A GROUP of young lawn bowlers took their first step towards furthering their sporting dreams when two teams from the Swan Hill region competed at the Bowls Victoria Under 18 Doug Kneebone Tournament at Club Sunbury last Thursday.
It was the first time in over a decade that a team has represented our region at the event, with the trip designed to give junior bowlers exposure at a higher level of competition, as well as providing a future pathway for any talented juniors looking to progress to higher honours.
Country Manager for North West Bowls Josh Thornton told The Guardian this week that the day was a big success.
“It was always going to be a successful day in my mind, regardless of the results, because it was the first time we’ve taken any junior representative sides out of this area for a long time,” Thornton said.
“I think the kids got a lot out of it, in terms of just having their eyes opened to other talented kids around the state and what the competition is potentially like if they ever want to progress through the pathways.”
“We took two teams, with one of our teams finishing about midfield in the competition, but the main aim was that the kids in both teams really enjoyed themselves and the feedback we received was that they couldn’t wait until the next coaching session.”
The players played in teams of four, each side playing six matches for the day in a combination of singles, triples and pairs events.
The representative team followed on from the Murray Mallee Region Junior Coaching Day, which was held at the Murray Downs Golf and Country Club before Christmas, with juniors from Swan Hill, Manangatang, Nyah, Mildura and Leitchville all in attendance.
According to Thornton, this is just the first step in what he hopes will be an ongoing program in our region – a program that he has high hopes for.
“I came through the ranks as a 13-year-old and whilst I had pathway opportunities back home to progress through, until now, there hasn’t been those same opportunities up here,” Thornton said.
“So now, for any kid that might be thinking of trying a different sport, we know that within this area we are about to have a pathway set up that will give them the opportunity to progress in lawn bowls and then who knows, we might even end up unearthing our next Australian player.”
“Personally, I’d love to be involved in something that achieves that dream for someone, it’s a big part of why I do the job that I do and I just hope that something like that comes to fruition one day.”
