First league night = total disaster

[Litespeed]

Well, the league started Monday and after bowling very well for the last couple of weeks I was sure I'd do good.  Unfortunately nerves and a huge blister on my thumb along with a lot of overthinking got the best of me.  I bowled a whopping 145/135/132 for the first night.  I wasn't putting full effort into my release because I did not want to tear my thumb open again.  I also wasn't used to the slower progression and waiting since I generally bowl open practice on a lane to myself.  To add insult to injury open bowling immediately after the league netted me a 221/181/243 for my first three games even with using a different ball for each.  I'm sure next week will go better but then again, maybe it won't.

Is it typical to have these issues when first starting in a league?
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Current line-up:  Hammer Pain, Hammer Tuff, RotoGrip Epic Battle, Columbia Wrath, Columbia PowerDrive (drilled leftie), Visionary Ogre, Dynothane NE10, Dynothane Threshold, AMF Orbit Extreme, Brunswick Radical Inferno...more added weekly.  :-)
High Score: 279 with the Epic Battle
High Series:  N/A

[Bigworm]

I think its pretty typical for the nerves to kick in...espeically for the first few weeks. My first league I bowled similar scores for the first week. In my second week though none of my scores were below 200 and the people on the team I bowled against accused me of 'sandbagging' which I didn't even know the meaning of at the time...
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http://www.freebowlingtips.net - Free bowling tips and Articles. Improve your bowling now!

[splendorlex]

Don't sweat it, man.  Concentrate on one thing...well, two things really.  Try to leave makeable spares, and then make them!  Spares are where it's at.  Close out your frames, make good shots, and the strikes will take care of themselves.  How long have you been bowling?
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Mr. Lebowski, this is Bill Salnicker with the Southern Cal Bowling League, and I just got a, an informal report, that a member of your team, uh, Walter Sobchak, drew a firearm during league play. If this is true of course, it contravenes a number of the league's by-laws, and article 27 of the league...

The Rev Zone (blog) http://ryanfinley.bowlspace.com/blog/

[bragbowlin]

I had the same thing happen to my thumb once you should use new skin liquid bandage this stuff works great and while you wait for it to heal you can still bowl.

[chrisleftwich]

If your thumb was bad enough to make your release and everything different why on earth would you bowl after league on open bowling?  Maybe you should try to let the thumb heal a little.
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Chris Leftwich
Active Duty Coast Guard member.

Just switched to all storm stuff and absolutely love the new R2S coverstock.

[kev3inp]

Your post league bowling shows you it was nerves and the unfamiliar environment.  It'll be easier next time and you can just relax.  You might want to try practicing slower, if the wait is throwing you off that much. You may be rushing to the line in league and messing up your timing due to those nerves.  Think happy thoughts!  LOL!
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the 3 is silent

[myrddin97]

Just think, if/when you start the tournies, you'll get those same butterflys.  

Instead of practicing by yourself, you may try going out with some friends, be they bowlers or not and try to get a pair and bowl league style.  Maybe get a pot or poker game going to make it "feel" a little more like league.  Who knows, you could make money on the night too.

Oh, and I'm by no means an expert, but you may want to make sure your ball fits you properly if you are getting a blister on your thumb.  I was starting to get on on my thumb and realize how much work it was for me to come out of the ball cleanly and had my span checked.  The span on both my fingers were both a 1/4" too long.  If it's been a while since you've been fitted up, that may be one thing you would want to check.  It's always been my impression that blisters are a sign that something is off.  You can Nu Skin it all you want, but if you don't fix the reason you got the blister in the first place, you're just going to keep getting them.

Edited on 3/29/2007 1:56 PM

[Litespeed]

I think the blister was from bowling 42 games the day before, which was after bowling 94 games from the previous Sun-Fri.  It's almost fully healed now and shouldn't be bothering me any more.  I've settled down quite a bit and am getting used to the slower pace, even though I sorta hate it.  My average is up to around 160 after 3 weeks and should be moving up more as I get more accustomed to how the lanes perform and the pace.  In bowling after league, 3 friends and I got tandem lanes and bowled a series with money on the line, I pulled off a 190-190-214 and won the 4 dollars.  :-)
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High Score: 279 with the Epic Battle
High Series:  N/A

[splendorlex]

I just kinda wonder how long you've been bowling to have THAT MANY bowling balls.
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Mr. Lebowski, this is Bill Salnicker with the Southern Cal Bowling League, and I just got a, an informal report, that a member of your team, uh, Walter Sobchak, drew a firearm during league play. If this is true of course, it contravenes a number of the league's by-laws, and article 27 of the league...

The Rev Zone (blog) http://ryanfinley.bowlspace.com/blog/

[myrddin97]

I wish I had the time (and money) to bowl 42 games in a day, not to mention the endurance.  I can understand the 94 games over a weekend.  How much are you exagerating? How much time are you actually spending at the lanes and why are you bowling so much?  I understand practice and trying to get better, but my God.  I don't know any pro's practice schedule, but I find it hard to believe they can bowl that much and sustain it for any amount of time.

[Litespeed]

Sunday mornings are $5/hr from 9am to noon.  Sunday nights are $15 for 3 hours.  Monday nights are $6/3 hrs and Wednesday nights are $5/3 hrs.  So basically I can get 12 hours of bowling in for about $41 per week.  The friends I go with usually get us set up on tandem lanes between 3 of us so we can get 18-20 games each in each 3 hour block.  When I go alone I get a lane for myself and can get around 20-25 games in depending on whether I want to take breaks.  Up until a couple of months ago I was riding motocross Wed night as well as Sat and Sun.  I'd spend about 2-3 hours on Monday and Friday getting the bikes cleaned up to ride these days and would be at the track 5 hours Wed and all day both days Sat and Sun.  The actual costs between gas, entries and maintenance on the bikes was around $120/wk not to mention each bike was on average about 5k (I have 3).  My goal with bowling it to get better but most importantly to have fun.  

As for how many balls I have, I've gotten great deals on most and selling one of my bikes will easily cover the costs.  There is really no legitimate reason to have this many other than the fact I wanted them.  Having that many choices will always allow me to change the game continuously, not to get better scores but to increase the challenge to myself.  I'm sure I'd probably do much better with one or two but I wouldn't have the ability to challenge myself.  I typically bowl with one ball until I get the feel for it and can keep a few games at around 200 or more.  Once that happens I go to the next and start over.
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High Score: 279 with the Epic Battle
High Series:  N/A

[Injury]

You shouldn't be forming a blister even throwing that many games. Have your ball checked. Unless you want to be like the old guys that threw illfitted balls for years. Calluses the size of knuckles that crack open and bleed all the time.

slow down your practice. When bowling fast it is very easy to get in a groove and repeat shots and league runs nothing like that.

When you take your time and behave more like what happens on league night (drinks here, talking there, watching whats going on around) you are forced to refocus each shot. Use some practice time (don't pay hourly when doing this) to emulate that. Toss a ball wait several minutes then come back and throw another, or better yet bowl with several people to slow yourself down.

When you go with friends all get on two lanes (you say tandem not sure if you mean crossover or not), get the guy at the desk to set you up for crossover. This helps bring into the equation the effect others have on your line, and learning the differences between two lanes. Even though bowling 20 something games alone will tear up your original line it's relatively easy to know exactly where to move. When you have 4 others and have to dodge/cross their lines as well it adds a bit more to it.

And as others have stated practice spares. That is the key to consistency and the difference between being able to hold a 200 average, and just being able to go 230-150-160 on a regular basis.

[dizzyfugu]

quote:
Spares are about confidence. On a personal level, the number of 4 or 5 pins I've missed over the last couple of months you could count on one hand. But the number of 10 pins I've missed, you'd need a calculator to count them. I just have no confidence shooting left-to-right. My 10-pin conversion is about 50% right now.

Funny, I am the same just with the left corner. I can convert 10 pins almost blindly at the moment - I have a line that works and just stopped thinking when I line up to make it. Confidence is truly essential, but also proper execution and concentration, even though the spare might look easy.

But the 7 pin or a 4-7 leave is like a lottery. I tried several things, changing my release etc., but it stays a miracle to me how to convert the left side consistently. Well, another objective for the summer
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DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
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[Litespeed]

The good news is that I'm bowling as well in league as I do in open practice.  I'm hoping to spend a little more time on slowing down in practice by inviting more people along (though it seems no one ever shows up) and have been keeping track of my games over the past two weeks with the frames software.  My 49 game running total has an average of 177.6 and I shot a 168-210-151(529) in league this week which fits right in.  I got a slow start in the first game but ended well and the second game could have been better if we weren't fixing all the scores by hand in the first 4 frames.  After bowling the 210 the thoughts of finally getting a 600 series got in my head which quickly gave me jitters like the first week and my score showed it.  The lane was really drying up as well and a less aggressive ball would have made it much easier for me.  I was using my Epic Battle for strikes with my NE10 (highly polished) for all spares.  Next week I will switch to the NE10 for all of the third game since it's more forgiving on the dry for me and I will already have a feel for it when the third game starts.
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High Score: 279 with the Epic Battle
High Series:  N/A

[Litespeed]

Forgot to add, the 10 pin has usually been the easiest for me but with some patience I'm finally able to pick up most any spare now.  For anything on the left side of the lane I shoot a strike ball with less speed which allows the ball to get where it needs to be.  This approach seems to give me a lot more margin for error than adjusting my stance and trying to hit the pins dead on.  The first 3 games in practice last night were 195-199-195 with only one missed spare (and 3 picked up splits) in the 10th frame of the second game.
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High Score: 279 with the Epic Battle
High Series:  N/A