AFTER producing some stunning results at the under-18s national championships at Darwin recently, Dubbo lawn bowls prodigy Jono Davis has taken another step forward in his hugely promising career.
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The 13-year-old Dubbo Railway bowler won a gold medal in the pairs event in the Northern Territory while he also claimed a bronze in the singles division and these performances saw him named in the Australian under-18s squad.
The national squad only consists of five players but that will be cut to two or three over the coming months and those remaining bowlers will be joined by some older players in a development squad which will tour New Zealand in March.
"As far as I know he's the youngest ever to be selected in the Australian squad," Davis' father Steve said.
"It wasn't completely unexpected because it's not chosen on one performance, it's been building for a couple of years and I was told by selectors after last year's nationals that he was very close to being selected then but he did bowl well in Darwin and along with everything else he's done in the last couple of years it all adds up."
The immensely talented junior just missed out last year but is well in the running for a dream Australian spot this time around and despite the sport seemingly at his feet, Jono's father admits it's up to the youngster to decide how far he wants to go, with no pressure on him to continue playing.
"He hasn't got a big head, he's just one of those kids who loves playing sport, he played a few others but not so much now because he's so tied up in bowls but he's pretty level headed," he said.
"I said a couple of years ago that he's in the system now and the elite selectors and coaches know who he is and they keep in touch with him and help him along and it's really up to him now, I just take him along, but if he's keen and wants to keep going he'll get more opportunities."
Despite the incredible achievement of being part of a national squad at just 13 years of age, Davis was one of the most targeted bowlers at Darwin with everyone in the sport now well aware of his talents.
Ironically, one of his most difficult matches came against a player doing something Davis has made a habit of; defeating players older than himself.
"It was funny, in a game he played in the singles he played an 11-year-old from Darwin and he never got to the front until the last shot and he was under enormous pressure because people were expecting him to win but this little kid was doing to him what Jono used to do to the older players so that was a funny thing but he was good enough to win," Steve said.
Jono's ability to perform under pressure has long been one of the best features of his game and that came to the fore in Darwin when the gold medal match in the pairs went to an end but the St John's student was good enough to get his team cross the line.
While there is plenty of work ahead in order to make the final Australian squad, Davis will still be busy on the greens with a National Training Camp match against the Australia Defence Force this weekend before next month he takes the other 15 best singles bowlers in NSW in the State Champion of Champions Singles, an all-age event he qualified for after winning the district and zone titles earlier this year.