Pétanque: The Greatest Game You Never Heard Of: Beyond Bocce, The Elegant & Intelligent French Game of Boules
I love sports. From my early days as an iron pounding gym-rat I branched into technique orientated activities which demand precise bio-mechanics to ensure efficiency, effectiveness and to minimize repetitive motion injury: the astoundingly complex motion of a tennis serve, rolling a fully loaded 19-ft. long sea kayak in 3-ft. swells, the excruciatingly painful, yet artful hand and foot jams of a crack climber and yes, the beautiful flowing whip-like motion of Petanque's au fer shootingall require substantial time commitment and precise instruction to master and unerringly replicate.That's why I was astounded to discover that a comprehensive Pétanque book had never been written in English or translated from the French. To compound the problem few U.S. Pétanque clubs offer formal or periodic throwing techniques and strategy classes, let alone a structured introduction to rules and etiquette which should be a prerequisite for every novice. That's when the impulse to write the book first struck. I pushed that impulse aside, assuming that I didn't understand or appreciate the informal training that would be provided by experienced club members. So I joined the esteemed Portland Pétanque Club and immediately inquired about classes, hiring a coach and written/video training materials. The reaction was open ridicule by the regulars who apparently felt threatened that I was attempting to impose an American hyper-competitive, techniques-obsessed approach onto their beloved game.In complete disbelief I discovered that the entire Portland Petanque training program is, "be nice to the regular players and they'll give you a few tips."I don't have the time or the patience to learn rules, techniques and strategies through trial-and-error. After six weeks of contradictory "tips" and purposely misleading information (how do you say "Red Herring" in French?) I announced my intention to research and write an English language book. Immediately I was shunned; not a single player I spoke with had any interest in the project. I appealed to the president of the FPUSA (the American Pétanque Association) who is also a member of the Portland Pétanque Club to scour the U.S. membership for interested players but my emails went unanswered. Unsuccessful in recruiting domestic assistance, in the Fall of 2010 I took a three-week Petanque tour of  Belgium and France. My trip provided great exposure to both recreational club players and high-level competition. I performed several interviews with players who had no reservations about sharing their knowledge and love for the game.What ultimately made this project so fulfilling and successful was the interaction of the members of my two start-up Pétanque groups.Together we drilled into Pétanque's essence and derived the critical techniques, strategies and etiquette that make it such an incredible sport and threw out all of the ridiculous misogynistic nonsense.The cynic may characterize this approach as "the blind leading the blind". I believe that the book speaks for itself, as reflected in several positive reviews written by clubs throughout the English speaking Petanque world. I would have greatly welcomed and appreciated support from the rank-and-file players and the American Pétanque Association, but that would have produced a much different book; a book that towed the line and supported the status quo - and I couldn't live with that. Consequently, it's been a bittersweet journey.But I speak for the entire membership of Palm Springs Petanque and Lake Oswego Pétanque when I say that we are proud to help usher in a new inclusive, community-based era of "Pétanque American-Style".We hope that you come to love the game as much as we do.