Progress slow and frustrating...

[Mudpuppy]

I started bowling was I was 22 years old. I carried a 118 average. It took me many years to bring that average slowly, painfully slow, up. I ended up plateauing at 185 and I was stuck there for awhile - then I figured it out. I wasn't having any fun anymore - too competitive of leagues where you miss a single spare and lose a game or maybe a series. I went to a more casual league the next year and my average shot up to 195, then 199, then 205, then 209 and the last year I bowled before starting back up this year I carried a 202.

1. Don't get mad, frustrated or down about it - that will only make it harder
2. Don't try a new technique or approach 1 time, 10 times or 100 times - try it 1,000 before you find out it doesn't work
3. Buy beer for bowlers with averages exceeding 190 and ask them for tips
4. Be patient - not everyone has Iceman DNA and can just pick up the ball and start throwing 600 series. Actually the vast majority is the opposite.

[Aslan]

4. Be patient - not everyone has Iceman DNA and can just pick up the ball and start throwing 600 series. Actually the vast majority is the opposite.

But a boy can dream...a boy CAN dream. I find myself on many a approach just repeating under my breath..."BE the Iceman....BE the Iceman."

[Mudpuppy]

You can also use the 4-7-8 approach - not the pins, boards or anything else for that matter. Inhale 4 seconds, hold 7 seconds and exhale 8 seconds. That right there is something that relieves anxiety and helps you focus. Used by law enforcement, military, NASA, etc.

[Aslan]

You can also use the 4-7-8 approach - used by NASA, etc.

Great...so it'll relax me but immediately increase my anxiety regarding the fear of spontaneously bursting into flames upon re-entry. Yet another thing to worry about!

Although it beats Iceman's advice of hold breath indefinitely.

[J Anderson]

My most difficult spare leave is easily anything with a sleeper (not counting splits and baby splits). A 16lb ball has helped regarding sleepers, but they are still my worst.

Next worst is either the 1-2-4-7, 1-2-4, 2-4-7, 3-6-10. I used to better at them, but recently have fell into a bad habit of chopping them in some way.

I've gotten much better with the single pins including corners.

My biggest problem with "leaves" presently is the 1-2-4-7-10. Because I struggle to get enough of a dramatic hook on the back end..if I'm playing moderate to heavy oil synthetics and I miss my target by more than 1 board to the right...I come in right of the headpin and go straight through leaving the 1-2-4-7-10 lined up. And I've really struggled not only with leaving that grouping but also with picking it up. And the 16lb ball seems to have led to more of those leaves because my 15lb ball tended to deflect a tad more and not leave that 10 on the opposite side.

The 1-2-4-7 is one of the few spares that I throw a hook at. When you go straight at the space between the 1 & 2 there's a 50% chance you won't carry the 7. If you aim at the 2 pin there's a better chance of taking down the 7 at the risk of missing the 1. You really shouldn't be missing the head pin very often. Perhaps a goal of hitting the pocket 9 out of ten times is in order.

Washouts like the 1-2-4-7-10 are tough even for the pros. I remember hearing that the odds of a pro converting a baby split are about 50/50. For washouts I imagine it's more like 40/60. I usually try to throw straight down the 23rd board to try and kick the 1 into the ten.

[bowl1820]

Washouts like the 1-2-4-7-10 are tough even for the pros. I remember hearing that the odds of a pro converting a baby split are about 50/50. For washouts I imagine it's more like 40/60. I usually try to throw straight down the 23rd board to try and kick the 1 into the ten.

From Rob Mautner about the shadow pin spare system:

If however, you are trying to convert a washout, the angle that you need to propel the head pin is smaller if you go straight up the fifth arrow, than if you hook the ball to throw the head pin into the ten. Smaller angle = greater chance of conversion. I don't usually keep track, but Norm Duke told me that the difference in going straight up the fifth arrow versus hooking the ball to the left of the head pin is 59% versus 30%.

[Greene3417]

I guess I'm in the same boat. I love bowling and I guess I have been watching my scores too much as well. I am reconstructing my game, but yet teaching myself along the way. My average has come down a bit (from about a 160 to a 130) after finally dedicating myself to practicing with the hopes of getting into a league one day. I want to be the best bowler I can be, but I guess my more immediate goal is not embarrassing myself in league play if I get up the courage to join.

I topped out before taking my game apart and tanked from there. I think I worked out some kinks, but need to watch technique and spares/ leaves more than score. I wish I could have a bowling alley in my house, but since I won't win the lottery in my lifetime, I guess I have to work on it on the weekends when my wife lets me...

[Mudpuppy]

Great...so it'll relax me but immediately increase my anxiety regarding the fear of spontaneously bursting into flames upon re-entry. Yet another thing to worry about!

Although it beats Iceman's advice of hold breath indefinitely.

Please disregard my last post and use Iceman's advice instead - get back to us in a year or two and let us know how holding your breath indefinitely is working out. Thank you, come again.

[Hampe]

Like I've told you before....just be patient! Mudpuppy's right....not everybody is like Iceman and starts rolling over 200 avg and 300 games in their second season. I didn't have a 500 series my first season either. And I only had 2 of them (out of 27 series) in my second season. Since I started taking bowling more seriously (playing at least 2 times a week) it's still taken me 4-5 years to get to 200 avg. It's not easy!

But I disagree with Mudpuppy about one thing....DON'T ask other bowlers for tips (you can ask them for general advice like we usually talk about on the forums here, but not about your form). If you ask good bowlers around your area to help you with your form you will get 20 different responses and it will just confuse you. Find one good coach and work with him on a regular basis. I've made a lot more progress in less than a year working with a real coach than I did in 4 years listening to other bowlers.

Those are the 3 best tips I can give you to improve:
1) BE PATIENT
2) Get a coach, and work with him on a regular basis
3) When you practice, don't just go there and roll a few games and look at your score......practice the things you are bad at. If you can't hit the corner pins, then spend a few games each practice session only shooting at the corner pins. Can't hit the pocket? Then spend a few games each session just shooting for the pocket and ignoring spare leaves. Take a notebook with you and keep track of your success when practicing these things (i.e. 13/20 10 pins today etc.). That's best way to tell if you're improving or not.

[zdawg]

3) When you practice, don't just go there and roll a few games and look at your score......practice the things you are bad at. If you can't hit the corner pins, then spend a few games each practice session only shooting at the corner pins.

Excellent advice, my last game during a practice session I try to hit the 10 pin and only the 10 pin on my first ball, and the 7 pin and only the 7 pin on the second ball. My goal is to eventually bowl a "perfect" game of 22, but it is MUCH harder than it sounds LOL