Progress slow and frustrating...

[tr33frog]

How often are you bowling three games right before league, I'm just wondering if fatigue might be an issue.

[Aslan]

How often are you bowling three games right before league, I'm just wondering if fatigue might be an issue.

I'm kind've a machine when it comes to that. As long as I'm not high lofting and throwing at a 19-21mph speed…I can usually bowl at LEAST 5-6 games before any fatigue sets in. Especially practice games. I bowl 12 games every Monday. I usually bowl 1-3 before league play and then 3 games for league.

Now…I did once bowl 3 games and then make-up bowl 3 -games AFTER league…and that kinda sucked. I think league games take a lot more out of you "mentally" than practice games. Physical fatigue isn't an issue. I'm in good shape, athletic, a runner. But league games just are mentally exhausting and after 3 of those I'm just "mentally done". Something I have to work on if I'm gonna ever do tournaments where you have to bowl 5-9 games in a round. Physically…10-12 is about where I draw the line. I've done as many as 21-22…but really, once I get over 12-15…my body is physically "done" and by that point I'm usually mentally "done" as well. My old coach used to get annoyed if I'd do 10 or more in succession. He used to say there's really no point…once ya hit 10 games you're mentally/physically exhausted. But…I think that can vary from one person to another…a little bit.

[sprocket]

I just did the math and to get my average from 154 in 1982 to 217 in 1990 I bowled about 20,000 games of practice. BUT at least 90% of those were wasted games that had no impact on my average. It's one of my great regrets in life that I wasted so much time and money to get the same results that I could have got with 90% less games and constant lessons. In fact I would have been WAY better off today. When I averaged 217 the first time, I used my thumb. Sometime after that bad habits and wrist pain from an unsustainable technique caused me to try thumbless rather than taking continuous lessons. I have no problem with the thumbless style but the simple fact is that I once averaged 217 on more difficult conditions using my thumb. I never will average that high again with the style I had then because it relied on a physical game that was unsustainable as I got older. How sustainable is thumbless? Well I average 217 two seasons ago but now average about 202. I really can't say for sure at this point.

Why didn't I take more lessons? Was I one of those "unteachable" guys? NO, not at all. I'm very teachable. If I trust my instructor I will follow his instructions to the best of my ability. He can tear my game apart and not hurt my feelings at all. The reason I bowled so much without any real purpose was because I WAS BORED. Bowling was FUN. I JUST DID IT. I would get up as a single guy and just go bowling for fun. I should have found some better hobbies. Like women maybe. No wonder I didn't get married until I was 27.

Aslan, don't make the mistakes I did. Get a coach that has an excellent reputation. LISTEN TO HIM. DO WHAT HE SAYS. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE IT. Accept that and you will be surprised how quickly you improve.

[Aslan]

Aslan, don't make the mistakes I did. Get a coach that has an excellent reputation. LISTEN TO HIM. DO WHAT HE SAYS. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING BECAUSE YOU CAN'T SEE IT. Accept that and you will be surprised how quickly you improve.

I'm going to look into it. Money is a little tight right now, but when I get some breathing room I'm gonna look into lessons. The problem I've had so far with "lessons" is that the advice seems to vary from coach to coach and book to book. You can watch a USBC Open and see crankers, tweeners, strokers, and even a couple 2-handers. Guys releasing at the bottom of their arc and guys releasing with a higher loft. Guys starting the ball at waist level and guys starting the ball at head level. 3-step approaches, 4-step approaches, 6-7 step approaches. Pushing the ball out with the first step versus a hinged start. I even saw a couple guys recently that started on the right side of the approach, then drifted to the left side of the approach…which seemed odd.

Take my example for instance. I read the "PBA Guide to Better Bowling". Gives you the very traditional way to bowl. My first lessons were with a Bronze level certified pro…who had a rather odd way of delivery. A very straight up and down…high loft approach.

I then went to a clinic and got some instruction from HOFer Barry Asher. He got me to slow down my approach, make it smoother with less energy…less athletic. A more traditional approach and release.

Both taught me things that have helped my game immensely. And both are good bowlers. Obviously Barry is..top 50 PBA bowler of all-time. And the Bronze level coach averages 190-210 every year. Neither are "wrong". It took me time to realize that the approach the bronze level coach taught me was an approach that works good on wood/lower oil lanes. Higher speed, higher loft, a lesser ball…the ball will still make it back to the pocket. However, that didn't work well when I ventured to other alleys with synthetic lanes and heavier oil. And thats where Barry's help came in. By slowing things down…releasing earlier…I was able to use more of the lane and still get some hook. Also added a stronger ball to make it easier.

So it isn't that I'm "hard to coach"…it's that in the game of bowling…you have SO many different styles. And if one is right…then there's a LOT of people that are wrong. One book says you need to do one thing…then there are a few other books out there with interesting new techniques…like 2-handed bowling or 3-point targeting. So with so many styles…and variations…It'll be interesting to see what the new coach tries to teach. And will it contradict what I was taught before?

Some things that I learned from one coach versus the other have been very similar. For example…shortening my approach and started with the ball at waist level rather than a higher arc. Also, slowing it down. But then there have been big differences as well…such as the higher loft/stand-up release versus the lower/more standard "plane landing" release. So, it'll be interesting to see what coach #3 says. But you're right about them seeing things we can't. I was amazed when coach #1 showed me a video of my approach…I literally had both feet off the ground at one point and my backswing was well above head level. If someone asked me if I did that…I'd have said "of course not".

[tccstudent]

Guys releasing at the bottom of their arc and guys releasing with a higher loft. Guys starting the ball at waist level and guys starting the ball at head level. Pushing the ball out with the first step versus a hinged start. .

You will discover with more experience there is no right or wrong concerning these they are all different adjustments they can be used. Releasing at the bottom of the arc put the ball on the lane sooner and allows the ball more time to slow down before it hits the breakpoint you want to use this on heavier oil. Lofting is to be used on drier conditions. Position of the ball whether at waist level or lower or higher is to change ball speed the higher you hold it the harder you throw.

[Aslan]

The one thing both coaches agreed on…they both said, "…you're throwing plenty hard…you don't need to throw harder." My first coach, during leagues, was watching me and said, "you're still throwing too hard. You may not realize it…but you have one of the highest speeds, if not THE highest, in the entire league. You don't need more speed."

And they were right. I never realized it. Partly because the monitors in our center don't display your speed. And I thought I was throwing slower than most of the fellow league members. But, they were right. Takes others to see it sometimes.