Welcome

On behalf of the Canberra Croquet Club welcome to our coaching programme for potential new players of Croquet. We are pleased you have decided to give the sport a try and hope that you will find it something that you decide to continue on with after your initial lessons. If you have any questions or problems at any time please talk to your coach and they will be only to pleased to help out.

The Club

The Canberra Croquet Club has been a part of the Canberra scenery for a long time. The Club was formed in 1928, and our Clubhouse built in 1931. We have 3 full-sized courts which are used for play all year round.

Equipment

There are a number of Club mallets that you can use during your Coaching. They come in many different lengths, weights and types. Your Coach will help you choose one that suits you.
The lessons are spent almost entirely out on the lawns (if it is raining bring your wet weather gear!). We ask that you wear flat-soled shoes whenever you are on the lawns to help protect them. As most players swing a Croquet mallet centre-style (i.e. between their legs) it is probably best if women wear slacks, or similar, for convenience when playing.

The Game

Croquet is a most interesting and challenging sport. You can play it at any level : purely socially, internationally, and everything in between. It is important to understand that like any complex sport you will not be able to pick up all the rules, complexities, and subtleties in these introductory lessons. It can be described as containing a combination of the strategies of chess and snooker. Hopefully, knowing this will help you avoid becoming too frustrated during your lessons.

In these Introductory Coaching lessons we will be teaching you about "Association Croquet" (the main version of the sport played world-wide), and to start with, a simpler game called "Golf Croquet''.

Resources

Only so much can be accomplished in a 2-hour lesson. Reading books on Croquet is an excellent way to gain insight into what you are learning, and to get extra knowledge.

It is an unfortunate fact that to a new player (and many established players as well) the "Rule Book'' can appear incomprehensible. However, there are a number of very good publications which explain all aspects of the game. An especially good book is an Australian one titled "Beginner's Croquet'' (Chambers and Hall). We have copies on sale at the Club. This book covers the layout of the lawn, how to play the different shots, and basic strategies. The ACT Library Service also has a number of different books at various branches. Better ones are: "The Australian Croquet Manual'' (Sloane), "Croquet: The Skills of the Game'' (Lamb), and "Croquet'' (Solomon).

Members have access to the Club's library, containing both books and videos.

Practice

While reading is necessary the best way to improve is to practice.

We encourage you to practice between lessons and to help in this we can arrange for a Club member to be present at suitable times to allow you to come along and use the lawns. Your Coach will be able to organise this for you.

The Lessons

We structure our lessons in a way which builds up concepts, skills and knowledge. Each lesson consists of one, or more, Modules introducing different parts of the game.

You will receive six 2-hour lessons, as part of a small group. To allow continuity and to minimise time spent at the beginning of each lesson reiterating previous points, we ask that the lessons be given weekly (and preferably 2 or more per week).

If you have problems with certain aspects we encourage you to seek help from your Coach, and to work on them through practice and reading between lessons. Conversely, if you breeze through and display exceptional skills we can introduce you to more complex situations.

At the end of each lesson you will receive sheets outlining the next lesson. These will tell you what you will learn during the lesson, but more importantly how to practice those skills. These sheets are not meant to be coaching notes - there are plenty of books that tell you everything you need to know.

Joining The Club

If you find you like Croquet, and that you would like to join the Club (and we hope you do both), talk to your Coach about getting a Membership Application Form.