HHH,
some time ago i posted a big long winded thing on slumps, to which no one replied, probly cause they couldnt be bothered reading. So ive searched the deep dark past of this site, and come up with it. Hope it helps, read it all, it will be worth it.
slumps, we all have them, and we all dread them. and i bet every bowler wishes there was some magic key to gettin out of it once where in it. does is seem hard to beleive to anyone else that this run of poor form can just arise out of no where? i know most of my slumps are when end a hot streak for me. But maybe there is a logical explaination for this. While in a hot streak we are all rapped up in our high scores that we forget the little things... once too many of these little things are forgotton our game drops from 220's to 190's. All of a sudden panic alarms sound, "oh my god i just dropped under 200 for the first time in weeks" it what i beleive the sound would be haha. Once the 190's start to become more frequent we get into a mental state of mind that says we arnt bowling well. And i know aswell as everyone else here does, thats a hard mental state to get out of. what i ask u is "Is this how a slump starts? With average bowling and not bad bowling?" and "Is a slump caused by a high point in our bowling, or a good state of mind?"
Overly positive Mental state = worsening scores
Normal mental state = steady scores
Could a possible cause of a slump in form be a bowlers mental beleife that "i am on a hot streak, i am invinsible" ?
this reminds me of the economic problem (if you dont understand much of economics dont read this bit) with the Current Account Deficit. A high dollar value generally is perceived as a good thing, and a low value perceived as a bad sign. Alternativly, A high dollar value means its more expensive for exporters to export, and cheaper for importers to import into the country, which creates a larger deficit (bad thing), where as a steady or decreasing dollar value means cheaper exports, and more expensive for importers, makin the countries situation better. anyone else see the resemblances?
NEXT - how can we get out of a slump, and what is it that keeps us in the slump??
im not here to tell you all how to get out of a slump. To be honest i was stuck in a rut for about 6-7 months last year. But i think just as gettin into a slump is partly mental and partly physical, gettin out of a slump is the same. A slump can mean many things, your body has changed physically and thrown your timing out, your forgettin the little things in your game that hold it together(to do with mental state as stated earlier). The physical part of gettin out of a slump is often the easiest thing, it can take as much as a few practice games, or a coachin session with your coach or a coach.
However what i beleive keeps people in slumps, even if thier game is back to its physical best is confidence, another mental factor. We could be physically exellent, but we are not confident enough to perform the shot when we need it. This could be a reason why you often have a good game or 2 right in the middle of a big rut, all the components are there, just lacking confidence. I know for a fact that this happened to me, right in the middle, about 4 months into my slump, i bowled a 299, all shots flush, until the last, i remember gettin onto the approach and saying to myself "im in a slump, but i have front 11, this doenst make sence". I put myself into a bad frame of mind, i babied the shot, washed out and was lucky only to leave the 2 pin.
Unfortunatly confidence isnt an easy thing to build, but getting your self into a positive state of mind, befor every shot, is something that can be done. Saying things to yourself when your in your pre shot rutine like "i can make this spare, and i will make this spare" puts you into a better frame of mine to tackle the lane and the pins at the end of it.
Some people say to me when im bowling bad "go back to basics". I personally dont see the point in that, no ones game is 100% basics, So when bowling bad, why would be change our shot to a shot that we never use?! that makes absolutly no sence to me at all. when i see someone (and yes i know im 17 and im probly not that person that should be givin advice to bowlers,no im not a coach, and i havnt been bowling 35 years like most adult coaches, but i do try and help where i can). as i was saying, when i see someone bowling bad, i just say to them, be positive, when your bowling bad and you make a good shot, pat ureself on the back as you would when your bowling well, say things to yourself that get you in a good frame of mind. Often you see the scores of these people rise, and they stop bowling the 140's that they were and get back to around average, and i mean what is wrong with bowling an average game?! if your unhappy with bowling an average game then you are sayin to yourself that your average is bad, again, a bad state of mind.
i think ive probly written enough, and if anyone has bothered to keep reading this what are your opinions on what i have said? is a slump both mental and physical? and could a slump infact be caused by its inverse, a hot streak??
until next time everyone
good luck and high scoring
Matt
