Friday, February 20, 2009

Brain's full, time to empty

It's been a few weeks now since the High Roller, and I have been throwing the ball pretty good lately. I have subbed twice on Thursday nights and done OK. Monday nights are going well, although I sucked at winning my points last week. Our whole team has really been in a points slump the past few weeks. We bowled against the first place team and struggled to a 7-25 finish against them. That was disappointing. We had a perfect chance at gaining ground, and instead we took it in the hindquarters. Every week 'til the end of league is position round, so it should help to intensify the league night. I need all the help I can get to focus during league.

My biggest problem lately is making good, repetitive shots. I'm not missing by much, and it doesn't translate in league because the condition isn't that tough. But that same small miss on a tournament condition will be costly. While I was bowling last night I relaized that I change my footwork a little bit from shot-to-shot, which is what has been causing these minor misses and inconsistency. Specifically, it is my first two steps that vary. I will be targeting this during practice to get these steps even and consistent. It is throwing off my timing and making me get to the line differently.

The nerdiness justs keeps getting deeper...
I have been studying up on how to read lane charts and graphs. I am learning how to process all this info to get an idea on how to approach the conditions. It is part science, part artform because you cannot use the info to find a guaranteed specific spot to play. However, it does give you a general idea of how the lane should react in certain areas, and where certain OB areas should be. I used to think that it's better to hit the lanes open-minded with no pre-conceived notions about where to play, but that is being a little bit naive. Why not gather as much info as possible and use it to your advantage, right? I can now see these charts and make decisions on where to throw a few balls in practice and see the types of reactions I get. It's better than grabbing "x" ball and randomly picking a spot to start. Now I can make more educated "guesses" and try not to be completely clueless.

One more thing. I have been working on a different release that gets my backswing higher, my hand more free, and my ball speed up. It definitely creates more revs, speed, and power. I thought it might be something I could develop. But after a few days, my elbow started flaring up again. The tendonitis monster is not something I want to mess around with again after two years of being relatively pain-free. I have decided to stick with my current game, keep fine-tuning it and working on the details.

Not as much yucks and ha-has this time. Sorry to disappoint. I'll see about working on that, too.

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