WHEN Eric Mayhew watched his first game of indoor bowls as a 12-year-old he thought it was a simple sport, but now, as a 25-year-old, he knows that to succeed takes both physical and mental skill.
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That is why he was delighted when claiming silver in the men's singles at the recent National Indoor Bias Bowls Championship at Mount Gambier.
Representing NSW at the nationals for the seventh time, Mayhew won seven of the nine games he played to finish second.
It added to the national silver he won for men's triples in 2017.
"To win my second national medal was an amazing feeling and to do it in the singles event made it extra special," Mayhew said.
"Any game of bowls at this level is tough, but especially singles as you don't have team-mates supporting or helping you analyse scenarios from different perspectives."
For Mayhew, his first individual national silver medal came on the back of years of hard work.
He first took up indoor bowls as as 12-year-old playing at the Bathurst RSL Club. He said he was "intrigued" after watching others in action, but soon realised it was not as simple as he'd anticipated.
But he stuck with the sport. Four years later Mayhew gained junior state selection and got his first taste of national level competition.
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Before gaining his latest NSW selection, Mayhew won the won the Sydney Metropolitan singles crown and impressed at the 2019 state titles in Sydney where was the skipper of the winning men's fours team and runner-up in the men's pairs.
Still, the Bathurst talent said being selected to contest the singles against Australia's best Mount Gambier was a surprise.
"When the state team was announced in June and I found out that I was selected to play singles for my state, I was shocked and quite nervous," he said. "You must have a positive attitude and be resilient to remain competitive in singles, especially when things aren't going your way."
Mayhew has now his sights set on representing Australia at the 2021 World Championships in Europe.
To qualify as one of 12 male members of that Australian team, it means he needs to impress at next year's nationals in Victoria. It is something Mayhew is intent on doing.
"There are some areas of my game that I will need to work on over the next 12 months, which I hope will lead to the breakthrough of my first gold medal," he said.
"Winning a silver medal this year certainly grabbed the attention of some of the Australian selectors, which is important for strengthening my nomination for the squad in 2020."
Whether or not Mayhew goes on to make that national team, those who play indoor bowls at Bathurst RSL Club are delighted to see what he has achieved thus far.
"All the RSL Club indoor bowlers are very proud of him, the way that he bowls, the way he conducts himself - he is a very good ambassador for the club and Bathurst," committee member Bill Short said.
"He's just such a nice bloke and is really a good bowler."
"We are just so proud of how far he has gone ... we always follow what he's doing. This ins't the first time he's been away, he's competed in Victoria and Tasmania in the last couple of years and done very well," added Carol Short.
