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

[Amyers]

Aslan

Wear the wrist brace If you aren't comfortable with that one with whatever your excuse is buy one that you are comfortable with. I bought one for my wife who has similar problems to you (weak wrist position poor finger position) and she is making remarkable progress. A wrist brace is not a sing of weakness If I needed one I would wear it in a heart beat if it improved my performance. I don't know maybe eventually the brace will train her wrist and she won't need it anymore maybe it won't but it is helping her today.

[Aslan]

Aslan

Wear the wrist brace

I'm considering it. I think I'll at least talk to my coach about it....if I still HAVE a coach since I haven't heard anything back yet after they didn't show and I sent a text about re-scheduling and nothing yet.

The only downside to the wrist brace idea is three things:

1) It does mess with my spare shot a little bit. But I'm assuming once I get more used to it; it won't.
2) It changes the fit of the ball. Not by a LOT...but it seems to shorten the span and not as much of my hand is in contact with the ball...it just doesn't "fit" as good and then I start "pinching".
3) Because my natural tendency is to flatten my wrist...and the brace is stopping/providing resistance....I think the brace will eventually fail.

Like yesterday...one ball I released, the wrist brace came off during the shot. Essentially, my hand was trying to flatten (pulling itself away from the brace) and it just over-powered the velcro.

But I AM considering it. I looked at a Storm Gizmo and it looked really nice. Much more comfortable than what I have.

We'll see. Ideally I'd like to train myself so I don't need it. I think it's a limiting device at some point since you can't alter your shots as much by maneuvering your hand if you need to do so. But if wearing it can make my shots more repeatable with more proper axis tilt and ball motion....at some point it's stubborn stupidity not to.

[Amyers]

"at some point it's stubborn stupidity not to".

There you go look at the Robby's Revs III too that's what I got my wife I guarantee that thing isn't coming off. Take it off for far right side spares. If you need a small span change your proshop can fix that with just redoing the slug $10 bucks here probably $20 there knowing So. Cal.

[Aslan]

Sunday Sport League: WTBA Sydney 33' Pattern

589 Series: 142-163-127-157

Game 1 I had a couple washouts…I slipped over the line and fouled once, costing me a spare…and I finished with a baby split I couldn't convert.

Game 2 I was clean except for a couple splits…but then I left a 1-2-8 in the 10th and couldn't convert.

Game 3 was one of my worst games in some time. Mostly just misses right leading to washouts. It just felt like I had no revs. I'd throw up the 7-board and watch the ball go straight into the 6-pin. And that was on a 33' SHORT pattern (supposedly).

Game 4 I was pretty much clean. I had a couple washouts and didn't strike much…but it was 'okay'; until the 10th when I left a 4-6 split to put a cherry on top of the nightmare.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 7.66 pins
Strikes: 17% (2 doubles and 3 singles)
Spares: 54% picked up

Single Pin spares: 100% (5/5)
Most common single-pin leaves: 10-pin (2x).
Also left a 4-pin, 6-pin, and 7-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 46% (13/28)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 6-10, 1-2-4, and 3-10 (3x each).

Splits: 20% (1/5)

Average over 4 games: 147.25.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: N/A.

I guess the spare shooting numbers are slightly encouraging. But really it was a disappointing session. I'm trying to throw the ball "properly" by staying behind it rather than hitting it up the side…trying to throw relaxed rather than "trying" to hook the ball. But so far I'm just not seeing the results. I'm watching others throw the ball the "wrong" way…and they seem to be doing a LOT better than me.

[Aslan]

Lunchtime Practice: low oil synthetics
LaHabra 300 Bowl

662 Series: 185-152-169-156

Game 1 I did well but missed a couple make-able spares which I wasn't happy about. But I was able to play my A-Game line and the lanes seemed quite dry so I figured I'd be in for a strong series. Game 2 started off with a chopped 1-2 followed by a 2-4-10 split. Then I was clean until the 9th and 10th when I left a 1-2-8-10 washout and a 4-6-7-9 split respectively. Game 3 I switched to the Rhythm…then to the Encounter (A)…then to the Encounter (N). Obviously with 3 ball changes I just wasn't having a good game. Fortunately I was able to pick up most of the multi-pin leaves to salvage a 169. Game 4 I switched to the Slingshot. Had a washout in the 2nd followed by a 4-6-7 split in the 3rd. Then I left the pocket 7-10 split in the 6th followed by missing a 10-pin in the 7th. Everything else was clean but it wasn't enough for anything respectable.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.69 pins
Strikes: 35% (1 turkey, 4 doubles, and 5 singles)
Spares: 48% picked up

Single Pin spares: 62% (5/8)
Most common single-pin leaves: 3-pin, 6-pin, and 10-pin (2x each).
Also left a single 1-pin and 5-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 42% (8/19)
Most common multi-pin spare leave: 6-10 (5x).

Splits: 0% (0/5)

Average over 4 games: 165.50.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 173.25.

An okay practice but I need to do much better over the next month. The Orange County BVL tournament is the last weekend of January at the same lanes I was practicing at. Bowling my average isn't going to help me there if I want to win my Division. The single-pin spare shooting needs to improve pronto and I can't leave so many multi-pin spares. Even the easy stuff like 4-7s, 6-10s, 1-2s, and 5-9s leave too much opportunity to be slightly off and chop. And I can't afford more than 1 open frame a game if I'm gonna have a shot at the 595 series I'l likely need to win my Division in January.

[Aslan]

Monday Practice: medium oil synthetics

622 Series: 167-213-242
First game I was just trying to figure out my line and ball to use...so I wasn't too concerned about the score. It was apparent early that while the lanes still met my definition of "medium oil"...they were drier than usual...probably a bit more traffic due to the schools being on Christmas break. So I didn't even start with the Bullet Train, put it right back in the bag. Started out with the Rhythm on one lane and the Encounter (A) on the other lane. Played the 10-11 board line. Game 1 wasn't as terrible as you'd think given I only managed ONE pocket hit. Good spare shooting can do wonders! Game 2 I was a missed single 10-pin in the 5th away from a clean game. Game 3 I was just "on" and missed a clean game due to a 4-7-10 split in the 8th.

496 Series: 178-156-162
Game 4 looks worse than it was. I was only a couple splits away from a clean game...but the lanes were starting to transition and I needed to ball down on each lane. Game 5 I was doing okay, picked up a 3-6-7-10 split in the 2nd frame...but in frames 4 through 6 I opened due to a 5-6 split and a couple multi-pin spares I couldn't convert. By the end of Game 5 I was down to the Slingshot on one lane...still trying to make the Encounter (N) work on the other lane. Game 6 I had a 4-6-7 split in the 2nd and a 4-10 split in the 3rd. Chopped a 3-6-10 in the 5th and a 2-4-5-8 bucket in the 9th...but struck enough to salvage a 162. By the end of Game 6 I was down to the Slingshot on both lanes...having exhausted my arsenal.

610 Series: 174-193-243 clean
Game 7 was frustrating. I missed two single-pin spares and then chopped a 2-5 in the foundation frame. Struck out in the 10th to salvage the 174. Game 8, same thing. Missed 2 single 10-pins. Game 9 I was just "on" and made a few spares (including the pesky 10-pin) to keep it clean.

601 Series: 214-154-233
Game 10 I was still striking well, but chopped a 3-6-10 in the first frame and missed a single 10-pin in the 4th. Game 11 was my worst of the night from a scoring perspective but it really wasn't "that" bad a game. Two missed single 7-pins back to back in the 5th and 6th frames...and two splits (4-7-9 and 4-6-7) in the 2nd and 7th frames. Game 12 I would have started off with a 8-bagger (which I've never done) but left a 4-6 split in the 4th frame to ruin it and cost me a clean game.

Arguably Useful Statistics:
First Ball Average: 8.99 pins
Strikes: 49% (1 6-bagger, 3 4-baggers, 4 turkeys, 8 doubles and 20 singles)
Spares: 58% picked up

Single Pin spares: 66% (18/27)
Most common single-pin leaves: 10-pin (9x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 8-pin, nor 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 52% (20/38)
Most common multi-pin spare leaves: 3-6-10 (8x).

Splits: 9% (1/11)

Pocket Percentage: 62%
Pocket Carry: 80%
Double Percetage: 42%

Average over 12 games: 194.08.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 201.33.

Very happy with last night's practice. The fact that had I made all my single-pin spares I could have averaged over 200 for 12 games is very encouraging. A strike rate of not only over 40% but nearly 50%!? It just makes things so much easier when you can strike.

But there were some negatives. I simply can't be competitive if I continue to shoot 60-69% at single-pin spares. That MUST improve. At this point, I'd be almost as happy to throw a clean game with all spares as I would to throw an 11-in-a-row. Nothing makes me more upset than missing single-pin spares.

This was a unique game for me in that I wasn't hitting right of the headpin. I'm not sure why...maybe with the extra Holiday traffic they actually cleaned the lanes midday and got rid of the carrydown...not sure. But missing left seems to be preferable to missing right in terms of scoring at least. The downside is...way more splits than I usually leave. But, since a washout is nearly as hard to pick up as a split...maybe hitting more left isn't a bad thing.

As to what I changed? The biggest thing for me this practice was (close your eyes Rob M.!) allowing myself to "loft" a little. After watching Mika win the Viper with his natural lofting ability...and watching some old Mika footage online...I sort of changed my approach a little. Rather than focus on dipping that right should and getting that ball to smoothly glide onto the lane...I just tried to be a little more upright. The loft wasn't like what I used to do...the ball wasn't going up and down like a bell curve. I was simply just releasing the ball higher in the air...and it was landing further out. I think this helps me in a few ways:

1) It feels natural to me. Trying to lay the ball down smoothly...I'm "trying".
2) It forces my shoulders to straighten and run parallel with the foul line which helps me not push the ball right or pull the ball left.
3) It adds much needed rpms to my shot.

The "key" is (close your eyes Amyers)...the wrist brace. The wrist brace is keeping me from breaking my wrist and it's allowing me to stay behind the ball even when lofting it a bit. So, despite the loft, I'm not sacraficing axis tilt for axis rotation. I'm not able to "grab" the ball at the bottom and "lift" it. I have to push 'through' the ball just by the nature of the wrist brace.

So...am I going to wear the wrist brace in league when league starts up in January!!??? Undecided. I have an important lesson with my coach one week from today. At that time, I will discuss the wrist brace. I'm old skool...I look at wearing the wrist brace as an embarrassing weakness that I need to overcome. Much like a kid with a blankie or a pacifier. I don't LIKE wearing the wrist brace. And it slightly upsets my spare shooting. BUT...if I simply cannot keep from breaking that wrist...and the difference is 30 pins in average wearing it versus not wearing it...and the coach is on board...then screw it. Bite the bullet.

P.S. You'll also notice some new stats. These are not Pinpal stats, they are no stats I've begun tracking. Pocket %, Pocket Carry, and Doubles %. For those that are new to these stats, they are calculated:

Pocket % = Pocket hits/first shots
Pocket Carry = strikes/pocket hits
Double % = pocket strikes after a pocket strike

[fortheloveofbowling]

Hey! Great bowling there man! I think those are some good changes with your posture at the line. It always seemed in your videos that you were to far forward with your shoulders. That carry percentage is solid also.

[mc_runner]

Nice bowling!

[Aslan]

Monday Practice: medium oil synthetics

y Tuesday team wanted to practice so I showed up and bowled a few games. I got kinda high in the parking lot…thought it would be an interesting experiment to bowl high. For me, I thought it might actually result in me "letting go" and maybe not over-think as much. Results below.

496 Series: 155-157-186
Game 1 I just couldn't strike. Add in a split and a couple missed single-pin spares and things weren't going well early. Game 2 I managed to run at least a couple strikes together but also had one additional split…so another sub-160 game. I think in Game 3 the weed was sorta wearing off a bit. Single-pin spare shooting showed up as well as some strikes. Only one open in the 8th when I chopped the 2-8.

Arguably Useful Statistics:
First Ball Average: 8.85 pins
Strikes: 33% (1 double and 9 singles)
Spares: 57% picked up

Single Pin spares: 58% (7/12)
Most common single-pin leaves: 7-pin and 10-pin (4x each).
Never left a single 1-pin, 2-pin, 3-pin, 6-pin, nor 8-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 55% (5/9)
Most common multi-pin spare leaves: n/a

Splits: 25% (1/4)

Pocket Percentage: 61%
Pocket Carry: 55%
Double Percetage: 0%

Average over 3 games: 166.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 180.67.

When you keep this many stats…you're bound to see information that actually starts painting a picture of what went wrong/right.

1) Bowling high DID relax me…but it also hurt my focus and technique so that little experiment failed.
2) Pocket percentage wasn't horrible, but the pocket carry was abysmal. I obviously wasn't hitting the pocket correctly because I left two single 9-pins and I rarely leave single 8 or 9 pins when I'm hitting the pocket solid.

The thumb was loose as well. With the colder weather and not bowling as often with leagues down for a week…the thumb seems small. I think I'm "chicken-winging" too…something to focus on next practice…making sure that swing is a straight pendulum.

[Aslan]

Holiday Practice: low oil synthetics
Brunswick Classic Lanes

641 Series: 171-195-125-150
Game 1 I had a split and a couple missed single-pins. Game 2 I definitely got into a groove…and was clean until the 10th when I opened on a single 10-pin. Game 3 was a disaster…3 splits, a couple chops, and another open in the 10th due to ANOTHER missed single 10-pin. Game 4 I really started coming through the ball…so I quickly exhausted my arsenal options…game wasn't as bad as the score indicates…a couple splits and a missed single 4-pin; otherwise clean.

640 Series: 133-174-173-160
By game 5 I was using my Slingshot. Game 5 I just couldn't pick up any splits. Game 6 I was clean until I ran into a couple 3-6-10 leaves in the 8th and 10th. Another damn open 10th. Game 7 was clean except for a few splits. Game 8…a good summary game as I missed 2 single-pin spares and also had 2 splits including ANOTHER open 10th.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.70 pins
Strikes: 32% (1 turkey, 4 doubles, and 16 singles)
Spares: 45% picked up

Single Pin spares: 63% (14/22)
Most common single-pin leave: 10-pin (11x).
Also left a single 1-pin, 3-pin, and 7-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 32% (10/31)
Most common multi-pin spare leave: 3-6-10 (5x).

Splits: 0% (0/13)

Pocket Percentage: 51%
Pocket Carry: 64%
Double Percetage: 22%

Average over 8 games: 160.12.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 170.38.

It's weird because as I was bowling in Game 2; I thought to myself, "These conditions are TOO easy! I mean, I'm hitting the pocket without even trying!" Then, Games 3 through 8 I just couldn't consistently stay right of the headpin. My release was just too inconsistent. Sometimes…lots of revs…sometimes a medium amount…sometimes it'd slip off and I'd drop it. Still some thumb issues with the cooler weather.

Played with my follow-through a little bit. Trying to navigate between some nice revs with an appropriate amount of loft. Lesson on Tuesday…I think I'll have at least a couple items to try and look at:

1) I'd like to get some feedback on the wrist brace. It's almost certainly helping the ball come off my hand and my hand go through the ball. And the scores are indicitive. But I don't want the use of the wrist brace to someday create a hurdle in my development and I don't want to develop any bad habits.

2) Single-pin spare shooting STILL seems to be an issue…the strike rate, first ball average, and average are all going up…but the single-pin spare shooting is trending downwards.

This lesson and hopefully one more before the BVL tournament in the end of January…so I gotta get my game to a 625 Series level bowler by then. I don't need to average 208…but I need at least one of four of the series to be in the 625 range.