How can I concentrate during League?

[75lockwood]

One thing you need to do is dont worry bout the previous frame.

You have no idea how true this is!

i often see bowlers miss an easy spare and get all uptight and mad, and when they get up the next frame they loose all focus and the ball ends up in the gutter.

Just relax and have fun!!!!

[Tampabaybob]

There have been studies done that indicate, slowing down your breathing, i.e.; taking a deep breath before stepping up on the approach will "definitely" increase your concentration and accuracy. I always take one before and another before I take my first step and release the breath as I start to walk to the line. Try it, maybe it'll help you relax a bit. Clearing your mind, and stopping the thinking process for some people is not always the easiest thing to conquer.
When you step up on the approach, it's just you, the ball, and the target. That's all.

Bob

[Big Nick]

There have been studies done that indicate, slowing down your breathing, i.e.; taking a deep breath before stepping up on the approach will "definitely" increase your concentration and accuracy. I always take one before and another before I take my first step and release the breath as I start to walk to the line. Try it, maybe it'll help you relax a bit. Clearing your mind, and stopping the thinking process for some people is not always the easiest thing to conquer.
When you step up on the approach, it's just you, the ball, and the target. That's all.

I try to do something very similar to this. A good pre-shot routine helps me to turn my conscious brain off and let my subconscious and muscle memory take over.... When i'm doing it right, it feels like I'm just along for the ride and I score very well.

[scottymoney]

I find my league scores to be better than practice bowling. I guess I just enjoy the competition and pressure. I have found that having a "score" to beat type of mindset I can concentrate better. When I practice by myself I find the scores to be lower as I bowl too fast and I don't have the mindset of having to try. Practice for me now has to consist of a friend going to bowl with me just to slow down my pace and have someone to sort of bowl against.

Some things to try would be may be setting goals for yourself outside of the league stuff. Play your own game. I always set the goal to bowl over my average.

[75lockwood]

I find my league scores to be better than practice bowling. I guess I just enjoy the competition and pressure. I have found that having a "score" to beat type of mindset I can concentrate better. When I practice by myself I find the scores to be lower as I bowl too fast and I don't have the mindset of having to try. Practice for me now has to consist of a friend going to bowl with me just to slow down my pace and have someone to sort of bowl against.

Some things to try would be may be setting goals for yourself outside of the league stuff. Play your own game. I always set the goal to bowl over my average.

I Bowl better in a league setting as well, partly becuase i enjoy the competitive Attitude and partly because when i practice i work on specific aspects of my game, practice should not be the time to worry about scores (i see a difference between bowling outside of league and practicing), my practice sessions tend to go somthing like: practice 10 pins every first shot and strike balls every second shot, and when i have somthing specific to work on i'll allocate half the time to that and only that, if i'm working on hitting my target, i don't care if the target i chose will result in a strike, i focus on that target. if i'm working on footwork, the ball could end up in the gutter every time for all i care.


This leads me to an interesting story..... i was doing just this and threw a 57 game (yes i know) but this kid thought he was cool so he came over and started bad mouthing me in just as i was starting my 8th frame, so i calmly got up threw 4 strikes in a row without a word and walked away....

and yes... i do get off topic easily

[AZBowla]

For me, my practice IS open bowling because I leave myself plenty of standing wood to shoot at as it is. Once I get more consistent with my strike ball I'll then try and vary my routine so I'm shooting at spares first, like that damn 7, lol. For now though, my goal is just to fill the frames with X's. That's a lofty enough goal for me, lol.

[75lockwood]

For me, my practice IS open bowling because I leave myself plenty of standing wood to shoot at as it is. Once I get more consistent with my strike ball I'll then try and vary my routine so I'm shooting at spares first, like that damn 7, lol. For now though, my goal is just to fill the frames with X's. That's a lofty enough goal for me, lol.

but but but but but spare are more important than strikes!!!! if you make every spare every game you guarantee yourself a 200+ average!!!!!

[J Anderson]

but but but but but spare are more important than strikes!!!! if you make every spare every game you guarantee yourself a 200+ average!!!!!

I respectfully disagree. 200+ requires at least one double. Alternating strikes and spares maxes out at 200 even. Considering that most of us leave an occasional split or washout, you probably need a triple or two doubles each game to average over 200.

I do agree that most of us waste time and energy worrying about strikes that we didn't get, and that would be better spent focusing on making spares.

[75lockwood]

I respectfully disagree. 200+ requires at least one double. Alternating strikes and spares maxes out at 200 even. Considering that most of us leave an occasional split or washout, you probably need a triple or two doubles each game to average over 200.

I do agree that most of us waste time and energy worrying about strikes that we didn't get, and that would be better spent focusing on making spares.

Ok fine, let me rephrase, if your good enough to make every spare that comes along, one would hope you make atleast a few strikes here and there....

Strikes are for people with Talent to Spare!

^punny

[billf]

After reading all these posts I almost forgot what the original question was. I still use paper like Mike White suggested. I also tend to go against the rest. I don't get mad or upset very often but it does happen. I do analyze every shot, every frame. The notes help me. This comes into play when say after an 8 bagger you get to the approach and can't remember what line you were playing (REALLY HAPPENED TO ME). It has also helped me notice that certain lines on certain lanes in my home center just don't carry as well. Like lane 1 has a loose board or something so I can't play 25-15. Lane 8 I can't play the 5 board without a ton of splits. I also know that on lane 2 I can get the 7-10 by going over the 21st board from 5 at 21 mph or higher. That doesn't work on lanes 3,4,5,9,10,11 or 12. I don't know why but I know.
I also bowl about 50 pins lower in practice, when they turn the scoring monitor on. I hate that because you have to know when the 10th frame is in case it resets or your ball crashes the gate lol. The better employees turn the lane on for me but not the scoring.
A big part of league or tournament bowling is truly believing you belong there. Trying to hard and fear of success are two common problems people have. Relax and have fun. Fun is the priority. Once you relax and have fun the scores will come.
Pre-shot routine with a deep breath before you start your approach are two very valuable tips. Add wipe your ball as part of your pre-shot routine. Pick one thing to remind yourself of. I was using "quality shot" but this last week went to "keep elbow straight". One thing to focus in helps to focus. More ends up being a distraction. Sometime I will also sing a song. It calms me, gets a tempo and has the added benefit of annoying my opponent.
This is my first year in my scratch league. I went through some of what you have starting this league. My average before was good enough yet I still felt I had to prove myself. Not to them but to me. One of my teammates asked me who I thought I had to prove something to. I've beaten them all in tournaments except 3 or 4 guys so he couldn't figure out why I was trying so damn hard. They all know me and knew something was wrong when I reacted to a stone 8 pin.