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

[Aslan]

Do you have any video of you bowling?

It's on my "to-do list" to make a new video. I have computer issues because my laptop is sort of on it's last leg and the memory is a bit full. So, with my movie editing software, it takes up a ton of hard drive space to download the movie, copy it into iMovie, and create an edited version. I can usually delete a lot of it afterwards and also move files to flash and external hard drives...but while working with it...too much memory/hard drive space needed.

On the surface your knowledge and insight would appear to set you up for consistent success, it is very intriguing to me that the scores don't match up with the information.

What's intriguing to some, is a downright nightmare for others (i.e. Me)

I find it interesting that you were more comfortable bowling when there were no opponents. Do you have a competitive history (sports, academics, etc...) or is bowling the first time you've found yourself in a competitive-ish environment? I think my past and current athletic competitive atmosphere definitely help me with the mental side of bowling...I love to compete! Also, I think athletics in ones background really help with the coordination/physical aspect of bowling.

I've played a ton of sports. Baseball, figure skating, basketball, tennis, ice hockey, football, taekwondo, broomball, speed skating, golf, paintball, competitive running...I think that's all of them. But I've never been "good" at a sport. I've been "okay". I mean, I ran 5ks and finished top 3 in my division...I was a pretty good paintball player...above average broomball player...above average tennis player...and an average ice hockey player...but bowling is probably the sport I've had the most success in (overall).

I think this team had dilusions of grandjeur to some degree. They recruited me and the #3 bowler...and I think they thought we were going to be a top 5 team. But our #3 player had only his second good series of the year this week...the anchor has bowled just slightly better than me...we both had 9 pins of handicap for the last 2-3 weeks. The lead-off bowler is a 120-160 bowler. The female bowler averages 80-85. And we've been struggling for over a month. Nobody said anything to anyone else...but then last night I'm getting chewed out for practicing before league play as if I'm costing the team our shot at a title. I can deal with the competition...and can play the mind games with the best of them...but when your own teammates are screwing with your confidence...that's when I get flustered.

And I feel bad because she might have just been kidding around...but it's one thing for the anchor to offer pointers on how to get out of my slump or what he's seeing in my approach, etc... It's another thing for the 82 average bowler to give me ****.

[Tony]

Well...I admit that from some of things I've heard...I actually DO have more knowledge about bowling balls than some pros do....

Seems to me that you are giving yourself way too much credit here. Besides there isn't a wealth of data showing that knowing specs or trivial information about a sport equates to being able to perform well at the sport.
By virtue of your accomplishments in other sports it would appear you can be a good bowler but it's doubtful you'll ever be a pro or even top player in your league.
Don't get me wrong, I'm in not any better position as are many fair to slightly above average players. As with other sports you can learn the game and practice and become a decent player but that can only take you so far.

You seem to be under the impression that learning the stats on all the balls will somehow advance your ability, it won't make that much difference. It's great to be a student of the game and soak up knowledge but it will only have a limited effect on your performance.

[RobLV1]

You seem to be under the impression that learning the stats on all the balls will somehow advance your ability, it won't make that much difference. It's great to be a student of the game and soak up knowledge but it will only have a limited effect on your performance.

I hate to disagree, Tony, but one of the benefits of the modern game of bowling is that a knowledge of bowling balls will make a huge difference. Given one player with a lot of physical ability and little knowledge of equipment, and a second player with much less physical ability and a lot more knowledge, it's game on. Ideally, a player will have a lot of physical ability AND a lot of knowledge. Unfortunately most players with more physical ability tend to rely on that ability totally and don't bother gaining the knowledge to go with it. Those that have both are called PROS.

[Tony]

I hate to disagree, Tony, but one of the benefits of the modern game of bowling is that a knowledge of bowling balls will make a huge difference. Given one player with a lot of physical ability and little knowledge of equipment, and a second player with much less physical ability and a lot more knowledge, it's game on. Ideally, a player will have a lot of physical ability AND a lot of knowledge. Unfortunately most players with more physical ability tend to rely on that ability totally and don't bother gaining the knowledge to go with it. Those that have both are called PROS.

It's not a problem that you disagree but let me note, I was saying knowing ball specs will not improve your scoring to any great degree, knowing how the balls YOU HAVE react in different houses and conditions will be quite helpful.
That leads me to comment if Aslan is a ball expert with knowledge comparable to the PRO's why does he have mostly balls that came out before he even started bowling, he states he began bowling 2.5 years ago yet 3 of the balls he is using are from 2012 or 2011 ? Would that selection of different balls cover all conditions ? I don't know, I'm not a ball expert.
I've watched intently the ball selections and changes of a number of high average bowlers with whom I have been bowling and I rarely if ever see them use 3 to 5 different strike balls in a single series on a THS. Bowling on a house pattern and knowing your ball should not result in switching balls that much, in fact I would assert that switching balls that often would be more likely an indication that he does not have a good handle on what balls match to what centers or conditions and is simply switching balls randomly hoping to hit the right ball. Not to say that's a big deal but if someone is going to assert they have knowledge better than many pro's they should have some way to demonstrate that's it's useful knowledge rather than just knowing specifications .....

[Hot_pocket]

I hate to disagree, Tony, but one of the benefits of the modern game of bowling is that a knowledge of bowling balls will make a huge difference. Given one player with a lot of physical ability and little knowledge of equipment, and a second player with much less physical ability and a lot more knowledge, it's game on. Ideally, a player will have a lot of physical ability AND a lot of knowledge. Unfortunately most players with more physical ability tend to rely on that ability totally and don't bother gaining the knowledge to go with it. Those that have both are called PROS.

Well knowledge of bowling balls means nothing if you don't know how or when to use it. I would say there are people that could cut it with the pros but don't have the funds or time to be able to truly establish their game to pro level. Practice makes perfect and the more you bowl the better you bowl more often, whether with a new top of the line ball or 3 year old top of the line ball.

[RobLV1]

Well knowledge of bowling balls means nothing if you don't know how or when to use it. I would say there are people that could cut it with the pros but don't have the funds or time to be able to truly establish their game to pro level. Practice makes perfect and the more you bowl the better you bowl more often, whether with a new top of the line ball or 3 year old top of the line ball.

The pros are who they are because of a unique combination of physical ability, knowledge, and a mental toughness that the rest of us can't even really imagine. They became pros because they found a way to get it done despite all adversity. They found the funds. They found the time. They not only practiced to become perfect, they worked with professional coaches and made sacrifices in terms of the rest of their lives to become who they are.

[Amyers]

Any knowledge in abstract of itself is useless information. It's not until you figure out how to apply the knowledge to your endeavor that it becomes useful. I do believe Aslan has a decent grasp of bowling balls in an abstract sense and how things like rg and covers should effect them but I don't believe this translates for him into seeing how it effect his actual ball motion on the lanes. At times he also tends to go with what he thinks instead of what his eyes are telling him which causes some his issues.

The ability to read ball motion and understand what your motion and pin leaves is telling you is paramount in bowling an can equalize the playing field with another bowler who maybe more talented but lacks this ability. No amount of abstract study will make up for not being able to read your balls motion or the inability to consistently put it where you need to.

I think in the modern environment we tend to discount how good the guys on the tour truly are. It's easy to see them rolling 240 on tv and go watch your local house hack roll a 240 and think wow he could be on tour! The difference between being an above average 220-230 house shot bowler and consistently placing in the money on tour is day light and dark. The ability to constantly adjust between different houses, oil patterns, dealing with the burnt out conditions during qualifying and throwing the number of games they throw and still shoot scores like that? Unbelievable.

[vdubtx]

I think in the modern environment we tend to discount how good the guys on the tour truly are. It's easy to see them rolling 240 on tv and go watch your local house hack roll a 240 and think wow he could be on tour! The difference between being an above average 220-230 house shot bowler and consistently placing in the money on tour is day light and dark. The ability to constantly adjust between different houses, oil patterns, dealing with the burnt out conditions during qualifying and throwing the number of games they throw and still shoot scores like that? Unbelievable.

Well said. Being one of those "House Hacks" I can adjust to a certain point, but I know I just don't have what it takes to compete on the PBA level. Sure, I probably could if I could dedicate myself to just bowling on those conditions, but it's not realistic for me.

I am content competing in leagues, tournaments and at Nationals every year.

[JJKinGA]

The Air Force (or maybe it was the US Navy) did a study on how to create the expertise needed for fighter pilots. The conclusion: 10,000 hours of experience (applied learning). This has been anecdotally confirmed for other areas of expertise. Interestingly, innate ability wa not that important.

So, If you worked at bowling with intentional training for 9 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, you could get there. This is how you get to be a top level expert.

Now I think Aslan applies himself rather diligently to working at Bowling. Let's say he has 3 years at 300 hours of real training per year. He is less than 10% of the way to a world class expert.

For some talented youth with time and dedication; they can put in 1500 hours a year. That means in 4 or 5 years they are well on the way to greatness. Probably enough to maintain the level of effort they are putting in. A few years more and they are at the top level that can be in the Duke, PDW, Miki level of success.

[Aslan]

Well, just for the record...I don't even claim to be any good...much less an expert or a pro. The site says I'm a "guru" but keep in mind that on the site's scale, Iceman is a "God".

What I've "heard" is that most Pros have an above-average knowledge of bowling ball technology but it's primarily what they get taught by whatever company sponsors them and what they've picked up over decades of experience with their craft. But there is certainly a "range". Chris Barnes is a "ball spec nerd" who is fascinated by bowling ball technology and physics. His approach is to know more than the other folks...to hopefully have an edge over some of the younger players coming up that at this point have a physical edge over him.

On the other end of the spectrum are Pros that quite frankly could care less about bowling ball specs. They knows the basics, they've seen the presentations, they know a bit about drilling and pin positions...but at the end of the day they rely on the ball reps standing behind them to actually give them their best ball/line. And there's nothing wrong with that.

I would say that at this stage, I have at BEST 15% of Chris Barnes's knowledge and 2% of his physical ability. See how low those numbers are!! That's why when it comes to my short term goals...there is nothing about PBA cards or anything like that. Even if I push my head into the clouds and look at my bowling "dreams/long-term aspirations"...I'm talking about spending the next 9 years bowling 1000+ games per year...taking instruction from 3 of the top 100 coaches in the game....spending $3000-$7500 per year...with the hopes that my body can hold up long enough for me to get enough knowledge and physical talent that 'maybe' I could beat a SENIOR PBA pro on the PBA50.

Realize....that dream is like an attic with very few support beams to stand on.
1) My technical ability and mental aptitude comes with the negative of over-thinking.
2) My physical ability is SO bad...that I have to work much harder to get above average much less to the next level.
3) I have a history of ankle, knee, back, neck, and shoulder problems. Bowling 1000+ games, overweight, on a questionable knee...with a sore elbow, sore shoulder, and sore ankles...I doubt the timer on this time bomb had 9 years left. Hell, I doubt I'm lasting another 2 years if I'm being honest. Probably some kind of cancer or I'll get murdered or something. Hopefully it's quick and relatively painless. I don't want to get eaten by a bear or attacked by a shark or anything.