Marilyn Bradbury an outstanding Club Coach
Bowls WA Awards Night – Club Coach of the Year
The Bowls WA Club Coach of the year was presented by State Academy Coach Linda Warburton, one of the many great coaches we have in WA. As we know coaches play an extremely crucial role in our sport and we thank all the club coaches for the outstanding work they do.
This year’s recipient was Merriwa AFA’s Marilyn Bradbury who was perhaps the most surprised of all the award winners on the night and was barely able to speak at times given how excited and overwhelmed she was to win the award.
A summary of all Bowls WA Award winners can be found via this link
Marilyn was also pleased to be interviewed by Master of Ceremonies Clive Adams who she noted presented her with her coaches accreditation after she has successfully completed the required course to become a club coach. Her passion for coaching is very evident with Marilyn taking on a range of bowlers but perhaps her specialty has come in the form of coaching for players who are transitioning to bowling arms. This coaching has been really important at her club which in situated in a retirement village and has many older players who have kept active in the game through her guidance with the use of the Bowlers Arm after they have struggled with knee or back issues.
Marilyn herself is an accomplished bowler having won the club singles six times and has won the singles title with and without the use of an ‘arm’, so is well qualified to coach both forms of the game.
She started coaching in October 2017, and rather than having set coaching times, she fits in with the players’ schedule. ‘I like one-to-one sessions and after each one I keep a record of how the player is going and what we have worked on.’
Marilyn has one burning ambition and that is to teach the game to children and hopes to bring that to fruition by getting the grandchildren of current Merriwa members to try it out. In that way she hopes the parents might also be interested, which could be a means of attracting new players.
Marilyn although short on words summed it up best when she said, “I just love my bowls and I just love helping people.”
Once again congratulations to Marilyn Bradbury the Bowls WA Club Coach of the Year for 2021/22 season.
