Cooper Sutton was a six-year-old when he walked past his local bowls club for the first time and curiously spectated those on the green.
From that moment on, he was hooked to the bias and the kitty.
Now, aged 11, the Hervey Bay youngster is a veteran of the game, encouraging other juniors to have a roll.
"It's not a very popular sport," Cooper said.
"But it's a very interesting game that requires a lot of skill and strategy."
Cooper said his interest in lawn bowls blossomed since leaving the pool for the grassy green.
"I was coming out of a swimming lesson when I was only in grade one and there was the Urangan Bowls Club next to my swimming place," he said.
"So I asked mum, 'What are those people doing and could we go over there?'.
"I went over, watched them for an hour and then I decided this would be a good sport to play, and that's how I got into it."
Now a member with the Pialba Bowls Club on Queensland's Fraser Coast, Cooper has been somewhat of a trendsetter in the lawn bowls space.
"Now in Hervey Bay there's only three juniors – I'm one of them and there are two others at this club. But there are a lot of juniors on the Gold Coast and [in] those big cities."
Manners matter
Despite being a trailblazer, the young player is a traditionalist at heart.
"The thing I love about Pialba is the type of greens that they have, which is grass. So it runs really smoothly," Cooper said.
"I like having the lines painted so that way you know what line to set the mat on, and having the grass cut every now and then makes it really smooth and to be able to run a bit quicker."
Cooper's mother, Lita Sutton, said the old school values bought about by the more experienced players had also worn off on her son.
"Etiquette certainly comes into the game of bowls.
"Everyone here has been so kind and so supportive. It's just wonderful to see the young mixing with the older generation."
The rise of the junior bowler
While sporting a good set of manners and mastering a firm handshake all before his 12th birthday, the high achiever has also racked up an impressive number of awards.
"I have won a bronze medal in the junior state championships, and my team and I have won the Wide Bay challenge of fours at Urangan," Cooper said.
"I'd like to [play] in the Australian Open and see if I can get a place in that, and also get a silver or a gold in the junior state champs next year."
Lawn bowls continues to open up doors for Cooper, including in academics.
"He won a scholarship at a very prestigious school here in Hervey Bay because of the bowls, I think it was a very big contributor," Ms Sutton said.
"It's not something you'd expect your child to come and say, that they want to play lawn bowls. But honestly, the enjoyment he gets out of it just warms our heart."
The sport is contested at the Commonwealth Games and Ms Sutton says its popularity amongst juniors is on the rise.
"If people were to go visit the junior state bowler champs it would knock your socks off, really it would," she said.
"It would be great if a lot more kids could get involved."
Cooper's advice to other young players looking to get started is to practice and, of course, have fun.
"Just keep going down every afternoon with someone who plays, make sure you just enjoy it, mainly, and don't think too much about the game," he said.
