bowling partner

[tracy]

i have a bowling partner that i bowl with on 2 handicap leagues. the problem is that he stews about all the bad balls that he throws and complains about the good ones and brings it back to me,instead of keeping it to himself and then it works on me and then the way i bowl.if he gets 1-2 strikes in a row ,he then he says that he can get all the rest in strikes but then doesn't get a one so i try to tell him to take them 1 at a time but it doesn't seem to sink in. how do you deal with your partners and do i go about telling him how i feel about his bowling personality or am i asking too much or should i just keep quiet?

[J Anderson]

There is only one person whose behavior you can change and that is you. There isn't anything you can do to make him stop stewing, but you could try some of the following.

Make sure you are practicing what you preach: keep focused on making one good shot at a time.
Praise your partner when he is being focused and positive.
If he keeps on sulking, try to distract him by talking about fishing or any other sport than bowling,( very hard to do if its a doubles league).

[The Mayor]

Option D: Find a new partner.

People like that are difficult to bowl with.