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

[Aslan]

Monday Practice (wood lanes)

Wanted to try the new tri-grip, but the Frantic was working well and my coach was there and he doesn't want me switching balls. I still used the other ball a few times just because I'm so anxious to test the try-grip...but the thumbhole was too big and I didn't have any tape.

406 Series: 125-151-130
Disappointing. Was having trouble with my mechanics and throwing the ball in the gutter and just the things that have been messing up my game lately. The coach noticed and came over to help. Unfotunately...his "help" is to radically change my approach. And I HATED it...BUT...I gave it a chance. If he's nice enough to help me out...pretty much free of charge....the least I can do is listen and "try" it.

440 Series: 138-139-163
By the end of the series...I was getting used to his approach. I hated it at first...and I don't like the idea of being a "consistent 130-140 bowler"...but the consistency was improving.

460 Series: 156-182-122
Felt "good" The last game was an aberration because I got like 3 splits. And I ALMOST converted 2 of them. A 2-10 and a 3-10. The guy on the lane next to me was in "awe" that I came so close to picking those up.

498 Series: 159-159-180
I was tired...so all the "muscling" I was doing making my game more erratic....I had no strength left to do it. And my spare shooting was spot on. Very close to clean games!

[Aslan]

Thursday Night League (synthetics, non-sanctioned)

Practice: 106-116-98-97
Was trying the new tri-grip ball...was NOT working out. It falls off my hand in a way that made it impossible for me to hit my marks. Decided to put it aside for leagues so not to completely kill my team.

League: 470 Series: 189-125-156

Put up my best game and best series thus far in this league. The shortened approach and things I worked with with my coach on Monday seem to still be paying off. Team took 3 out of 4 points so we should have 2nd place...maybe 3rd or 4th depending on how the teams we were tied with did.

More Tri-Grip Practice: 182-122-145-105-108-116

Thought I figured it out...but still was having problems...and by game 5 the inside of my thumb was really hurting. Gonna have to work on it some more before I feel comfortable using that ball/grip for leagues when it counts. But the fact that I threw a 182 with it means...there's hope.

More about the tri-grip in the tri-grip thread.

[Aslan]

Friday League (wood lanes, sanctioned)

478 Series: 182-146-150

Started off strong, out bowled everyone on my team and the other team's best player. But didn't finish strong. Bowled about 17 pins shy of my average over the series. Not sure if we took 3 out of 4 or 1 out of 4 since this team was new and didn't have a handicap set yet. But since the 2nd place team looks like they lost 3 out of 4...we'll probably still be in first place next week. And next week will be intimidating....bowling against the team with the 3 best bowlers in the league...all 3 carrying near 200 averages. It's a handicap league...so I gotta remember that I don't need to beat them scratch...but still...watching those guys is a fairly stark reminder that I'm nowhere near as good as I want to be.

The shortened approach has really made my game more consistent...but now I'm a 470-480 series bowler. It remains to be seen if I can improve upon these changes and become a 495-505 series bowler. My goal by the end of season is to be a 570 series bowler...so I'm still a ways off.

[Aslan]

Monday Practice (wood lanes, low oil)

367 Series: 111-112-144
First two games I tried a new approach, timing, and release. But it was too much change all at once. Switched back to old approach for game 3.

485 Series: 186-136-163
Was working on my release, trying to get more revs. Had to muscle the ball too much though...which gave inconsistent results.

485 Series: 121-169-195
After the first two games, I switched to a much lower release, bigger knee bend, less loft. Actually was quite successful.

135 Game
Didn't have as much luck in the 2nd game. Mainly splits and spares and my spare shooting wasn't as good. Obviously still some work to do!

[Aslan]

Thursday Pre-League Practice:

Tried the tri-grip to see if I was ready/confident to use it for Leagues: 175-98
After the 175, I thought I was ready to take the plunge...but the 98 changed my mind. Tri-Grip ball...back to the bag!

Thursday League (non-sanctioned, synthetic, moderate-heavy oil): 424 Series: 116-167-141
I was NOT happy with game #1...but turned things around after that.

Post Thursday League Practice:
Was still very interested in seeing if I could throw another 175 game with the tri-grip drilled ball.

388 Series: 118-129-141
Was not only working on the tri-grip; but was also working on my new approach and release.

355 Series: 148-91-116
The 91 game I was trying to target the pins, then the dots. Targeting the arrows I had the best luck.

[Aslan]

Friday League Night (wood lanes, sanctioned)

495 Series: 165-160-170

Pretty consistent night…but just really disappointed that I would at times throw such great shots…then every 3rd, 4th, 5th or so frame…completely miss my target and hit the right gutter or miss way left and hit the 4-pin. A lot of doubles and 4 clean frames broken up by 1-2 open frames where I picked up 7-9 pins. Not acceptable if it isn't a split situation. I forgot my wrist support at home…first time bowling without it in awhile…but I don't blame that. I think my inconsistencies were just over/under shoulder rotation…nothing to do with the wrist.

Pretty much bowled my average….one pin higher for the series. But we played the most skilled team in the league…with 4 guys that regularly hit the 200 mark…beat em the first game…lost by about 12 pins the second game…maybe 18 pins the 3rd game…and lost the series by ONE PIN. Got 1 point out of 4…knocked us out of 2nd place.

[Aslan]

Monday Practice

Usually do Monday practice on Wood Lanes, but the place was closed due to a private party so I wandered over to the other alley and practiced on synthetic lanes. Also gave me another opportunity to use the tri-grip ball.

Tri-Grip Ball
569 Series (4): 126-126-153-164
Started getting used to the tri-grip ball.

Worked on getting low and a slower approach. Got my speed down from over 19mph to between 15.5 and 17.5 mph. Started targeting the dots instead of the arrows. Started to see some real success after the first 2 games. Decided I would see if the same approach would be useful if I were to throw my Frantic rather than the tri-grip Columbia WD.

537 Series (4): 128-165-132-112
The Frantic at the lower speed showed the hook/backend reaction I was used to on drier wood lanes. Not as much…I mean I still had to start my approach about 3-7 boards right and aim no further right than the 10 board…but at least I was getting some arc…rather than throw it straight up the 12-15 boards.

Then bowled another game with the tri-grip: 131. Then another game with the Frantic: 122.

The tri-grip WD obviously had no backend…plastic ball and all. But I was able to do quite well at hitting the headpin and picking up spares. Not a lot of strike potential unfortunately. The Frantic had more strike potential, but was more erratic. Threw it in the gutter a handful of times…not getting my shoulders parallel to the foul line and/or not following through.

[Aslan]

Had a couple hours this morning for practice (wood lanes):

433 Series: 140-135-158
Started out trying to use the dots instead of the arrows…like I did on synthetics Monday…but I was just getting too much reaction. I could NOT keep that ball on the right side of the headpin! Ball speed so slow…no loft…means even my Frantic was just too much ball for dry/wood lanes.

Instead of moving left, I tried moving right…hoping that if I could just get it further right, maybe add a "little" speed…make sure my form was good so I didn't toss it in the right gutter…"maybe" it'd work. But I had to start aiming back at the arrows and lofting a little. Otherwise it grabs too early.

510 Series: 190-165-155

Missed a clean game in the first game of the series due to 3 frames, all 3 were splits…2 (5-10s) and 1 (2-8-10).

The key to my game on dry lanes is the release. All the stuff I've been working on with approach is secondary. On synthetics, I need to change the approach and ball speed …because otherwise it's a straight ball. And I have to remember to make sure I also have a good release. With low oil, other way around. Need the good release…and have to hope the approach doesn't get too far out of whack.

Started using my tri-grip Columbia WD as a "spare ball". Mainly just for splits and single 10-pins. Had pretty good success with most spares. And the ones I missed were very, very close. So, the final 3 games, best series in quite awhile. Feel good about Friday Night League!

[Aslan]

Thursday Practice (synthetic lanes)

Didn't have leagues tonight due to Halloween; so I stopped at an alley near where I had a meeting. I was the only one in there…they had a good deal, $10.50 for 2 hours…so I got 9 games in before I had to leave. Still coulda got 1-3 more games in if I didn't have to leave early.

377 Series: 88-130-159
I really struggled early! That 88 was my worst game in MONTHS! I just couldn't get anything to work. But, started making some adjustments, picking up more spares.

390 Series: 121-143-126 (Tri-Grip Practice)
Since I was struggling with the Frantic, I thought I'd get some tri-grip practice in. Just like before, seemed to be more consistent at hitting the pocket and hitting spares…but had trouble getting strikes and had more splits.

398 Series: 122-126-150
Went back to the Frantic…tried aiming at different spots. In the first game, I aimed at the dark areas 3/4 down the lane…trying to get my follow-through working. But, as is the convention…the further the target, the harder it is to hit it. I started targeting arrows in the 2nd game…a little improvement…more than the score indicates since I had trouble with spares that game. Then the last game…had a few open frames that hurt me…especially with them wedged in between marks…but I felt good in the last game.

This was practice for NEXT Thursday. Friday leagues I know what to do…and just need to play my game and pay a little more attention to good form and picking up spares. But NEXT THURSDAY…is where I need to slow the ball down, aim at the dots instead of the arrows, and really, really concentrate on my form. No room for errors on synthetic lanes. I get 2-3 boards away from my target…my ball just isn't strong enough to grab the dry area and hit the pocket.

And still gonna stay with the Frantic instead of the Columbia WD tri-grip drilled. But at this point it's almost a toss up as to which one to use. With the WD, I'm almost guaranteed a 366+ series…but it's not likely I'll get more than a 429 series. And I NEED a 399+ series to help my team in that league. With the Frantic…I could get a 462 series…or I could suck it up and get a 378…so the variance is higher…but I'm likely to do better (either a little or a lot) with the Frantic as my strike ball and the WD as my spare ball. Now…if I get to the alley and get a couple practice games in before league…and the WD is rolling better than the Frantic….I reserve the right to change it up.

[Aslan]

Friday League (wood lanes, sanctioned)

Practice: 159-139
Was going to try a new 6-step approach…but I couldn't even do it one time…just too odd. Wasn't too happy with the practice.

536 Series: 171-182-183
Put together my second best series thus far. I anchored the team in the 2nd and 3rd games and we took 3 of 4 points. Hopefully we'll be in first or second place by next week. Didn't do anything special…just played my usual game…tried to concentrate more and pay attention to my form and hitting my mark. Didn't do a lot of striking for some reason, but was pretty good with spares. Even came close to picking up a 4-7-10 split. Close…but no cigar.

At the end of the night watched a guy come up short in a 300 bid. 289, left a 3 pin or 4-pin. Last week a guy made it to the tenth, same thing, left the 3-pin or 4-pin…ended up with a 286. So I think we've had a 290, 2 289s, and a 286 in 5 weeks. Lots of good bowlers in this league. It's fun just holding my own against them.