One Boule, One Chance

In a match, the picture keeps changing. This drill gives you one boule to read it, make a choice and play the shot you see.

Think about what happens when you practise the same shot six times.

The first boule tells you something. Maybe the terrain is quicker than you expected. The second is a little better. By the third or fourth, you have a much clearer idea of the weight, the line and where you want the boule to land.

That is useful practice. But it is not quite what happens in a match.

In a game, the picture keeps changing. A boule moves. The jack moves. The distance changes. Someone blocks the line you wanted. Suddenly you have a different problem to solve.

And you normally have to solve it with the next boule.

This drill is about getting used to a new picture, making a decision and trusting your first attempt.

What are we practising?

One simple question:

Can I work out what this shot needs when I only get one attempt at it?

That does not mean you have to play a perfect boule. A miss can still be useful. What matters is whether you looked at the situation properly, made a clear choice and committed to the shot you had chosen.

There is no score and nothing to pass. We are simply taking away something you normally have in practice: the chance to throw another boule at exactly the same problem.

What you need

Keep it simple.

Your normal boules, a jack and a few flat markers or spare objects. If you have spare boules, use those as obstacles or as boules already in play.

You do not need to build complicated situations. In fact, the more they look like things you might actually see in a match, the better.

Set up three different pictures

Start with three situations. You have three boules, so you are going to play one boule at each.

For example:

1. A comfortable point. A distance and line you would normally expect yourself to handle.
2. A long one. Out near your limit, where you have to carry the boule most of the way.
3. A decision to make. Put another boule in the way. Give yourself a choice of landing spots. Or create a position where pointing and shooting could both make sense.

Now play them in order. One boule at each picture.

Then collect everything, change the three situations and go again. Two rounds gives you six different problems to solve.

Don’t make everything difficult

This matters.

The aim is not to invent six horrible shots and see how many you can survive. A match contains comfortable shots as well as difficult ones.

So vary the question, not just the difficulty. Change things such as:

• the distance
• the line
• the landing spot
• the ground
• whether another boule is in the way
• whether you need to point or shoot
• whether there is more than one sensible solution

If every shot feels like a trick shot, you have probably gone too far. Make them look like pétanque.

Before each boule

Take your normal time.

1. Read the picture.What is the terrain doing? Where could the boule land? What is in the way? What does the position actually need?
2. Choose.Point or shoot? Which line? Which landing spot? What are you asking the boule to do?
3. Commit.Once you have chosen, play that shot. Try not to stand in the circle still debating three different options.
4. Throw.Use your normal routine and your normal rhythm.
5. Notice.What actually happened? Did the boule do what you pictured? Did anything feel different from what you expected?
6. Move on.Then move to a new picture.

The important rule: no repeat throw

This is probably the hardest part of the drill.

You miss. Immediately you know what you want to change. “That was too long. I’ll just take a little off.” And your hand reaches for another boule.

Normally, that second boule can be really useful. But not here. Take what the first boule taught you and move to the next picture.

Why? Because the second boule is no longer solving the same problem. You now know more about the line, the weight and the terrain than you did before the first attempt. That is exactly the information we are temporarily taking away.

One picture. One decision. One boule. Move on.

What should you notice?

Do not just count how many boules finished close to the jack. There are more useful things to look for.

Did I still use my routine? When the picture changed, did you still take the time you normally need? Or did you rush because every shot felt different?

Did I make a clear decision? You do not need to choose instantly. Some situations genuinely deserve a little thought. But once you have made your choice, did you actually commit to it?

Did I carry the last boule into the next one? This is an interesting one. You play a boule too long. The next situation is completely different, but you suddenly play too cautiously because the previous miss is still in your head. Notice when that happens. Each new picture deserves to be read for what it is.

Did anything you’ve practised before show up naturally? Maybe you have been working on a particular landing spot. Maybe you have been trying to slow the arm down. Maybe you have a cue or part of your routine that you have practised repeatedly. Did it appear here without you having to force it? That is worth noticing. It suggests something you have been practising is starting to become available when the situation changes.

Make the drill harder

Start simple. You do not need pressure, awkward obstacles and difficult distances straight away. First see whether you can keep the same process when the picture changes.

Then add one thing at a time. You could:

• change the terrain between shots
• put a boule in your preferred line
• give yourself two possible landing spots and make yourself choose
• create a genuine point-or-shoot decision
• include a distance you normally avoid
• make the jack position less comfortable
• change the angle from the circle

But keep some easier situations as well. Six difficult shots becomes a test. Six different situations remains practice.

Why not just repeat the same shot?

Because repetition and this drill are doing different jobs.

If you want to understand a particular shot, repeating it can be extremely useful. You throw. You notice. You adjust. You throw again. That gives your body lots of chances to explore the same problem.

This drill does not replace that. Instead, it asks another question: can you use what you have been practising when the next situation is different?

The research around varied and random practice is not simple enough to claim that constantly changing the task is always better than repetition. That is not the reason for this drill. The reason is much more practical.

A pétanque match repeatedly asks you to look at a new situation, decide what it needs and play the boule without first having a practice attempt. So it makes sense to practise that sometimes too.

Use repetition to work something out. Then change the picture and see if you can find it again.

After six boules

You do not need to record every result. Before you leave the terrain, ask yourself:

• Which picture made me stop and think?
• Did I rush any of my decisions?
• Did I carry a previous miss into the next boule?
• Did anything I have been practising recently show up naturally?
• What shot or situation do I want to spend more time on next?

That last question is particularly useful. This drill can expose something that needs more work.

Perhaps eight metres repeatedly made you uncomfortable. Perhaps you struggled whenever another boule blocked your favourite landing spot. Perhaps your routine disappeared whenever you had a choice to make.

Good. Now you have something specific to practise.

That might mean going back to a repetition drill and spending some time with it. Then, another day, come back here and see whether you can find it again when the picture changes.

Practise it. Leave it. Change the picture. See if you can find it again.

Part of the guide to practising pétanque alone, alongside The Late Release Drill and The Landing Spot. The research behind it is set out in the Practice Alone research companion.