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

[Aslan]

Wow this looks so much like my night last night that its basically a twin. I think you had more strikes than I did but I did have some splits. I only missed one spare other than a split in 4 games and converted 2 of the splits but the high game was 189. One of these days I'm going to find a solution.

I know. Guys that strike a lot...they have NO IDEA how LONG a night of bowling is when you have to convert that many spares. No wonder my knee is barely holding itself together...I have to bowl twice as often to simply roll a 192 as the others do.

[Amyers]

Your exactly right. I was worn out after those four games. The only line I could find that would consistently stay right of the head pin was to play extremely deep and maximize the amount I was hooking the ball between throwing twice as many shots and having to try and get as much on it as possible it wore me down. Weird situation last night anything played right of the third arrow was missing high. Over or inside of the third I had to catch it all to get it to come back to the pocket strong enough. These lanes are just plain weird. the last game was a championship roll off I qualified second bowled on a different set ended up ten boards right on that set over where I had been on the previous lanes. Finished second 179-188 Clean except for a split in the first

[Mike White]

I know. Guys that strike a lot...they have NO IDEA how LONG a night of bowling is when you have to convert that many spares. No wonder my knee is barely holding itself together...I have to bowl twice as often to simply roll a 192 as the others do.

The way you release the ball, there should be little to no stress on your body.

You don't reach a point where you need leverage.

If you're tired after a night of bowling, it's mentally tired from worrying about things that you should be able to ignore.

Spare shooting it mostly memorization, and hitting a target.

If you effectively use your practice time, you know where to stand to put the ball in every spare region, and have built up confidence in your ability to execute the shot.


I suspect that while you practice a lot, it's not effectively used time.

Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.

Practicing the wrong motions will make them bad habits.

[Aslan]

If you're tired after a night of bowling, it's mentally tired from worrying about things that you should be able to ignore..

It's FAR more MENTALLY tired...than physical.

But, and I think YOU can appreciate this...I was having approach issues. The right lane was slippery...and I'm just now getting "sort of" comfortable sliding rather than planting...but that was TOO much. I nearly fell like 3 times. On the left lane...opposite problem...just before the line...STICK...heel comes down...torques the hell out of my knee. And I've been trying to get lower and have more of a knee bend...but I have a questionable knee...so the more shots I take...the more abuse that knee takes.

You're right...physically I'm not tired or sore...but mentally I'm exhausted...and my knee gets sore. And the more you bowl on a bad knee...and the more abuse it takes...the shorter your bowling career will be. The PBA50 is mostly a graveyard of some of the greatest bowlers in history that just can't get that knee bend anymore.

But MENTALLY...ughh. When you strike...you think ya got things figured out...you relax...wait your turn...have a beverage...maybe a mozzarella stick or two...play some cards...laugh, etc... But when you don't strike....then you gotta figure out your spare shot...execute your spare shot...then go back to the table and try to figure out what the heck ya did wrong NOT to strike...bad shot? missed target? bad release? approach issues? thumb fit? are the lanes breaking down? Do I need to make a ball change? Am I playing the proper line? Am I hurting my team? It's just a mental barrage when you don't strike versus relaxation when you do. THATs the exhaustion I feel.

My practices as of late are focusing on footwork, form, and focus. The "3 Fs". I keep track of the score...I get a lot of spare shooting practice in during the practice...but I'm usually focused on something specific that I'm working on. Last Sunday I spent the 1st 3 games focusing just on my first two steps. Then the next 3 games I added "form" to the footwork...and focused primarily just on my form and balance at the line. Then in the last 3 games...I tried to focus mostly on hand position at the release point. Some people see my score tracking and think I'm just out there practicing by trying to score my highest series or something...not usually. I'm usually trying to perfect something that came up in the last lesson. Things that I may not be ready to use on league night...because I need more practice.

[Aslan]

Wednesday League Night: medium oil synthetics

Pre-League Practice: n/a (didn't keep score...just 3 games of warm up)

550 Series: 168-170-212
551 on Tuesday and 550 on Wednesday. I'm a model of crappy consistency!!

Game 1 wasn't "bad"...I opened on a 2-10 split in the 4th and missed a single 10-pin in the 6th...otherwise clean. Same story in Game 2...missed a 5-7 split in the 1st frame and then opened on a single 6-pin miss in the 5th. My first ball average was stronger in Game 2, but then I opened in the 10th on a 2-5-7 split. Game 3 I got another 5-7 split in the 1st frame...but converted it (causing applause from the spectators). After that I struck 5 times over 6 frames...but missed another single 6-pin in the 5th to break them up...and could only manage a 212.

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.97 pins
Strikes: 37% (1 turkey, 2 doubles, and 5 singles)
Spares: 70% picked up

Single Pin spares: 70% (7/10)
Most common single-pin leave: 6-pin (4x)
Never left a single 1-pin, 2-pin, 4-pin, 7-pin, nor 8-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 70% (7/10)
Most common multi-pin leaves: 5-7 split (2x).

Splits: 25% (1/4)

Average over 3 games: 183.33.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 194.67.

A very similar night (and similar series) to last night. I felt horrible the whole night...I just couldn't get any axis tilt or axis rotation on the ball. I made one shot in frame 3 of Game 2 that I felt was "on"...everything else was garbage. I struck more, but most of em were ridiculous garbage strikes.

Thumb fit was an issue again. I went through 3 different IT inserts trying to get the right fit and didn't finally find it until the 3rd game. I even resorted to thumb tape (the kind you put ON your thumb itself) trying to get a snug fit but ensure my thumb comes out. Of the 3 single-pin spares I missed tonight...two were thumb issues. One I dropped the ball because it was too loose...the other it stuck on my hand and lofted halfway down the lane.

It's amazing how so much of our perception is relative to our expectations. On Tuesdays I'm the 3rd best bowler on the team...I just go out there and try to compete. But on Wednesdays...I'm the anchor...probably overall the best bowler...but I can't compete with our thumbless bowling youngster when he starts running strikes together. But I "feel" the pressure...even though all 3 games we weren't even close to winning (they had two high average subs and last night destroyed the season high with over 3400 pins total (+ handicap)...I still "feel" like I should be at least one of the top 2 bowlers out there between the 2 teams. And last night I wasn't. The 3 subs (1 on our team) all bested me as did the thumbless bowling teammate (but barely), as did another guy on their team. I beat the old guy and the women...which isn't a great thing (nor a great thing to have on your headstone).

Still struggling with the new footwork...but the main difficulty remains the inconsistent release. Without the wrist brace...my wrist naturally bends backwards...and most shots I don't seem to be getting the hand through the ball properly. Sometimes I'm off to the right...very little axis tilt...sometimes I'm coming over-the-top...and then once a game or so...perfect release with great axis tilt. Same thing with a "relaxed swing". When I truly have a relaxed swing...it seems like I'm getting very little hand into the shot. But if I "try" too hard and un-relax the swing...bad results that way as well.

I'm gonna try to practice a bit tonight....lesson on Monday. I should have Arsenal #2 up and ready to go by next week's league play...but we'll see. I'm afraid given the specs of the new arsenal...I really need a better release or this could be bad. The Bullet Train is a very strong ball...if I can't get it to move with authority into the pocket, I fear I won't be able to get any of the new balls to turn either since they are all (overall) weaker than the bullet train. I hate to buy a brace and go back to that...I just feel it's a crutch and I'll never develop a good release if I keep relying on it. And maybe moving to 15lbs will help...I've heard you get a bit more revs as you move down in weight...maybe that'll also allow me to get through/under/around the ball better. Who knows.

[Mike White]

It's FAR more MENTALLY tired...than physical.

But, and I think YOU can appreciate this...I was having approach issues. The right lane was slippery...and I'm just now getting "sort of" comfortable sliding rather than planting...but that was TOO much. I nearly fell like 3 times. On the left lane...opposite problem...just before the line...STICK...heel comes down...torques the hell out of my knee. And I've been trying to get lower and have more of a knee bend...but I have a questionable knee...so the more shots I take...the more abuse that knee takes.

You're right...physically I'm not tired or sore...but mentally I'm exhausted...and my knee gets sore. And the more you bowl on a bad knee...and the more abuse it takes...the shorter your bowling career will be. The PBA50 is mostly a graveyard of some of the greatest bowlers in history that just can't get that knee bend anymore.

But MENTALLY...ughh. When you strike...you think ya got things figured out...you relax...wait your turn...have a beverage...maybe a mozzarella stick or two...play some cards...laugh, etc... But when you don't strike....then you gotta figure out your spare shot...execute your spare shot...then go back to the table and try to figure out what the heck ya did wrong NOT to strike...bad shot? missed target? bad release? approach issues? thumb fit? are the lanes breaking down? Do I need to make a ball change? Am I playing the proper line? Am I hurting my team? It's just a mental barrage when you don't strike versus relaxation when you do. THATs the exhaustion I feel.

Ok so how do those guys who strike a lot, get to the point where they strike a lot?

Pure luck?

A large part of it is the fact that they get a lot of help from the lanes.

But that help is like road signs. All the help in the world isn't going to do any good if you don't read them.

Your release determines if your ball can "read the road signs".

[Aslan]

Thursday Practice: low oil synthetics

I got there pre-leagues but that just meant the lanes hadn't been oiled in forever. And the pair was completely different. Right lane sorta normal, left lane I was playing about 10 boards left and had balled down to my 5th weakest ball by the end of Game 6.

499 Series: 183-166-150
Mainly focusing on footwork. Game 1 I spent the entire game trying to move left on the left lane and right on the right lane due to the extreme differences in conditions. Game 2 I was pretty solid on the right lane, but had to ball down to the pearls early on and then started to miss right due to the gap in my arsenal. Game 3 I had some issues with splits.

526 Series: 202-160-164
Game 4 I only had one open frame; chopping the 10 off a 6-10 leave in the 3rd. Game 5 I had to finally ball down on the right lane and was all the way down to the Slingshot on the left lane. Game 6 I was down to the Encounters on the right lane but had some single-pin spare shooting difficulty.

536 Series: 182-182-172
Almost my first triplicate, but opened in the 10th of Game 9. Game 7 I was trying to get more axis tilt. Game 8 it seemed like the release had improved but spare shooting wasn't great. By the last game I was down to the Slingshot on both lanes and did okay…but had a 4-6-7 split in the 7th and then missed a single 7-pin in the 10th.

Pinpal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.89 pins
Strikes: 38% (1 4-bagger, 2 turkeys, 3 doubles and 22 singles)
Spares: 60% picked up

Single Pin spares: 76% (20/26)
Most common single-pin leaves: 7-pin (7x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 8-pin, nor 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 46% (15/32)
Most common multi-pin spare leaves: 1-2-4 (4x).

Splits: 12% (1/8)

Average over 9 games: 173.44.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: 180.89.

The footwork is coming more naturally, but my balance and form was off. I think I got the release improved by the end, but it's still a huge work in progress to try and develop a release with good revs and very little muscling or effort.

[Aslan]

Saturday Color of Money Tournament: medium oil synthetics

Small weekly colored-pin tournament.

567 Series: 147-204-216
Look familiar? Two weeks ago in this tournament I shot a 562 series (147-215-200). Same mistake/experience…fresh conditions a bit wider than practice conditions…so was having trouble getting ball reaction early. Game 2 I finally found a decent line, but was having trouble with carry. Game 3 the conditions had changed enough that I was starting to miss left and move left…but really it was some lucky left-side strikes that moved the score higher.

Pinpal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.45 pins
Strikes: 39% (1 turkey, 4 doubles and 2 singles)
Spares: 68% picked up

Single Pin spares: 100% (6/6)
Most common single-pin leaves: 6-pin (2x).
Never left a single 1-pin, 3-pin, 5-pin, 8-pin, nor 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 53% (7/13)
Most common multi-pin spare leaves: 1-2-8 (3x).

Splits: n/a

Average over 3 games: 189.00.
Average had I picked up 100% of single pin spare leaves: n/a.

Not a great night. Not horrible, but meh.

[mc_runner]

Nice recovery after the rough first game, nice spare pickups. You win anything in the tournament?

[Aslan]

Nice recovery after the rough first game, nice spare pickups. You win anything in the tournament?

No...not really. You pay $20...the first time I won $13.75. Last time I won like $3.75. You get around $1 for a strike with a colored head-pin...so even if you lucked into a colored head-pin every frame...at 35% strike rate...that's only about $10. Spare shooting only gets you about $0.25 IF there is a colored pin in the remaining pins...so if EVERY leave had colored pins...68% pick-up rate...that's another $5. So to really come out ahead...you need to either pick up splits ($ based on difficulty) or have your ticket number drawn and then you spin a prize wheel.