Everyone has goals they set at the beginning of the season.  Usually I have several, but this year I had just one, I didn't want to have a single set under 600.  Yeah having score goals is kind of unpredictable, especially since one of my leagues is second shift behind a mixed league no less, so the shot varies somewhat, sometimes significantly, from week to week.  But at the same time, I thought it would be a good test of versatility, and because the only leagues I'm in are competitive scratch leagues, score matters.  It's almost like going to Nationals, every single pin counts, and honestly it's the name of the game.  I've had a couple close calls for one reason or another (the closest of which was having 379 after 2 and having an absolutely terrible look), but have pulled through, and now, 3 weeks away in one league, and 5 weeks away in the other, I think I'm actually going to make it.  My lowest set this calendar year is in the 620s, and I've only had 3 sets under 700.  Barring something crazy, I'm pretty confident I'll get it done.  It's actually taught me quite a bit too believe it or not, I didn't expect trying to score on a house shot would.  Anybody else out there with goals either still alive or already accomplished? 

I agree setting goals is a good thing, but why is it all about scores? Wouldn't a better goal be something like....I want to finish night without having missed a makeable spare? Or maybe, I want to be able to say I hit my mark within 1 or 2 boards for the entire 3 game set? If you are bowling on THS these types of goals would better serve you than worrying about getting over 600 or hitting a certain average. If you do things like this, the scores will take care of themselves. Personally, I would rather say I hit my exact mark at the arrows and breakpoint with every shot and shoot 550 then shoot 750 and spray the ball across 5 boards at the arrows and 5 at the breakpoint all night.

That's the weird thing, trying to score has taught me more than trying to be super accurate.  When you ignore score in favor of accuracy, you're also ignoring DOZENS of other things including laneplay, ball motion, adjusting, preventing/managing transition, managing pressure, developing certain mental attributes, etc.  A lot of the goals are actually the same.  Missing makeable spares is pretty inexcusable, but why?  Because it costs you pins you shouldn't have lost, right?  I used to be stubborn about adjusting, I'd always say, "well if I could just throw it better I wouldn't have to move."  But to me that seems just as "dumb" because you're costing yourself pins on the front end instead of the back.

Yeah I totally agree I'd rather shoot 550 splitting boards than 750 completing an arrows tour, and that's how I used to do it.  But by doing that, I cost myself so much experience.  Trying to go for score this year taught me TONS of tricks, tons about laneplay, ball reaction, transition, instinct, etc.  And oddly enough, trying to score has improved my scores more than trying to be accurate ever did.  Trying to get pins whatever it takes has actually improved my physical game because I'm putting myself in more comfortable situations that allow me to bowl loose rather than tight.  Several times this year I've needed to be accurate, but several times I've also needed to get creative rather than just saying, "well I'll just make my best shot and I can live with the result if I do that," or in other words it's given me more INCENTIVE to throw a good shot.  Having a goal of making a good shot and NEEDING to make a good shot are on two different levels of motivation. Totally different perspective that I didn't expect to find.  I'm more versatile, I'm mentally better, and I'm physically better. 

Yeah, I used to just worry about making good shots, but knowing how to make good shots doesn't mean you know how to strike, and sometimes you NEED to strike.  If you've just been trying to make good shots and all the sudden need to strike, you'd be surprised how different those two are.  Now of course striking doesn't mean you threw a good shot, but if you've set yourself up so that you can still strike on the majority of bad shots, that's a good place to be.  I've known how to make good shots for several years now, and yeah I had some good sets, but I don't think I really knew how to BOWL until this year.  Haha, I feel like a shark now, all the sudden I'm the guy nobody wants to bowl or see in brackets, just used to be the guy that could be dangerous on occasion but wasn't really much to worry about most of the time.  I definitely get what you're saying because that's been my mindset for a long time, but doing something so totally backwards like worrying about score put me somewhere I didn't expect to be.  It's not like I was pushing and being antsy on every shot and getting pissy if my scores weren't great, it was just more of a focus on developing the skills to stay the course and be consistent. 

600 is a pretty low weekly goal, but depending on your situation it could be a pretty high season goal, and since I didn't get ridiculous with it, grinding out 610s and 620s  on rough nights still felt like success because I didn't lose my head or give up because I couldn't shoot 700.  Because of that it didn't make me press every shot, but it kept me aware and focused.  Now I'm loose, I'm having fun bowling again, my confidence is through the roof, and the negativity is all but gone.  Yeah I still strike on several bad shots a night, but at the same time, I kinda feel like I've earned some of those because of my laneplay.  Bowling is a game where people experience more disappointment than anything.  Strikes are expected, and when they don't strike, they're pissed, so fun can only be had with a LOT of strikes.  I've averaged 225ish for a long time, but this year I found a way to make shooting just 600 into a positive, and that's been a big part of why I've done so well over the last several months. 

I agree setting goals is a good thing, but why is it all about scores? Wouldn't a better goal be something like....I want to finish night without having missed a makeable spare? Or maybe, I want to be able to say I hit my mark within 1 or 2 boards for the entire 3 game set? If you are bowling on THS these types of goals would better serve you than worrying about getting over 600 or hitting a certain average. If you do things like this, the scores will take care of themselves. Personally, I would rather say I hit my exact mark at the arrows and breakpoint with every shot and shoot 550 then shoot 750 and spray the ball across 5 boards at the arrows and 5 at the breakpoint all night.

Gizmo,
    I guess I see things differently, not saying my way is better or your way is wrong. When I think of throwing good shots, that includes hitting the pocket. So I want to hit my mark, hit my breakpoint and hit the pocket solid. That should lead to strikes. So in thinking that way, it does inlcude the things you are mentioning as well. And if you are confident you can throw it where you want to, hit your breakpoint and hit the pocket, then theoritically you shouldn't be as nervous when it comes to needed to get a strike to win the game. I look at bowling anchor in a league similar to a closer in baseball. You have to have a certain mentality to be able to bowl anchor. Some very good bowlers, don't make good anchor bowlers. When I frist came out of juniors, and began bowling in a big money men's scratch league where I grew up, I was lucky enough to get on a team with some of the better bowlers in our area. But by halfway through the season, I was bowling anchor. I wasn't the highest average on the team, not even close, but I had the mentality to do it. If I screwed up in the 10th in game 1, I wouldn't be thinking about that if we got a shot to win in game 2. And more times thant not, I threw the strike we needed to win.
 
     I agree, part of the art of our sport is finding a path to the pocket where you can miss left and miss right and still throw strikes. But on THS that literally can be an arrow to either side of where you are aiming some nights. I don't see how missing where you are aiming at by 4-5 boards to either side consistently will make someone a better bowler. Yes, they may stay above 600 every week doing it. Yes, they may throw 300 doing it. Yes, they may hit whatever average target they set doing it....but are they really improving? Are they really becoming a better bowler?? You talk about how you think of league like Nationals every week. You can't miss your mark by 4-5 boards at Nationals and score well. Maybe your leagues have a tougher shot than most, I don't really know. I just can't grasp how just worrying about score improves one as a bowler.

Proper practice is what makes one a better bowler.  But scoring is part of bowling.  The best bowler is the one that scores the highest the most often. 

There may be days that you throw it good and don't score, but that doesn't mean you bowled well.  That means you threw it well. 

Yeah I know what you're saying.  I'm not saying score at all costs and ignore where I'm throwing it, but that's part of the perspective.  Having score goals gives you more incentive to throw better shots than just trying to be accurate.  The goal is the same, the motivation is different.  In just worrying about making good shots, there's no motivation but that.  I never used to be as concerned about the outcome, if I made a good shot, I was happy with that, because that was the goal.  I made it more than just making good shots.  If I split the board I'm aiming at, but don't strike, in my book it's not a good shot.  Yes you get strikes most of the time as byproducts of a good shot, but making a good shot isn't the point of bowling, scoring is. 

If I'm ok with 550 because I'm making good shots, that hurts the team.  Sometimes the 10th frame comes down to the anchor bowler when it shouldn't have to.  If I get on a run of single pin leaves in the middle of the game, but am ok with it because I'm throwing good shots, that's not just costing me pins, it's costing the team pins.  By going after every single pin I can get like it IS Nationals, I feel like I'm helping the team more. 

No, there's a lot of nights where score isn't indicative of how well you threw the ball, but there's a LOT more to bowling than just throwing the ball well.  But it's not about the score being high, it's about getting every pin you can.  Like I said, there have been nights this year where I was satisfied with 620 because of what I had to do to get it.  I wasn't worried and pissed because I didn't feel like I scored as high as I wanted, I was happy that I didn't let it get to me and focused on getting every pin I could, it's very close to an anchor mentality. 

I REALLY get what you guys are saying because that's where I used to be.  I'm not trying to inflate my scores just to have big numbers to admire, but I've wondered for a long time why guys that don't throw the ball near as good as I do could most of the time absolutely destroy me.  Now I know.  I've got several tournaments on tougher shots coming up, Nationals included, and I feel extremely confident.  Being accurate is a very important part of scoring, but there's sooo much more to it.  I used to think all you could do was throw a good shot, but I was wrong.  Again, sometimes a greatly successful night can end in 620, but it's about getting every pin you can to WIN, not filling out awards sheets.  Trying to score still makes you hyper attentive to making good shots, but again, when you NEED to make those shots, it's a lot different perspective. 

Gizmo,
    I guess I see things differently, not saying my way is better or your way is wrong. When I think of throwing good shots, that includes hitting the pocket. So I want to hit my mark, hit my breakpoint and hit the pocket solid. That should lead to strikes. So in thinking that way, it does inlcude the things you are mentioning as well. And if you are confident you can throw it where you want to, hit your breakpoint and hit the pocket, then theoritically you shouldn't be as nervous when it comes to needed to get a strike to win the game. I look at bowling anchor in a league similar to a closer in baseball. You have to have a certain mentality to be able to bowl anchor. Some very good bowlers, don't make good anchor bowlers. When I frist came out of juniors, and began bowling in a big money men's scratch league where I grew up, I was lucky enough to get on a team with some of the better bowlers in our area. But by halfway through the season, I was bowling anchor. I wasn't the highest average on the team, not even close, but I had the mentality to do it. If I screwed up in the 10th in game 1, I wouldn't be thinking about that if we got a shot to win in game 2. And more times thant not, I threw the strike we needed to win.
 
     I agree, part of the art of our sport is finding a path to the pocket where you can miss left and miss right and still throw strikes. But on THS that literally can be an arrow to either side of where you are aiming some nights. I don't see how missing where you are aiming at by 4-5 boards to either side consistently will make someone a better bowler. Yes, they may stay above 600 every week doing it. Yes, they may throw 300 doing it. Yes, they may hit whatever average target they set doing it....but are they really improving? Are they really becoming a better bowler?? You talk about how you think of league like Nationals every week. You can't miss your mark by 4-5 boards at Nationals and score well. Maybe your leagues have a tougher shot than most, I don't really know. I just can't grasp how just worrying about score improves one as a bowler.

Well, Gizmo, I guess you are different, at least in my experience.  I don't need an outside influence to motivate me to bowl well.  I don't need the tenth frame with the score close to motivate me.  All I need for motivation is me, the lanes, and the act of delivering my ball over my intended spot.  That is all I can control.  Putting extra stress on yourself because the game is close and you need to strike out to win is the exact reason many people cannot perform in those situations.  It is why some people have numerous 10 or 11 in a row games and no 300s.  Every ball should be delivered with the same determination and zeal as the next.  10th frames aren't different, they are just the 10th time you have gone up to bowl in that game.

And if your 10-pins are making you lose games, they aren't good shots.  Then again, 10-pins usually aren't good shots to begin with, irregardless of the score outcome.

And didn't we (BR.com) recently say a good judge of how well a person scored is better determined by the relation of the score to all others?  550 could be a good set, if it was the highest set.  I might average 230, but if I open up with 550 my first 3 at the US Open, then I might be happy.

Epic fail. Ready for summer