Aslan's Scores (of the non-lady kind)

[Aslan]

Tuesday League Night: medium oil synthetics

527 Series: 171-208-148

Game 1 I had carry issues and missed a few very make-able spares. Game 2 I did quite well but had a 2-5-7 split in the 5th and a 5-7 split in the 9th; otherwise clean. Game 3 I struggled finding the pocket. I think I got lazy with my knee bend and my release.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.69 pins
Strikes: 34% (1 4-bagger, 2 doubles and 3 singles)
Spares: 55% picked up

Single Pin spares: 62% (5/8)
Most common single-pin leave: 9-pin (2x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 2-pin, nor 4-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 50% (6/12)
Most common multi-pin leave: 1-2-4-8, 1-2, and 1-2-8 (2x each).

Splits: 0% (0/3)

Average over 3 games: 175.67.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 186.00.

On the good side, my best start to a season since my first full season in a sanctioned league when I shot 545 and 533 to start. And of the two leagues I'm in, that's 4 500+ series out of 5 attempts. The downsides? Obviously my single-pin spare shooting is still a bit off. And yet another night where during one game I seem to lose pocket and struggle to get over 150…which just kills the series. 3 straight league nights with one game in the 140s. And I can't believe that in Game 2, with only two open frames (both splits), I only managed to get a 208. I struck 7 times! 6 strikes in the first 7 frames! And all I had to show for it is a measely 208.

Game 3 I just think I got lazy. I stopped bending my knee..and then I stopped getting my wrist in the proper position on the release….and shots started missing right. And the oil pattern seemed tougher today. They may have shortened the pattern slightly or maybe reduced volume since last season…but they still aren't oiling before league play so whatever garbage is there from people bowling on it all day…thats what ya get.

[Aslan]

Wednesday League Night: low-medium oil synthetics

585 Series: 203-164-218 (clean)

Game 1 was only a missed single 2-pin away from being clean. Game 2 I lost pocket a bit and struggled with single-pin spares; missing 3 of them, including a 7-pin in the 10th leaving that frame open. Game 3 I couldn't string a long line of strikes together, but was able to stay clean and finish with a respectable score.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.09 pins
Strikes: 46% (2 turkeys, 1 double, and 7 singles)
Spares: 68% picked up

Single Pin spares: 50% (5/10)
Most common single-pin leave: 7-pin (3x).
Never left a single 1-pin nor 5-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 100% (6/6)
Most common multi-pin leaves: n/a (all 6 different).

Splits: 100% (2/2)

Average over 3 games: 195.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 210.67.

Obviously this was a great series for me; the 3rd highest I've ever thrown in sanctioned play. 6 pins less than what I bowled at sweeps in March and 8 pins lower than my best sanctioned series that I rolled last December in the Citrus Belt BVL tournament.

The biggest disappointment of the night was single-pin spare shooting. Obviously at practice on Thursday I need to work on single-pin spares afer about 5 straight league nights where I'm under 80%. And last night it wasn't so much corner pins…I missed not only a 4-pin, 6-pin, and 7-pin; but also a 2-pin and an 8-pin.

And even on these good nights…where my multi-pin spare shooting was exceptional…single-pin spare shooting hurt me. I could have won hundreds of dollars last night in side pot money in the first game and third game. I think in both cases I missed it by maybe 10 pins or less.

The new release is "working"…but I need to work on my focus. If I really focus on my mark and makig sure my hand position is right…getting low and staying relaxed…I can almost always find the pocket and score well. But I have a tendency to lose that focus and then I find myself not bending my knee and releasing the ball flat…then trying to 'compensate' with bad habits.

[vdubtx]

Nice shooting Aslan.

Gotta get that single pin pick up improved! I could see 10 pins missed, but 7 pins?



Keep that improvement coming along. You will be a 199 bowler just like Mike White in no time.

[Amyers]

I know where you are coming from if I'm on with the spares I make them all but God if I miss one I'm going to miss 3 or 4. Congrats on the nice series.

[Mike White]

I know where you are coming from if I'm on with the spares I make them all but God if I miss one I'm going to miss 3 or 4. Congrats on the nice series.

I refer to opens as potato chips, because it's hard to stop at just one.

[Amyers]

I refer to opens as potato chips, because it's hard to stop at just one.

Nice one Mike

[Mark O]

I refer to opens as potato chips, because it's hard to stop at just one.

Haha that is probably the most true statement I've ever heard! I can go games without opening but then as soon as I miss an easy one the floodgates open. It's all in my head as it is with most people but still funny to hear it referred to as potato chips.

As for the actual scores though nice shooting Aslan! Some real good scores lately between the competition and your league night! A 180-200 bowler is a wide range but I don't think you are on "verge" of anything, I think you are already there. Not at the high end yet obviously, but at the 180 side of the range absolutely! You've improved a lot and as you incorporate and practice these new techniques you'll build up muscle memory and you won't have to think about it as much and the consistency will come. Keep working on it and make those single pin spares! Think of each missed single pin spare as 3 pins off of your average on the night. If you're missing 3+ a week that's 10+ pins off of your average...they add up quick!

[Aslan]

Gotta get that single pin pick up improved! I could see 10 pins missed, but 7 pins?

Yeah. That was a weird night to miss all those easy ones. I 'believe' that it's because of a slight change/adjustment I've made to my spare shooting system (explained in far too much detail...Mudpuppy warning....below):

For corner pins I have a set place to stand and target. For any combinations* or middle (1, 2,3,5,8,9) pins...I have certain lateral movements that I do:

1-pin = no movement
2-pin = 4 boards right (same line)
3-pin = 4 boards left (use imaginary line)
5-pin = no movement, but target moves down the lane slightly to accomodate for it being further back than the 1-pin.
8-pin = 2 boards right, same line, but the target gets moved a little more (than for a 5-pin) down lane to accomodate for the distance.
9-pin = 2 boards left, imaginary line, target pushed out same as above

The issue is, that when I was practicing in Vegas I found that when I used the exact same target as I would for a strike shot...and only made lateral movements to pick up middle or multi-pin spares...I was missing. The reason is that in Vegas I was targeting FAR closer (the dots) than I normally would to try to get the ball to react sooner and read the lane better. So I adjusted my spare shooting so that for multi-pin and middle pin shots, I use the arrows rather than a point further towards me/foul line. And that has greatly increased my ability to pick up multi-pin spares. Unfortunately, I've been struggling on middle pins using that adjustment. So I'm going to cancel that adjustment for single, middle-pin spares...and just continue using it for multi-pin spares.

* some multi-pin spares (6-10, 4-7, 8-10, 7-9, 7-10, 1-2-4-10, 1-2-4-7-10) I still use my plastic spare ball.

Keep that improvement coming along. You will be a 199 bowler just like Mike White in no time.

Especially if I can pay an 8-year old to spill Kool-Aid on the left side of the approach prior to competition!!

Haha that is probably the most true statement I've ever heard! I can go games without opening but then as soon as I miss an easy one the floodgates open. It's all in my head as it is with most people but still funny to hear it referred to as potato chips.

It's definitely like that for me. When I'm on...it's a very repeatable shot, nice follow-through, and I expect to pick it up. But once I miss...I get to the line and think, "dang it...I sure hope I don't miss this!"...and then I 'try' to put more hand in it and my follow-through is off or I throw it at the wrong speed, etc...

Keep working on it and make those single pin spares! Think of each missed single pin spare as 3 pins off of your average on the night. If you're missing 3+ a week that's 10+ pins off of your average...they add up quick!

It cost me even more last night (see below)
Game 1: 203/237hcp would have been a 214/248hcp. The winner of the first hdcp side pot shot a 241hcp and won $82.
Game 2: 164/198hcp would have been a 196/230hcp. (1 frame away from a Dutch 200)
Game 3 was clean and I picked up the one single-pin spare (10-pin) in the 10th, scoring a 218/252hcp, but missed the $82 hcp side pot by 4 pins to a guy that shot 256hcp.

So it cost me 15 pins of average and $82. It didn't cost our team the point in Game 2...they had a guy that shot a 276 scratch and a 140 bowler bowl a 176 so there was little we could do about that point even had I made my single-pin spares...and I did my best to win the Game 3 sidepotbut just came up short.

Thanks for the support!! And I agree with Mark O...if I can just 'tweak' by technique at this point (rather than another complete overhaul), I might be able to start having some muscle memory and not HAVE to think or remember to focus on certain parts of the approach/release...and that will be a welcome "un-burdening" for sure.

[Aslan]

Also, Hampe, VDub, and RobM might be extra proud of me that the 218 clean game I was using different balls for each lane as the left lane seemed noticeably drier/shorter than the right lane. Two balls with similar measurements and layouts...but one drilled conventionally with tape in the hole and one drilled with the VISE IT inserts that obviously feels much different.

[Aslan]

Thursday Practice: medium oil synthetics

Warm-Up Game: n/a
First 4 games I played "low-ball".

502 Series: 167-158-177
Game 1 was actually was way better than the score indicates. My only non-split open was a 1-2-7 washout. But, I had 3 splits that game (very uncommon for me). Game 2 I had a 6-7-10 split in the 5th, then missed a 10-pin in the 9th, then a 1-2-4 washout that I chopped in the 10th. And Game 3 was clean except for an 8-10 split in the 7th and a chopped 3-6-9 in the 8th.

Arguably Useful Statistics:
First Ball Average: 8.31 pins (exactly the same as last practice at this center)
Strikes: 25% (1 turkey, 1 double, and 3 singles)
Spares: 60% picked up

Single Pin spares: 83% (5/6)
Most common single-pin leave: 7-pin and 10-pin (2x each).
Other 2 pins were a 4-pin and 6-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 52% (9/17)
Most common multi-pin spare leaves: 1-2-8, 1-2-7, and 8-10 split (2x each).

Splits: 0% (0/5)

Average over 3 games: 167.33.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 170.33.

Kind've a bummer. But, it's a harder house/pattern/lane condition than where I bowl on Wednesdays…so, to be expected.

The numbers were almost identical to the last time I practiced there. Within about 2% on every stat.

The first 4 games of practice I only shot at corner pins. I was trying for a lowball score of 40 or less but had to settle for a couple high 50s before rolling a few actual games. And MOST distracting environment possible with a party of asian middle schoolers right next to me. I swear at one time 7 of them were on the approach at one time.

I think part of the reason for the letdown in Game 2 was I got lazy with my knee bend and release. If I focus on those things and my mark…good things usually happen. But sometimes I'll get lazy and lose that focus and then bad things happen.

On a good note….another series over 500. And I got some work in on corner-pin spares.