Mike,
You won't get better by quitting.
Sport conditions are tough. They will expose every flaw in our game and make us feel foolish. They wreak havoc on our scores and thus they blast away at our ego and our confidence.
IMO, most bowlers quickly pick up on the physical flaws exposed by tough conditions, but totally miss the mental flaws.
Success on tough conditions starts with our mental approach to bowling on tough conditions. We should each have a "game plan" before going to bowl. In my opinion, that plan needs to include checking ego at the door and ignoring score (good or bad) in favor of focusing on our execution.
That focus often needs to be dedicated to a single task. If my biggest flaw (causing the most woes) has been jerking-up at the line, I make a pact with myself before even entering the bowling center that no matter what, I'm going to keep my head still and down at the line on every shot, all night. When that problem goes away, the next time I can focus on the next largest problem.
Last year I averaged much lower in the same pro-pattern league. If I had quit after throwing back-to-back-to-back-to-back 400 series, I never would have gone on to the success I'm enjoying this year (and believe me, there is some pretty good success there). Now, I want to bowl on tough conditions because I want to get better all the time. The way to get better is to improve on something you don't do well. What better than a tough condition to show you what you don't do well?
At the highest levels, what makes a true champion is not how one reacts to success, but how one reacts to failure.
I hope you stay with it.
--------------------
J.J. "Waterola Kid" Anderson, the bLowling King : Kill the back row
Edited on 7/16/2005 1:39 PM
