Mind Your Bowling – Part 1

Mindfulness is a bit of a buzzword in sport these days, with more teams and athletes using it and advocating the positive effect it has had on them and their results.

One of the most successful coaches in the US is NBA basketball coach Phil Jackson, who coached both the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers to a combined 11 national championships. He introduced mindfulness to both teams and believes it was instrumental to their success. In my country of Australia, the winner of the AFL Premiership in 2017 was the Richmond Tigers, and the players and coaches involved with the team have openly stated that one of the keys to their winning the Grand Final in front of 100,000 fans was the introduction of mindfulness into their training and preparation routine.

Part 1 of Mind Your Bowling is going to define what mindfulness is (and isn’t), explore what some of the potential benefits to bowlers and coaches are, and then look at some practical ways mindfulness can be incorporated into your own practice and training routines for use in competitive bowling.

What is mindfulness?

Emma Murray, the mindfulness coach behind the Richmond Tigers’ AFL Premiership success last year, describes mindfulness as having your attention on what is happening right here, right now. “It’s about having your full attention and focus on the present moment. Many people think they live in the moment, but few really do. When you’re mindful, you have one single focus, ...