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Perseverance pays off for Heitzman as he wins first national title |
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"I tackle the big games by being as prepared as possible," he said,
"I'm a big believer in practice, practice, practice and then taking
that into a game situation." "Like anything in life, if you keep giving yourself the opportunity by continuously putting yourself in that position, you'll learn how to deal with situations better and eventually achieve what you set out to do." The perseverance has paid off this year at the EIBA National Championships, Martin was crowned Men's Two Wood Singles Champion, beating England star 21-16 in the final. "I've always been guilty of not quite believing in myself at the real top level... so to win my first EIBA singles title against the best player in the country in the final, was the perfect way for it to happen," he said. "Sam's a class act and I almost had no choice but to be bang on my game, otherwise he'll make you look silly. "Not believing in myself is a funny thing, because it's not even something I can explain. I just know that in latter stages of nationals or Potters qualifier finals etc, I've lost 20 to 30 percent of my game up until now and it's costly and super frustrating." Having reached the semi-final stage of the Two Wood singles last year, where he lost out 15-21 to Martin Puckett, Martin knew he just had to "keep knocking on the door." "I also qualified to the national finals in three other competition this season, so knew I had a few chances to follow and felt quite relaxed," Martin added. "Having a prelim is generally not the ideal scenario either but with this format being so quick and having to play international player Stuart Irwin first up, it almost worked to my advantage playing a game and then taking momentum into the first round. "I'm super proud to have finally won a big one and I hope this now gives me the confidence to go on and achieve even more in the game. "Good things happen when you have a little bit of self-belief!" The Falaise IBC player is no stranger to winning titles. Having been introduced to bowls by his "legend" grandfather Geoff at the age of eight, Martin quickly fell in love with the game. "I always remember winning my first outdoor singles tournament and my grandad coming up to me after the game, completely oblivious that I'd just won 500 Pounds, slotting a fiver in my back pocket and whispering in my ear "Don't tell your Nan," he recalled. "I love the people in bowls. You can't beat catching up with mates from all four corners of the country at the Nationals. I've made friends for life through bowls that I've been to Ibiza and festivals with! "The main person I've looked up to in recent years is Mark Royal. Anyone who knows Royally, will know that he's the nicest man on the planet and living with him for 12 months or so really calmed me down and changed my outlook on life. I'll always have a lot of love for that man!" Martin is a former Bowls England Junior International and has won an impressive six Open Singles Circuit tournaments. "Unfortunately living back down in Hastings it's now a stretch to drive to comps," he said. "But the OSC along with playing junior internationals have been my best achievements. The junior England days were class, the banter with the lads and the atmosphere on the green was always something I looked forward to! "Given the opportunity, I'd love to be involved with the full England side indoors and that's most definitely an aspiration of mine." Another ambition is qualifying for Potters. "You hear people talk about how tough the blue carpet is and I'd love to have a crack at testing myself against the best on there," Martin said. "I've tried to qualify the last few years and lost in a couple of finals, so hopefully that goes the same way as the Two Wood Singles has for me! "The PBA's have always frustrated me slightly. The Top 16 know the carpet at Potters like the back of their hand and it's always been so hard for qualifiers going out there fresh and trying to compete. "I'd love to see it opened up to more entrants and continue to see different faces on the blue carpet. There's so many good singles players that could make the World Indoor Singles championship more exciting and make each year different. "You only have to look at what Jamie Walker and Wayne Willgress have done given the opportunity! Since Jason Parkinson has taken over, he's already made so many positive changes so I'm sure that'll only be a matter of time." Sian Honnor Previous Article Mikey Titcombe |
May 2023
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