can you be to hard on your self?

[noeymc]

i think i expect way to much out of my self is that possible i feel like if i dont break at least 180 i let my whole team down my avg is about 179 or real close to it after yesterdays horrendous performance and once i start doing bad my emotions just start getting the better of me but i feel like i have to be the best

[Davec13]

I just play each frame as it's the first frame. The more pressure you put on yourself the more likely you are to screw something up. Once you make a mistake you continue on the downward spiral.

Some people do thrive on the pressure though and unless there is something riding on the shot they are off.

[75lockwood]

absolutely, i tend to do this far to much, i bowl one bad game and get irritated, then if i don't go calm down the night becomes a wash.

just relax, your there to have fun, don't worry about the scores worry about the frame at hand

[billf]

My expectations are high but it's just a game. I realize that at the end of the night what I bowl won't affect any other aspect of my life, cure cancer or anything else with any importance. I am competitive though so I do enjoy blowing out certain opponents. I do blame myself for two of my three teams falling from first to second place the last week. As captain and anchor it's my job to pick up any slack my teammates leave or make up any difference when our opponents are bowling well over average. I failed in games two and three last night and only Derrick bowled well last Monday. Good leaders lead by example. Getting mad, wasting any pin count and generally acting like you've never been there before are behaviors that are best kept under wraps and out of the mind.

[noeymc]

i think i need to learn to do that cuz the ten pin is normaly my bread and butter and i missed it like 8 times 99% of the time i make that and yeah

[MisterSinister]

I have a teammate who gets down on himself all the time. I try to pump him up, tell him he is better than he gives himself credit for. Unfirtunatly, I can't get through to him. If he just listened to me, and believed in himself, he could be a very good bowler. Keep your head up, and remember, it's just a game.

[billf]

It pisses me off when I miss any spare. Just drop it mentally before you take your seat. Never let your opponent know that you are susceptible to letting them get in your head. Like poker, keep them from knowing it bothered you that you missed anything. Now when I make a big split I do celebrate real quick. The flip side is this also keeps you from showing up your opponent.
I made the comment to an opponent three weeks ago when he struck out in the tenth (I still creamed him), "Not bad for an old man". I though we were the same age but he is 12 years older. I woke a sleeping giant and he took me to school and whipped my butt in front of the whole class games two and three. The comment didn't bother him but did give him a reason to drink less and focus more, motivation to do well.

[MisterSinister]

It pisses me off when I miss any spare. Just drop it mentally before you take your seat. Never let your opponent know that you are susceptible to letting them get in your head. Like poker, keep them from knowing it bothered you that you missed anything. Now when I make a big split I do celebrate real quick. The flip side is this also keeps you from showing up your opponent.
I made the comment to an opponent three weeks ago when he struck out in the tenth (I still creamed him), "Not bad for an old man". I though we were the same age but he is 12 years older. I woke a sleeping giant and he took me to school and whipped my butt in front of the whole class games two and three. The comment didn't bother him but did give him a reason to drink less and focus more, motivation to do well.

I agree with everything you said. When I know my opponent is down, and on the ropes, that's when I can drop the KO with a strike, or two. I will also never comment on an opponents game. Someone did that to me, when they made a comment that I was bowling far above average. The next two games, I smashed them by even more. Even in a recreational league, it is still a competition. Mental games can win, or lose you games real quick.

[75lockwood]

It pisses me off when I miss any spare. Just drop it mentally before you take your seat. Never let your opponent know that you are susceptible to letting them get in your head. Like poker, keep them from knowing it bothered you that you missed anything. Now when I make a big split I do celebrate real quick. The flip side is this also keeps you from showing up your opponent.
I made the comment to an opponent three weeks ago when he struck out in the tenth (I still creamed him), "Not bad for an old man". I though we were the same age but he is 12 years older. I woke a sleeping giant and he took me to school and whipped my butt in front of the whole class games two and three. The comment didn't bother him but did give him a reason to drink less and focus more, motivation to do well.

LOL bill, it seems your coach's skills can work against you, you sure do know how to motivate people

[billf]

LOL bill, it seems your coach's skills can work against you, you sure do know how to motivate people

I should know my opponent better. What I thought would screw with him instead motivated him. The best mental part is when I tell them I'm going to ruin their line during warm ups then do it only to change balls and lines when we start keeping score. Even if I didn't succeed in burning up the line the change I make leaves that thought in their head.