Hey guys, I just wanted to get some opinions from you, no matter what they may be. <FIGJAM> I'm 20, I've been bowling for 5 years, I've bowled a 300 and an 800. </FIGJAM> But that's just not enough for me. I can shoot a house shot like everyone else. I can go out there and roll a 550, or a 750. I have my ups and downs. I want to better myself, I want to prove that I can compete with the best of them. My game isn't perfect, but who's is?
In 2007-2008, I won two tournaments and came in top ten on just about every scholarship tournament that I went to. Guess what, it was a house shot. This year they've changed it up, making us bowl on the pro-patterns. Not so lucky this year, I quickly learned that what I was doing the year before wasn't going to help me win any scholarships. So I went home and changed some things up. These are self taught changes, so input would be nice.
1. I moved up two feet on the approach. By doing this, I slow my feet down, and find that I can stay balanced at the line on just about every shot. Repeating shots became a lot easier.
2. I used to hold the ball out in front of me with my arm bent up slightly. I started to put the ball just in front of my hip, to gain a more relaxed stance and arm-swing, thus hopefully keeping a more consistent ball speed and rev-rate.
3. The third adjustment was the most simple, but is sometimes completely overlooked. I made sure that my arm follows through on every shot, and made sure I wasn't just "ripping" the ball at the line.
Since then I have bowled in two tournaments (once on the Chameleon, once on the Viper) and I have finished in the top ten both times. The two previous tournaments I failed to even finish within the cut (top 16). I want to feel as if the adjustments are working, but I'm just not completely satisfied. In both of those tournaments, I managed to shoot one high game (278), and then let my 170's (2 games) 180's (4 games)and 190's (4 games) carry me to match play for the other games.
Here's where my mind likes to interfere. Am I bowling better at these tournaments? Yes. But my league scores have started suffering. Not dramatically, but enough to show a difference. I usually average between 208-212 in my Saturday league, but have fallen to 201 before finally shooting a 718 to bring it back up slightly. I'm finding that these adjustments I'm making are causing me to be more consistent shot wise, but my carry just isn't there. I shot 570-600 all of January with mainly all 190 games, or some low 200's coupled with a 180.
Maybe its ball selection, maybe its just something in my head... I don't know, that's why I want your input. I feel like if I practiced hard enough, I could go out there and at least give it a shot at a regional or two. But I feel if I went out there right now, I'd just be contributing to the prize fund. I wish we had some great coaches in my area to help me out, but they just aren't available. I'm looking to transfer to a college here soon, but there's just so many options, and just getting recognized seems overwhelming. I feel as if I had some professional level coaching, I would bring my game to a whole other level, its just about going out there and doing it.
Thoughts? Advice? Concerns? How many of you have walked this path before?
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