Author Topic: My story of today, bowling makes no sense, why is it like this? (Read 816 times)

Hex017 · « **on:** April 09, 2005, 11:44:38 AM »

Went into league today tired as heck, with basically no confidence with the way I threw last week, 513, my very amazing 185 average, and well my thumb blistered again in practice the other day so well things are like always. We got started and the place I bowl at was having serious lane problems. I think 4 pairs broke down and on our lanes the sweep got stuck on our right lane every other ball and then our scoreboard flat stopped working. So they were forced to move us down to 1 and 2 in the middle of our game. THEN the scores never got moved down and the machines woulnd't bring them up so we had to restart our game which wasn't too bad acutally considering we were doing Horrible. I forgot to mention that on lane 1 the wall is like right in your way, if you have any leg kick whatsoever well your going to kick it. So after all this BS we get started...again...and we notice tiny pieces of the freakin roof are actually coming down on our lane, this was not the first time I have had this happen but it only happens when I'm bowling...go figure that one.

Anyway at this point I could care less now, I just wanted to go home, hit snooze 800 times and wake up for breakfast. So we get started and I try to concentrate on hitting my mark. All I can say was I had another serious case of over/under the first game but managed to get away with a 197 since I picked every spare. I was lost and knew it and really didn't care so I just decided to take the ball and throw it just by "feel" and see what happens. Things actually weren't bad, was in the pocket almost every shot and put up a 202, if not for a 2-10 split it would have been better. Then last game it clicked, I moved right 3 and "moved" my mark in without ever looking at it. I decided to ask a teamate if I was actually hitting the 9 board or not, he told me I was right on almost every shot I asked. Carried like a monster, finished with a 257 and a 656 series, my best thus far in this new league(yes it's new, it is a split league for high school bowlers) and kicked my avg up to a 192.

My conclusion is bowling hates me: When I focus and put all I have into it to make that shot count, line up, watch my mark, STAY RELAXED(my biggie) and go I get nothing. When I don't even try and just sort of throw it by feel without ever actually looking at my mark I am consistant as heck and get awesome carry. I think I will just stare at the ground from now on and pick a random place to line up and just wait for the 700's to come in, since I won't get one if I actually try to. Any of you guys ever went through this kind of crap? What is up with bowling?
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-If you're not willing to change, you're not willing to improve.

-Life is like a coin, you can spend it any way you want, but you can only spend it once.

-I will forever love this great game, I love the people and the competition, I only wish the best would get the recognition of an ATHLETE that they deserve.

Edited on 4/9/2005 7:50 PM

charlest · « **Reply #1 on:** April 09, 2005, 09:34:34 PM »

The key word your brain seems to not be recognizing is: "RELAXING".

How many times have you seen or actually experienced some one saying, "Yeah, sure, now that it doesn't make any difference, now, all the pins fall down." When it makes no difference, your brain is under no pressures; so, it allows your body to relax. When your body relaxes, your reflexes respond; your body does no more than it needs to do and everything just "flows".

That is one of the reasons why coaches in ALL sports tell participants to take one or two really deep breaths before doing anything. You should take at least one really deep breath (preferably two) when you're standing there on the approach just before you make your first move, with feet or hand OR brain.

Hex017 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 09, 2005, 10:32:24 PM »

quote:
The key word your brain seems to not be recognizing is: "RELAXING".

How many times have you seen or actually experienced some one saying, "Yeah, sure, now that it doesn't make any difference, now, all the pins fall down." When it makes no difference, your brain is under no pressures; so, it allows your body to relax. When your body relaxes, your reflexes respond; your body does no more than it needs to do and everything just "flows".

That is one of the reasons why coaches in ALL sports tell participants to take one or two really deep breaths before doing anything. You should take at least one really deep breath (preferably two) when you're standing there on the approach just before you make your first move, with feet or hand OR brain.

You prove my point for me. Before every shot I put my hand over the air vent and take a deep breath. My coach got me into this habit. Never helped me one bit. However today I was basically just sort of getting up there, puttin my hand in the ball and going. Never really noticed if I was taking that deep breath or not, wasn't really paying attention. This is what I don't get, how the heck did I bowl good without even looking at my mark. That is just unlogical. I just don't get it, all the good habits and concentration I try to put into my game seems all for nothing after today...
--------------------
-If you're not willing to change, you're not willing to improve.

-Life is like a coin, you can spend it any way you want, but you can only spend it once.

-I will forever love this great game, I love the people and the competition, I only wish the best would get the recognition of an ATHLETE that they deserve.

charlest · « **Reply #3 on:** April 10, 2005, 08:39:23 AM »

Hex,

You'll find that over time, "relaxing" means more than just taking a deep breath. Just because yo utook that breath does not mean you are relaxed. I tried to imply that in my description. It's all the implications involved in your "body" relaxing; basically your brain does not try to force your body to do what is necessary, which often happens when we try to force something to happen.

Using a baseball reference, when a pitcher is "aiming" a ball, he will never hit the spots that he should and can. He has to allow his body to throw the ball; after all the years that most pitcher practice their throwing, you must reach a level of confidence that allows your body to do what it's trained to do. You see this when pitchers with much less overall ability than other pitchers do or perform much better: many times the difference is the ability to "allow" their bodies to perform and the level of confidence that this "relaxation" endows.

Another factor is the oil pattern: many times you may not recognize that there's a blend out there from the gutter to the middle of the lane that allows you to hit any of 10 boards and still hit the pocket. Other times there's a wet/dry, maybe just enough to be hidden, if you're not looking for it. Maybe even there's some carrydown or some spottiness due to a bad oil machine. Then you need to be more accurate.

Tweener92 · « **Reply #4 on:** April 10, 2005, 10:31:45 AM »

The same type of stuff happens to me. I bowl better when I am tired, sick, or plain and simply DRUNK! My brain disengauges and I trust my initial thoughts/reads instead of out thinking myself.
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- never be afraid to tear your game down and start over from scratch.

Author Topic: My story of today, bowling makes no sense, why is it like this? (Read 816 times)

Hex017

My story of today, bowling makes no sense, why is it like this?

charlest

Re: My story of today, bowling makes no sense, why is it like this?

Hex017

Re: My story of today, bowling makes no sense, why is it like this?

charlest

Re: My story of today, bowling makes no sense, why is it like this?

Tweener92

Re: My story of today, bowling makes no sense, why is it like this?