The How's And Why's Of Your Inner Workings - Tom Blasco

[SmilingBowler]

As many of you know, I scour the web for tips and advice daily. This is why I am a part of these boards. In my searches I have found a number of good articles, but the four-part series from Tom Blasco I am about to share with you is one of the greatest I have yet to find. Enjoy.

"The How's And Why's Of Your Inner Workings - The Brain" by Tom Blasco

PART I (http://www.bowlingfans.com/tips/tom01222007.shtml)
PART II (http://www.bowlingfans.com/tips/tom01222007p2.shtml)
PART III (http://www.bowlingfans.com/tips/tom01222007p3.shtml)
PART IV (http://www.bowlingfans.com/tips/tom01222007p4.shtml)

In this series, Tom breaks down the mental game and does it so any bowler of any level can understand.
Tom has quite a unique background and you can view his BowlingFans.com profile here (http://www.bowlingfans.com/tips/tom.shtml). (: .)

[Tampabaybob]

Good post. This is excellent information for bowlers of all ages and abilities. Many times we "forget" some of the simpler techniques and the mental game is a big part of this game. Thanks for finding it and posting it here.

[mxjosh]

I kinda lost interest on part 3 and 4 but enjoyed the 1st 2 parts. thanks.

Im way mental with bowling. I tend to be anxious quite a bit. I associate it mostly with lack of experience. I don't know what to expect or sometimes have no past situations to draw from so the anxiety is more intense...a lost feeling. Not knowing what direction to go in. What move do I make when my ball is doing something I've never seen before? Or the mental scramble to find out what part of my form is off and causing me to throw inconsistent.

[J Anderson]

I kinda lost interest on part 3 and 4 but enjoyed the 1st 2 parts. thanks.

Im way mental with bowling. I tend to be anxious quite a bit. I associate it mostly with lack of experience. I don't know what to expect or sometimes have no past situations to draw from so the anxiety is more intense...a lost feeling. Not knowing what direction to go in. What move do I make when my ball is doing something I've never seen before? Or the mental scramble to find out what part of my form is off and causing me to throw inconsistent.

I suppose I could recommend seeing a sports psychologist about your anxiety, but as long as the mere idea trying something new doesn't send you hyperventilating into a panic attack, go out and get some of that experience. Enter a few tournaments, try a more serious league. Whatever it is that will give you a chance to push though that feeling. Probably best to do small steps, pushing the envelope a bit at a time.

On the mental scramble question, Unless you have a teammate who knows how you should look when you're bowling well, it can be very frustrating to figure out what's wrong on your own. Even if you have a friend helping you figure it out it can be self-defeating to try and fix it if you wind up focused on the problem. Some time the best strategy is just to focus on the basics until you start repeating good shots.
Similarly, when the ball does something you haven't seen before, use the basic adjustment of moving in the direction of the miss.

[mxjosh]

Yes for sure. I bowl in 3 leagues during the week. 1 league is the highest I can go in the area in terms of competition. I bowl with my coach. He helps me when things go wrong. But I cant take him everywhere with me. I try not to depend on him too much as I wanna figure it out on my own.

The mental scrambles are more of a checklist i run through each shot when I'm not bowling with him. It wastes frames and i get a bit tighter as the game gets closer to its close without an answer.

I have been in tournaments but not nearly as much as I wanted. Cost a lot when not winning. Im an internal person so I kind of turtle up when things go bad. The more successes I have the easier it is to get out of my head.

[J Anderson]

The more successes I have the easier it is to get out of my head.

The only thing I got from taking Intro to Statistics and Probability is that you can define success to be anything you want it to be. Define your goals for the next tournament so that at least some of them are not dependent on cashing or your pin total. There is no defense in the game of bowling. Even if you bowl well there is no guarantee someone else won't bowl better. There is also just plain bad luck when it comes to pin carry.

For example, suppose that I usually hit my target 60% of the time and make 70% of my non-split leaves. Two of my goals for the next tournament could be to hit my target 75% of the time and convert 80% of my non-split leaves. If I make those goals, even if my scores aren't a lot higher than normal, or I don't cash because some one with a 140 average shoot 263, I can still honestly say that I bowled better than normal in a pressure situation.

[Tampabaybob]

Josh. One of the biggest and most troublesome parts of this game is the mental aspect. It takes many years for most bowlers to "get it right". I bowl with many really, really good bowlers and I see them do exactly what you describe week after week. There are many ways to overcome these things, but experiences that you will have and can draw from will be the best answer.

I'm including a digital copy of the December issue of 'Bowling this Month'. There are a couple of good articles in there that might shed some lift on your dilemma. I would also encourage you to get a subscription to what I refer to as the "Bowlers Bible". The people that write these articles are among the best coaches in the U.S. and they have excellent articles every month that can help bowlers of all abilities.

Check it out and let me know if the articles helped.

http://digitaleditions.bowlingthismonth.com/publication/?i=133311

[mxjosh]

Sends me to a login link.

[SmilingBowler]

Thanks Josh and thank you for sharing that link Bob, but I also get a logon screen.

[Tampabaybob]

Ok just tried it off of the link I sent you. Disregard the log in side and click on the arrows up on top. It should work. Let me know and I'll try to send it another way, maybe by email, because it's 23 megs.

[mxjosh]

it limits me to 6 pages. have to sign up for subscription to see any further

[mxjosh]

Prime example of mental weakness running amok this weekend. Made it to top 6 match play this weekend on the Abbey Road pattern. struggled first game but it was 830am and I don't even go to work that early. 2nd game, Im awake, arm is loose and shoot 258. Strikes came easy. 3rd match I lost my swing, couldn't hit my mark and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong...172. 4th 5th games 143 137. more out of control tailspinning. tried diff lines, diff balls. Just couldn't get it right. Kept leaving splits. 6th game was position round and I went from 1st in 2nd match to 5th by 6th match. Tried 6th ball and moved back to start position. Found a line but couldn't hit it consistently. 191. Finished 4th and felt pretty bad about the trainwreck I just engineered.

Match play happens so fast. It was difficult to pace my thoughts and make adjustments. This is only my 2nd time bowling match play in my short bowling career. I've performed very badily both times. My wife and aunt were there trying to get me to relax but I just couldn't think productively. Something was wrong with my swing but my brain wouldn't process what I was doing wrong. Was very tough to deal with. I need me a mental game book soon. Idk if I can actually follow it but I cant just panic like that. I performed well during the 9 games on 2 different patterns for the main tournament. Had time to relax in between shots and refocus as there were 8 bowlers on a pair. but match play....there was only 24 bowlers in the entire bowling alley. and I was bowling 1 person at a time shooting back to back shots. very little time in between. My thoughts was this should help because I practice more games on my own than I bowl league games. But it ended up hurting me.

[Tampabaybob]

Prime example of mental weakness running amok this weekend. Made it to top 6 match play this weekend on the Abbey Road pattern. struggled first game but it was 830am and I don't even go to work that early. 2nd game, Im awake, arm is loose and shoot 258. Strikes came easy. 3rd match I lost my swing, couldn't hit my mark and couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong...172. 4th 5th games 143 137. more out of control tailspinning. tried diff lines, diff balls. Just couldn't get it right. Kept leaving splits. 6th game was position round and I went from 1st in 2nd match to 5th by 6th match. Tried 6th ball and moved back to start position. Found a line but couldn't hit it consistently. 191. Finished 4th and felt pretty bad about the trainwreck I just engineered.

Match play happens so fast. It was difficult to pace my thoughts and make adjustments. This is only my 2nd time bowling match play in my short bowling career. I've performed very badily both times. My wife and aunt were there trying to get me to relax but I just couldn't think productively. Something was wrong with my swing but my brain wouldn't process what I was doing wrong. Was very tough to deal with. I need me a mental game book soon. Idk if I can actually follow it but I cant just panic like that. I performed well during the 9 games on 2 different patterns for the main tournament. Had time to relax in between shots and refocus as there were 8 bowlers on a pair. but match play....there was only 24 bowlers in the entire bowling alley. and I was bowling 1 person at a time shooting back to back shots. very little time in between. My thoughts was this should help because I practice more games on my own than I bowl league games. But it ended up hurting me.

Ok, Josh, sorry that PDF didn't work out for you, but here's an article that might make sense and help. It may take a couple of reply's because we're limited to how much we can send at one time. Here goes......

The seven deadly sins of the mental game
The story of two wolves

There is an old story about a Cherokee Indian chief who was teaching his
grandchild about succeeding in life. “A fight often goes on inside people,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil – he represents fear, doubt, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego. The other wolf represents good – he is confident, self assured, joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?" The old chief simply replied, “The
one you feed.”
Which one do you feed before you bowl?!!

Bowling landscape
The bowling landscape is littered with the names of bowlers, some unknown, some famous, who never seemed to reach their potential as players or competitors. People might say, “Yeah, he was talented, but he just couldn’t make it out on tour.” Or “Sure, he has fifteen titles, but imagine how many he could have had if...”
Sometimes the reasons for not reaching one’s potential are obvious or even public. Drugs, alcohol, injury, or even motivational
let down are disappointing factors in an incomplete career. There can be a myriad of other reasons too. Life changes and losses, financial limitations for training and competing, or simply having a game that is rooted in the style of some other era, e.g. from decades past, have been causes for downfalls and incomplete careers.

Beyond all of those reasons, there are mental game hindrances, “deadly sins” if you will, that have accounted for more pressure, more choking, and more competition wreck- age than could probably ever be accounted for. This month we will look at seven of the worst of them and see what can be done to bolster your defenses against these pitfalls.

The Garden of Eden
Biblical legend has it that all was blissful for man and woman in the Garden of Eden until Adam and Eve changed things. According to the story, they left the euphoria of selflessness and freedom and took a bite out of the apple of ego and self-consciousness. Out of this event, all sin and misfortune was said to stem.
That darned ego, and its accompanying mental game pitfalls, have taken down giants. Naturally, in line with this, there are a few poi- son apples out in the garden of bowling. They lead to a certain amount of misery as well. We will study those poison apples this month. But here is a caution--look, but don’t eat!

Seven deadly sins

Approval seeking

"When you're out on that floor cheering, you don't worry about the judges or the other teams. All you need to worry about is cheering your heart and soul out and knowing that you are doing the very best you can."
—Corey Phillips

The need or desire to impress anyone outside of yourself can cripple your bowling. Whether it is your coach, your teammates, your boy/ girl friend, or your parents, you surrender your power when you have to impress anyone else. This “sin” probably accounts for more league, tournament, or television choking than any other single factor.
As soon as you have to perform for someone else, you chip away at bowling with your true self, your true center. Lots of players can still bowl with the backpack of approval-needs on their shoulders, but it never feels as free. You tend to tighten your muscles. And the fun and life of the game has the plug pulled on it.
To compete just one game without reflect- ing on the appreciation, approval, and accept- ing of anyone else is to compete freely. Most bowlers have never played one entire tourna- ment free in their careers. Wouldn’t that be something?!! At the end of the day, you have to play for yourself. You may as well; no one is more qualified to do so!

Perfectionism
There are three kinds of sin here. Everyone uses the term “perfectionism”, but seldom is the three-headed monster that comprises it identified. First is the kind that most people think about, demanding that you execute perfectly. Your armswing, target, and footwork are all supposed to look a certain way. And, of course, your results are supposed to be amaz- ing as well.
The second kind is a team killer. It also hurts your kids and your students. That is demand- ing perfect execution and results from others. That is the classic, “I’m only demanding from them what I ask of myself.” The problem is that what you ask of yourself borders on crazy, so you are asking them to be a little crazy, too. Nice, but ineffective and stressful.
The third kind of perfectionism is the belief that others are demanding perfect bowling, and results, from you. See #1 (approval seeking) above for an accented description of this one.
Perfectionism leads to a concern about making any kind of mistakes or imperfections in your bowling. Over-concern about this takes one beyond the pursuit of excellence and into the zone of anxiety, lowered confidence, and repetitive thinking about mistakes and failures.
It is pretty hard to focus, concentrate, and enjoy the game when this is going on. They say angels can fly because they take themselves lightly. Take yourself lightly.

Being unprepared for the good, the bad, and the ugly
Most players are not really prepared for anything out of the ordinary, no matter how good or how bad. Recently PBA star Michael Haugen, Jr. shot 300-279-300 in a three game series. What is striking about this is the amount of prosperity he was prepared to endure without sabotaging this spectacular set.
Not a lot of bowlers can do that mentally, independent of their physical skill. Many players will sandwich a 300 game in between other pretty good games. Or similarly will fit in a four or five bagger with a spare in the middle.
There is a whole lot of clenching that goes on in the tenth frame when a perfect game is on the line. The same thing is true for the last several frames before an 800 series. You have to be ready to be great. Most people simply won’t allow it otherwise.
Oft times a bowler will come back on the approach shaking his head because a ball didn’t strike or a sleeper pin continued to sleep on a spare shot. The expectation is that if you do all the right things, then the pins and score will respond appropriately. But the truth is that good drivers get T-boned in intersections, good people get ripped off by con artists, and great bowlers do not carry the rack sometimes. If you expect life to behave differently, brace yourself.
Finally, worse yet, sometimes you don’t feel good when you play. Sometimes you miss badly. Sometimes you just can’t handle the lane condition. This is the “ugly.”
First, you have to be prepared for all of it... because all of it is going to happen. Secondly, you have to know that none of it means more than it means on that given day. You can be great sometimes. Life deals you some wicked cards sometimes. Trust that if you stay with your training and your competing, you won’t remain an awful player.

[Tampabaybob]

-Part 2-


Getting psyched out before the game

"With confidence, you have won even before you have started."
—Marcus Garvey

Painfully, players and teams that do not succeed have often scripted their results ahead of time. On the good end, the same is true for those who do actually triumph.
If you sampled bowlers before a tournament or a PBA telecast and asked them where they think they will finish, their predictions would likely be close to accurate. If you could get a real read on players’ hearts and minds before play- ing someone with a big reputation, playing on television, or facing a stout competitor in the finals, you would have an advanced preview of who had a chance to play to win. You would see who was playing on hope instead of conviction.
You must play with conviction. It doesn’t matter who you are facing. It was said that Goliath was a forty point favorite over David. All you ever need is a sling shot and a chance.

Playing not to lose, instead of playing to win.

"Being the best that you can be is possible only if your desire to be a champion is greater than your fear of failure."
—Sammy Lee

Defensive driving works on the freeway, not on the bowling lanes. Playing defensively may help you stay on the lanes. It might even ensure that your ball gets to the pocket. But you will generally get mowed down by other players and teams who are playing to win.
Playing not to lose is a mindset of self- protection. It is a form of taking all of the previous deadly sins of bowling and convert- ing them into a bad news competition attitude.
You may not look stupid if you play this way. You may stay relatively clean with respect to strikes and spares. But you will also find yourself dissatisfied with your pin carry, the constricted feeling in your muscles, and the joylessness with which you are playing.


Focusing on winning.

"A gold medal is a wonderful thing, but if you're not enough without it, you'll never be enough with it."
—Irv Blitzer (John Candy), Cool Runnings

Focusing on winning can be a fine motiva-tor in practice. But it can be confusing, stressful, and a hindrance during competition. Focusing on winning before or during a competition has three problems:
1. If you are attached to having to win in order to be okay, you have yourself at stake. You might as well bowl with a gun to your head.
2. Focusing on winning is like focusing on having a perfect game or concentrating on getting a double before you throw the first one! There is nothing really to focus on.
3. Focusing on winning does not give you any cues or clues for effective ways of getting it done. You actually can focus on aspects of the lanes, your body, or your competition spirit. But focusing on winning itself is empty mental calories.
Feed the right wolf
There are your seven deadly sins. We are all human; hence we all err. Expecting perfection with respect to these has already been detailed as one of the problems. However, you can do your best. The issue is whether you have the fortitude to “feed the right wolf!!”

"Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force;
I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze.
My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the keys to my destiny."
-—Elain Maxwell

Dr. Dean Hinitz is a clinical sports psychologist in Reno, Nevada, a bowler, former competitive gymnast, and black belt in Japanese-style Karate. You can email him at deanhinitz@gmail.com

This is some of the best advice I've read in a long time. Read it, read it again, and read it again. I hope this helps, makes sense to you and gets you back on track for that next tournament.........Bob

[J Anderson]

Good article Bob. I'd like to comment on two sections, Being unprepared for the good, the bad, and the ugly, and Getting psyched out before the game.
This applies to many things in life besides bowling. I worked for a contractor for a number of years and even after I left his employ he and his brother remained friends and mentors to me. Ralph seemed to approach every thing with an almost irrational view that if he decided to do something, he would succeed in it. He succeeded often enough that one of his friends was fond of saying that if Ralph fell in a pile of manure he'd come out smelling like a rose. When things did not go as he had planned, he would be utterly shocked. There was one job where a customer had asked us to cut down some trees in his back yard. The first tree fell exactly where we wanted it. The next was leaning away from the house into the neighbor's property. I said we would need some rope in order to keep the tree from falling in the other yard and was answered, "I've cut down plenty of trees. Whichever side I cut the notch on is the way the tree will fall." Within 10 minutes he had the saw firmly bound up in the kerf and we spent another 10 or fifteen getting it free. Much of the rest of the day was spent hauling logs and branches back over the wall. Fortunately Ralph was always quick to recover from the shock of things not going his way and would change plans on the fly.

[mxjosh]

The last part...perhaps im missing the point. It says to know u can win and expext to do well. As where u think u are gonna finish is usually where u finish. But then goes on to say, dont focus on winning?

I've heard a lot to visualize yourself performing well, holding the trophy at the end. Know u can win.


Anyways, good article. Nothing I havent heard bef

[mxjosh]

.....Before. Cant edit mobile forums. Sorry. Full site link doesnt work.

[75lockwood]

.....Before. Cant edit mobile forums. Sorry. Full site link doesnt work.

The link is broken, see post i made below


Just in case anyone wanted this information, i found this awhile ago.....

if you attempt to switch to the full site from the mobile site using the link at the bottom, you are pointed to http://www.bowlingboards.com/forum/?styleid=20

This is broken on the site, if you edit the url to http://www.bowlingboards.com/forum.php?styleid=20 it will properly load the full site.

[mxjosh]

Ty for the link!

[Tampabaybob]

The last part...perhaps im missing the point. It says to know u can win and expext to do well. As where u think u are gonna finish is usually where u finish. But then goes on to say, dont focus on winning?

I've heard a lot to visualize yourself performing well, holding the trophy at the end. Know u can win.


Anyways, good article. Nothing I havent heard bef

Josh, one of the things I always tell myself before I start league practice is "I can beat this guy because I'm as good if not better than anyone in this league." You have to instilll confidence in yourself every time you bowl against someone in a league and especially in a tournament. It takes a long time to get that confidence sometimes, so just be patient. It'll come. Stay focused.