Coonabarabran's young lawn bowl superstar Sam Bowman (16), has been selected in the 2023 Bowls New South Wales Junior Representative and Development squad.

This is not Sam's first rodeo in his bowls career, having competed since the age of nine.

"Lawn bowls plays a huge part in my family. My older brother, father and grandfather have all played bowls," he said.

"I first got into the sport after two volunteers at the Coonabarabran Bowling Club started running junior bowls drill sessions and I fell in love with the sport from there. My pop was a big bowler at the time as well, so I always watched him play.".

Sam is currently a member of one the largest competitive zones in NSW, the Zone 4 Bowling Association. Zone 4 includes towns ranging from Coonabarabran, as far East as Lithgow, to as far south as Cowra and as west as Bourke and Cobar.

"I love taking part in competitions. You get to travel to so many places. Our zone is just one of seven other zones across NSW, so you get to meet so many new people and travel to a bunch of new places. Winning or losing, it is all a great experience".

Sam says he was scouted for the 2023 Bowls NSW Junior squad at one of the main bowls competitions held closer to home.

"Selectors travel to most competitions , and the one held in Dubbo is one of the main competitions, where all zones go against each other. My team, Zone 4, won gold for the second year in a row.

"We went against over 120 competitors and came out on top. It was a huge achievement for myself because I hadn't made the zone team for a few years, and the first year I have been selected we won," he said.

ABOVE: Sam Bowman in action at the Club Bowls playing in Zone Championships. PHOTO: Supplied. 

Being selected in the NSW Junior team is another accolade added to Sam's already huge list, says Sam's mother Katrina Bowman.

"Sam's long list of achievements are a credit to his own hard work and dedication to the sport," Mrs Bowman said.

"He is well- known as an amazing skip, which means he is the last player to bowl, he directs his team as to what the game plan is and how to play shots with the best chance of producing a score for the team. It is a very important job.

"Sam's Zone 4 team won a gold medal at the 2022 Zone Championships held in Dubbo.

"He has also been recognised as the most successful skip at the 2022 NSW Combined High Schools Bowls State Championships against 32 other skips and was awarded 'Most Valuable Player' for the North West Schools Sports Association, which enabled him to gain selection into the Combined High Schools squad to play in Melbourne at the National School's Championships where his team won another gold medal.

ABOVE: Sam Bowman with his MVP and 'Most Successful Skip' medals at the Combined High Schools Lawn Bowls Championships in Penrith. PHOTO: Supplied. 

Mrs Bowman believes Sam's achievements all come down to his dedication to bowls.

"We are very proud of Sam. He puts in a lot of hard work and competes wonderfully. He has a great nature for the sport, he is very calm and takes it all in his strive.

"He has made so many life-long friends from the sport. It is a very competitive and skilful sport, with less injuries," she said.

From this squad, the Junior Committee will select players to represent the NSW Junior Blues later in the year. Sam will take part in several competitions including the travelling to Queensland to compete in a super series against a Queensland team.

Between now and August, Sam is going to continue doing what he does best.

"I currently train about twice a week at the Coonabarabran Bowling Club to prepare for more competitions throughout the year. I also have to complete a monthly report as well as travel to Sydney to take part in more training and drills with the NSW Junior Bowls Squad. I am super excited to see what 2023 brings".

The Western Plains App wishes Sam the best of luck!