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

[Aslan]

And....this is more what I expected...

Saturday Practice: medium-oil synthetics

Warm-Up: 112

445 Series: 152-144-149

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.29 pins
Strikes: 26%
Spares: 38% picked up

Single Pin spares: 50% (6/12)
Most common single-pin leave: 9-pin (8x)
Also left single 2-pin, 3-pin, 5-pin, and 10-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 31% (6/19)
Most common multi-pin leave: 1-2-9 and 3-6 (3x each)

Splits: 0% (0/3)

Average over 4 games: 139.25.
Average had I picked up all single-pin spares: 155.25.

Got there early enough to bowl on fresh conditions...but wow...just horrible. My release is off, my timing is off...just horrid. I didn't think taking a year off would cause such a backslide. Most of the warm up game was trying to find a line. By Game 2, I thought I had a line with the Warning Sign...but it was a little inside of where I usually play. And I just didn't have the release to get the ball to come back. But, if I moved right to the track, I'd go through the nose or brooklyn...it was just miserable.

[mc_runner]

Nice to see you back out there. give it a few weeks, your muscle memory will kick in and if you started poorly while you get back to your groove, you'll be an asset to your team. Keep us posted!

[Aslan]

So we have to wait until you hit 190 before you comment on other posts? Come on.....so many posts, so many subjects, you know it's killing you so just give in already. =)

It took me a year to get back to picking up a bowling ball. And even back in the day, when I would have a terrible night or practice...I didn't post much. Those are the nights I just posted my scores and contemplated throwing my equipment in a dumpster.

So...yeah...I'll probably have to get back in the "groove" of things before I start participating at a "near Aslan" pace.

Nice to see you back out there. give it a few weeks, your muscle memory will kick in and if you started poorly while you get back to your groove, you'll be an asset to your team. Keep us posted!

That's what I'm hoping/praying for...is that it will just take 3-6 weeks for muscle memory to kick in. It's weird that back when I was rolling in the 190s...I'd mainly just be concerned with accuracy, missing my target, an occasional pulled shot... Now...I'm back to having 10-12 different things going wrong and I'm back to trying to find my timing, and rhythm, and release, and posting, and follow-through, etc... All the things that were coming natural...now I gotta think about them again.

Not sure if I'm gonna practice today. I really, really need to...but all yesterday I was limping around and today, even though the left leg feels a little better, my right forearm is so sore I could barely tie a garbage bag. Apparently I haven't used my "bowling muscles" in some time. God I hope this passes.

[Aslan]

I'm so#$%ed offf right now!!

I need every single second of practice before Thursday...when there's a 97% chance I'll embarrass myself. But..I can't practice again today...because I have what appears to be a grade 2 forearm strain. It's been slowly getting better...but if I push it...I could miss the entire season.

I must have been really gripping the ball too tight. That would explain the forearm injury. That is BAD news...because gripping the ball too tightly was a 2014 problem...and if I've regressed that far...bowling may no longer be a worthwhile endeavor. I mean, in Cali, I had 2-3 of the best coaches around to get 2-4 lessons a month and I could fix my game. Now I got nothin but Mark Baker's DVD.

I'm gonna throw a fresh surface on the Thug Life...go to the grocery store...and take it easy tonight. But I GOTTA get in some real practice soon. I don't even know if I'll be allowed in the new league with a <140 average...especially with a 188 book average coming in. This is NOT working out as planned!!

[Aslan]

Have you looked into any kind of medical brace? Maybe there is some sort of precautions you can take so you don't further injure yourself?

Actuallly...thats a good idea. I was thinking of maybe a wrist support like those big robotic things I used to wear. Probably not a "medical" solution...but maybe it would keep me from over-gripping or trying to snap the ball too hard. But...I hate to start doing that...going down that road...plus it mess with my span.

Tuesday Practice: medium-oil synthetics

187-162

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.71 pins
Strikes: 42%
Spares: 50% picked up

Single Pin spares: 80% (4/5)
Most common single-pin leave: 7-pin (3x)
Also left single 3-pin and 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 28% (2/7)
Most common multi-pin leave: n/a

Splits: 0% (0/3)

Average over 2 games: 169.50.
Average had I picked up all single-pin spares: 175.50.

The forearm felt quite a bit better today. I didn't want to push it with 4 games, but figured I really needed to get at least a couple games in.

I think I figured out how I screwed up the forearm and maybe what some of the problem was. I've been out of the game so long, the callous on my thumb is pretty much gone. Not totally...and I thought the increased weight (about 20-25 pounds heavier than in Cali) and humidity would keep the thumb about the same size. However, I was able to drop down a couple insert sizes and the fit was better. I ended up just moving down one size...but it made a world of difference. I was no longer really pinching to keep the ball in my hand.

Still struggled to find the right line. The Thug Life was going brooklyn...through the nose. I moved in a great deal...then it seemed like it didn't have enough hook to come back. It would hit the pocket...but weak. I switched to the Warning Sign...moved about 3:2 right. Normally I'd move about 0.5 left:2.5 right to straighten out the line...but I was too far inside for the weaker Warning Sign. But...it was off and on...a perfect ball would strike...a non-perfect ball would leave some rediculous split or a flat 7.

Forearm feels fine. I got a game in the 180s. Single-pin spare shooting wasn't abysmal. Finally some good news.

[Amyers]

Give it time bud it will take a while to get your timing back but you'll get there. I took all summer off for the first time in forever still haven't got mine back. I know its rough but remember its just good to be on the lanes again

[Aslan]

Give it time bud it will take a while to get your timing back but you'll get there. I took all summer off for the first time in forever still haven't got mine back. I know its rough but remember its just good to be on the lanes again

Wednesday Practice: ridiculous summer practice conditions

103-96

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 6.50 pins
Strikes: 5%
Spares: 26% picked up

Single Pin spares: 50% (3/6)
Most common single-pin leave: 6-pin (3x)
Also left single 3-pin, 5-pin, and 10-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 15% (2/13)
Most common multi-pin leave: 1-3-6, 1-2-3-5-6-9-10, and 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9. (2x each)

Splits: n/a

Average over 2 games: 99.50.
Average had I picked up all single-pin spares: 111.50.

I sure hope Amyers is right (for a change). Because this is ridiculous!! I don't know if it was the crazy lane conditions...or my timing being so, so, so bad that I couldn't keep from pulling shots...but this is probably the worst I've bowled since I got my first ball in 2014. Granted...I kinda stopped trying after the 9th frame of Game 1. In the 10th I just rolled a couple balls at 8mph to see if they'd eventually hook. Then, frames 1-5 of Game 2 I was practicing spare shooting and playing low-ball.

I think I'm back to the very, very bad habit of squaring my shoulders...and pulling that right shoulder down...totally muscling the ball. I'm not doing it with my wrist anymore (which is good)...but now I'm really plunging that shoulder. It's causing my timing to be late and causing me to be off-balance. I gotta stop that...like yesterday...and trust that the ball will come back if I let it drift out to the right.

Today I just knew was gonna be a sucky bowling day. As a terrible omen this morning...I was trying to touch up the Warning Sign on the ball spinner...and the motor sparked, smoked, and stopped working. So...I guess I'm gonna need to take it apart and buy a new motor. Great. Really wonderful to be back bowling. Nearly tear my forearm muscle, my ball spinner catches on fire, and I throw a sub-100 game. Tomorrow is the big dance...coulda used a little confidence tonight...but I guess God's busy answering non-bowling requests at the moment.

[Amyers]

Lol I feel your pain last night (first night of Wednesday league) open up with a 256 great game clean no complaints game 2 leave a couple of 10 pins which I missed of course but 179 could be worse, last game thumb starts sticking in the quantum so I switch to the radical ridiculous cant find a line and miss most of my spares finish with a 117.

[Florida Bowler]

Oh no Aslan, you let the magic smoke out of your ball spinner. That's never a good thing.

Good luck today!

[Aslan]

Pre-League Practice: low-oil synthetics

168-149

I thought I was going to have a panic attack. Here I was 30 minutes from my first legitimate men's league against the best bowlers in the area...and I can't break 170. I can't keep the ball right of the headpin...pulling every shot...off balance..timing just not right.

Thursday Men's League: low-oil synthetics

512 Series: 143-184-185

PinPal Stats:
First Ball Average: 8.65 pins
Strikes: 38%
Spares: 50% picked up

Single Pin spares: 80% (4/5)
Most common single-pin leave: 2-pin (2x)
Also left single 5-pin, 7-pin, and 9-pin.

Multiple Pin spares: 40% (6/15)
Most common multi-pin leave: 4-7 (2x)

Splits: 0% (0/4)

Average over 3 games: 170.67.
Average had I picked up all single-pin spares: 174.00.

On a positive note...things started to feel better in Games 2 and 3. Also, I wasn't the worst bowler on the team nor on the pair of lanes. It was still embarassing...but not as bad as I thought it would be.

On the negative side...still not sure what is going on. The lanes seem fine...nice bounce area...decent dry area downlane and on the outside. But, my physical game and release just aren't right. I was having thumb issues the whole night. And I just didn't feel like the release was very good.

Also, the arsenal is weak. I knew when I switched out the Radical Reax Pearl and Innovate for the Thug Life and Warning Sign that I was taking a risk. The Thug Life is almost identical to the Scandal Pearl...it just doesn't seem like a good first ball out of the bag. Once the lanes started to get burned up...it seemed to do well. But on fresh...not much movement downlane. I've tried to put a 4000 and a 3000 surface on it...but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference other than flattening out the hook curve. And the Warning Sign is almost useless. Not as useless as my Track 400A...but still...I have NO confidence in the Warning Sign. Maybe it'll just take time. I know I struggled with the Ebonite Innovate when I first started using it...then when I got used to it I actually liked it. But having to feel my way through this new arsenal...a 16lb arsenal...while also trying to get my physical game back is quite the combination of tasks.