LAKES BOWLS LEGEND

Profile - John Snell - Player Legend

John Snell was born in 1934, mid - depression, at Jerilderie (meaning reedy place) in the far south west of NSW.  In 1879, Jerilderie's bank had been relieved of two thousand pounds by the infamous Ned Kelly, ( a fact that would not be lost on our Banker - John Snell), and another John , Sir John Monash, was also born there.

The Snell family moved closer to Victoria to settle in Mathoura when John was three .  Father Syd, set the path on which John would travel. Syd was well known for his skills at t ennis, c ricket, f ootball and b illiards and John dearly wanted, and dreamed of being a c hampion at some sport, but "which" sport would  be "his" to conquer?.

By the time he turned 13 John was playing senior footy and then cricket.  John was an avid reader of sports magazines and books, but it wasn't page 3 he was looking at, and constantly revisiting.  He devoured any sporting information, still looking for "his" passion.  The 1950's saw tennis really take off for the Aussies, Hoad, Rosewall, Sedgman, McGregor and others, inspired all young hearts of the time.  John was selected to train in a youth squad under Harry Hopman but alas, slow reflexes meant this was not to be his road to champion status.

C areer came to the fore and in his late teens and early 20's a succession of Victorian country postings ensued.   T ennis and golf continued to entertain his free time with family and work still coming first when he moved to Kaniva.   Whilst cooling his heels between sets on the tennis court, John's eyes often strayed to the bowling green next door.  One day , as luck would have it , one of the bowlers ventured to enquire as to whether he might like a game. He was so anxious "I nearly knocked him down in my haste to get on to the green!" and "I joined the club". Two years later, in 1961, John transferred work and bowls to Heywood and was immediately taken under the wing of Gordon Langdon (also in our Legends Profiles).  Gordon at that time was already a Victorian Representative.

John won his first Club Singles at Ararat City Club in 1965 and his first major event, the Echuca Easter Singles , in 1966.

After winning the Victorian Master Singles in 1968 & 1969, John made his debut in the Victorian State side in 1969.  Nominated as a "possible" for the Australian side as early as 1970 , John finally made it, in 1978, for the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.

In 1982, John wrote the book "Winning Bowls" with Bill Pritchard (sold 37 , 500 copies) and "So You Want To Be A Skip" in 1988.    

John is married to Ricky and they have 4 children. Terry, the eldest, is well known to bowlers at Ivanhoe, Elsternwick Park and other Melbourne Clubs (though it has been a while!).  Terry could have been a club champion at Ivanhoe (a very strong club) had he not had to play his dad in one of the two finals he made. Together they won the zone pairs and made it to a State quarter final.  Terry hopes to travel to India or Afghanistan as a missionary in the not too distant future.  We wish him well.

The Snell's also have a daughter Jen, married to Graham and also about to embark on a church mission to India. Their third child Di, married to Lyndon, has three beautiful children; all are involved in church life . Then there's Mark, married to Bernie, with their two gorgeous daughters.  Mark was a bowler in his teens but now favors computers over bowls.

John as a bowls "celebrity" has had to fulfill many engagements (everyone wants a piece of him) and this has taken him away from home and family (Ricky, without you Australia would not have had the privilege of access to such a great bloke, bowler, mentor and icon in the Sport, and for that every Australian bowler thanks you).

It's hard to "stay" in bowls and there are always sacrifices.  John set the benchmark.  Unfortunately for Michael Wilks, Brett Duprez, Kevin Walsh and many others, times have changed and although there are now more tests, more tournaments, and more "must appear ats" (in fact more everything), it is doubtful that a single player will enjoy that kind of  longevity, at that height, in their chosen sport.

John Snell is a Level 3 coach, and was a member of the State Coaching Panel.   At times this took up several nights a week. He was awarded an OAM in 1984 and was a state finalist in "The CALTEX Sports Star of the Year in 1978.  For now he lives in, and bowls for, Lakes Entrance, enjoying family, friends, pennant, the club and life.   He was part of their winning Pennant sides in 2003 & 2005.  In 2003 Lakes Entrance were runner-up to a Premier Division Club in the State No.1 Pennant final.

John is truly a great hero to many, and possibly one of our greatest lawn bowlers. We SALUTE you John Snell!