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

[Aslan]

Just to give Rob some props as well...and others...

One thing I've been working on is fix that enormous first step. Still a work in progress...but I think fixing that first step will help with timing inconsistencies.

The other thing, and Rob and I talked about this in Vegas, is I brought my ball up from the 500 abralon to 1500. My coach mentioned the same thing that Rob had mentioned....which is that with my first 3 balls surfaced to 500, 1000, and 1000...there's a risk that the ball is dying before it hits the pocket and that might be why my strike rate is so low. So I brought the Bullet Train up to 1500 and the Rhythm and Encounter (A) up to 2000. I did it by hand just to give it a try...and I only used the Bullet Train last night...BUT...I was able to find the pocket and did seem to see some carry improvement. The balls still aren't designed/drilled for skid/flip...so still no angular backend...but a bit more "snap" than I usually see. I'm anxious to see how it works at the easier/drier house tonight where I may see an even more dramatic reaction down lane.

I also fixed a ball progression problem I was having. I was making only one lateral movement before balling down...and THEN going back to my original line. After talking with my coach at my lesson...I was instructed not to do that. I should stick with the same ball, continue to make lateral moves UNTIL a move left results in the ball missing right...and THEN just ball down and use the previous line...NOT the original line. That change allowed me to get comfortable with the one ball and make minor adjustments with my feet rather than ball down once or twice by Game 3.

[Aslan]

Wednesday League Night: medium oil synthetics

Pre-Game Warm-Up: 100-168
Game 1 I tried it without the wrist brace and just couldn't get the ball into the pocket. Game 2 I put the wrist brace on and was a 4-6 split and a chopped 4-7 away from a clean game…but strikes were few and far between. Not looking good for another run at 700!


500 Series: 165-155-180

Game 1 I didn't strike until the 7th frame. Lanes seemed a bit slicker than in the previous 3-5 weeks. The ball choice just didn't seem ideal. It seemed like I was missing left on one lane and right on the other. The Rhythm coverstock seemed too aggressive on the one lane and not aggressive enough on the other. And constant thumb issues…too tight, take out tape and too loose...

Game 2 was more of the same…only struck twice. A chopped 2-5 and a missed single 9-pin early on also really knocked me out mentally. And continued thumb problems as I switched balls and had to adjust and readjust tape and inserts.

Game 3 I finally found a decent strike line on the right lane but couldn't figure out the left lane.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.58 pins
Strikes: 30% (1 turkey and 7 singles)
Spares: 61% picked up

Single Pin spares: 75% (6/8)
Most common single-pin leave: 2-pin, 7-pin, and 10-pin (2x each).
Never left a single 1-pin, 4-pin, 5-pin, 6-pin, and 8-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 53% (7/13)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 2-4-5 (3x).

Splits: n/a

Average over 3 games: 166.67.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 173.33.

On the bright side the team took all 4 points despite my off night AND I at least salvaged a 500 series. And while I was 75% at single-pins…I was actually to see that because I thought it'd be lower.

On the bad side…everything else!!

I think a lot of it was mental. I was having a HORRIBLE day…and I think I was just mentally exhausted.

[Aslan]

Thursday Practice: medium oil synthetics

Warm-Up Game: 183

535 Series: 176-206-153
A couple missed single-pins cost me big in Game 1 including a missed single 4-pin in the 10th. Game 2 was solid; but again clean game lost due to a missed 7-pin in the 8th frame. And in Game 3, it was a chopped 3-6-10 and THREE missed single-pins…including another 4-pin in the 10th.

Game 4: 203 (clean)
I only had time for one more game with League play starting soon and in this game I tried to cut my thoughts down from 2-4 to 1-2 on the approach. It worked better than I thought it would…muscle memory somewhat took over.

Arguably Useful/Non-Useful Statistics:
First Ball Average: 8.98 pins
Strikes: 35% (1 turkey, 2 doubles and 12 singles)
Spares: 72% picked up

Single Pin spares: 66% (14/21)
Most common single-pin leave: 10-pin (5x).
Never left a single 1-pin nor 8-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 83% (10/12)
Most common multi-pin spare leaves: 5-9 and 3-10 split (2x each).

Splits: 100% (2/2)

Average over 5 games: 184.20.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 199.60.

Not a bad practice. I didn't get to work on a couple things due to the leagues coming in. I gotta keep working on my timing. My release still needs work. And the footwork is still a mess while I try to shorten that first step.

[Amyers]

Working on footwork can mess everything else up quick but it's worth it if you can improve. Keep at it.

[Aslan]

Tuesday League Night: medium oil synthetics/longer pattern

Pre-Game Warm-up:
458 Series: 111-199-148
Game 1 = no wrist brace. I was trying to improve my release with a better follow-through but it just wasn't working...not making back to the pocket. Game 2 I put the wrist brace back on and was a couple missed single 10-pin in the 8th frame away from a clean game....everything felt great. In the 2nd half of that game I started using different balls to see if I could judge the length of the pattern, how soon the balls were hooking, etc.. And Game 3 was just a continuation of that trial so the scores for the set really don't matter much...it was just warm-up and strategy/preparation. It did continue to reinforce my need to wear the wrist brace though...at least for now. : (

528 Series: 195-148-185

Game 1 I started off with a 4-bagger and everything felt great. Then I lost it in the 5th. I managed to keep things clean until the 8th...but I couldn't convert 2 straight 5-9 spares and couldn't strike out in the 10th so my 200 game was sunk.

Game 2 was a disaster. I was so frustrated that I actually displayed a rare outburst and punched the wall. I seemed to find the pocket briefly in frames 3-6...but I was all over the place and then opened in the 10th on a chopped 1-3 leave to put a cherry on the top of that turd sandwich.

Game 3 wasn't much better but I strung 4 strikes together at the end to salvage a decent game and series.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.61 pins
Strikes: 45% (2 4-baggers, 1 double, and 5 singles)
Spares: 50% picked up

Single Pin spares: 75% (3/4)
Most common single-pin leave: 10-pin (2x)

Multiple Pin spares: 42% (6/14)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 2-4-5 and 5-9 (2x each).

Splits: 0% (0/1)

Average over 3 games: 176.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 179.67.

A sport psychologist may be the next step. I was so frustrated I was almost enraged...then I look at the Pinpal stats at the end of the night and realized I shot a 525+ series above my average and my strike rate was solid and I only missed one single-pin spare.

The lanes were drier than usual so most everyone was having trouble staying right of the headpin (or left for lefties). I didn't use my normal ball progression. In practice/warm-up I saw that I was getting more movement downlane from the polished balls in my bag than I was from the balls that were more aggressive and had a little more surface. So I just used the less aggressive, polished Encounter and midway through Game 3 balled down to the Slingshot on one lane. I might drop the more aggressive Encounter from the line-up for that center. I just can't seem to find a line or approach that works with that ball

Played much deeper than I ever have (and was still successful). On one lane I was throwing the less aggressive Encounter...laying down about board 23, crossing the arrows inside 15. On the other lane I was laying down the Slingshot about 18, crossing the arrows about 11.

But I wasn't missing my mark very much...but I think my timing, footwork, loft, and/or speed was off because I was getting a lot of variation for relatively small variations in how far the ball was from my mark.

The night wasn't a complete loss. I brought my average in that tougher house to 170 and helped the team take a point...but I think with the team being in dead last place, I'm the only one not sandbagging and looking forward to sweeps/Vegas. : (

[Aslan]

Wednesday League Night: low-medium oil synthetics

605 Series: 215 (clean)-184-206

Game 1 I couldn't run more than 2 strikes together in a row; but knocked down at least 9 pins on the 1st ball on every shot except the first ball of the 10th. Game 2 was clean except for two splits; a 4-6-7-9 in the 4th and a baby split in the 8th. But I didn't strike till the 7th and then struck out in the 9th/10th. Game 3 I was also clean until a 4-7-10 split in the 5th and then I chopped the 6-9-10.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 9.14 pins
Strikes: 54% (2 4-baggers, 3 doubles, and 5 singles)
Spares: 73% picked up

Single Pin spares: 100% (8/8)
Most common single-pin leave: 10-pin (3x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 3-pin, 7-pin, 8-pin, and 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 42% (3/7)

Splits: 0% (0/3)

Average over 3 games: 201.67.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 201.67.

I would have liked to run more than 4 strikes together. But I can't complain about a clean game, 50%+ strike rate, and a 100% single-pin rate.

Tonight I tried to implement some forward spine tilt into my game. It worked out quite well. Seemed to give me more leverage, more power.

[vdubtx]

Nice shooting Aslan. Things sure are looking up for you. Your practice an coaching sessions are certainly paying off. Nice job on converting all of your single pins!!

The other night, I would have loved to just string 4 together. Most I had was a turkey.

One thing I learned when I started to shoot my first few 600 series, way back when. Don't set your expectations so high as to shoot a 600 every week. Just keep at your practice and they will begin to come easily to you. I would put so much pressure on myself to perform at that level, that I made it almost impossible to just bowl and not force it. You know what happens when you force it...nothing good.

I will also say this in advance.....don't get discouraged when you have a set back. They happen to everyone. Not just you, me, but even the pros go through them. Keep at it and your improvement will surely continue.

[Amyers]

Nice shooting keep it up looks like you've really taken a step forward I'm hoping I've got myself back on track.

[Aslan]

One thing I learned when I started to shoot my first few 600 series, way back when. Don't set your expectations so high as to shoot a 600 every week. Just keep at your practice and they will begin to come easily to you. I would put so much pressure on myself to perform at that level, that I made it almost impossible to just bowl and not force it. You know what happens when you force it...nothing good.

I will also say this in advance.....don't get discouraged when you have a set back. They happen to everyone. Not just you, me, but even the pros go through them. Keep at it and your improvement will surely continue.

All good advice. Obviously, this being an easier house shot was weighing on me (aka: "you SHOULD be bowling even better on this poo house shot"). And it was wearing on me a bit that probably 1/3 of those strikes were brooklyn. So I was still not hitting that pocket 100%…but when I missed; I usually missed left and just the right amount. And it IS a different situation mentally when you're the highest average bowler on a team near the top of the standings. Whether I should bear that pressre or not…I feel like I MUST bowl my average to help the team…which isn't a problem when my average is 150-170. But my average in that league is now 190!

But some of the mental stuff seems to actually "help" me. "feeling" like I'm one of the best bowlers in the league (vs doubting it) gives me a certain level of confidence. I walk up to the approach thinking, "okay, this'll probably strike." vs "God I hope this hits the pocket at least." Same thing with single-pin spares. On Tuesday night…I'm scacred poo-less when I see that 10-pin sitting there. I'm even scared to see an 8 or 9 pin sitting there!

So there's a LOT of mental going on. Physically…it's still working on my few items from the most recent coaching session (staying low, effortless release, focus on the target through the swing) and add to that Rob's coaching advice regarding release hand position. And then add in the new forward spine tilt I'm experimenting with. All those are physical…but mentally it's been just as important (to success or failure) to have that confidence, to feel like I AM a good bowler, that I CAN compete with these higher average guys and actually beat them.

Thats why I mentioned that I might need a sport psychologist eventually because the "mental" side is starting to be equally/slightly more/slightly less important as the physical game development.

[Amyers]

I will tell you from my experience bowling in the 190-200 range kind of stinks your good enough to expect to compete with the big boys but not good enough to beat them on even a simi-regular basis. My Win, Lose, or Draw league from last fall was an eye opener for me on how much difference there is between a high 190's average and a 210-220 average.