — so you have more time to notice what your arm, hand and release are doing.
It is not a new technique to learn. Slow it down, notice what happens, then return to your normal throw and see what you still feel.
Read the article - Pre-shot routine
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The familiar sequence you go through after deciding on a shot and before starting the throw.
Most players already have some form of routine, even if they have never thought about it. Its value is not in any particular action, but in giving each shot the same clear starting point before you commit to the throw.
Read the article