If knowledge is power, why........

[MICHAEL]

I forgot to ask Iceman…is it still a gift if they wear a wrist positioner?? What if the wrist positioner was an actual "gift"??

I'll leave the closet and wrist positions conversation alone.

I had to look that one UP!! The answer is YES,,, you ARE allowed to wear a wrist positioner, as long as YOU KNOW which wrist to put it on!!
Part of THE GIFT is knowing which wrist to put it on, and how to dial in a Gifted setting!

[Aslan]

Some people are probably so blessed with The Gift that they don't even need a ball. The pins just sort of swoon in abject adoration as The Gifted One walks past.

I knocked down nearly every pin in the alley during an earthquake recently. No ball required. Truly a "gift".

I'm beginning to think the "gift" Iceman is referring to is the gift of living in Kansas City and playing in whatever tilted center he plays at. I'm actually glad I DON'T have that gift because:
1) You have to live in Missouri.
2) It's that much more of a rude awakening when you finally put your toe in the water of another center. I mean, I get frustrated when I throw a sub-500 series in a harder center...I can only imagine if I had an inflated 220 average and bowled a sub-500 series in another center. I'd feel like the emperor with no clothes.

[MICHAEL]

I knocked down nearly every pin in the alley during an earthquake recently. No ball required. Truly a "gift".

I'm beginning to think the "gift" Iceman is referring to is the gift of living in Kansas City and playing in whatever tilted center he plays at. I'm actually glad I DON'T have that gift because:
1) You have to live in Missouri.
2) It's that much more of a rude awakening when you finally put your toe in the water of another center. I mean, I get frustrated when I throw a sub-500 series in a harder center...I can only imagine if I had an inflated 220 average and bowled a sub-500 series in another center. I'd feel like the emperor with no clothes.

YOU MAY have THE GIFT, my friend, ( I hope ) form CA!!! Some times the DNA involved, has a time schedule that OPENS up when it time!
Yes Grasshopper, my young friend, I haven't given up on THE FACT that you might have THE GIFT! Time will tell.

I have played 4 different centers around here. My current one is a heck of a lot different then then AMF that was my home base! Mainly because it was the closet to my house!

The new one is Gladstone Brunswick lanes. Yes it is different, but you know I have posted some pretty good scores there, but its taking some getting use to. In my thread The Deadly Aim,,,, so far after pulling it out, I have averaged a 234,,, I posted my individual scores on that thread.
Geno2u on this site will verify those scores.

Am I gifted,,,, HELL NO,,, but every Old Dog has its DAYs! I will keep a running total of how my average runs using the Deadl Aim. I will on occasion use other balls!
But when I start with the Deadly-Aim, I will bowl the whole game WITH IT, as I HAVE done with that 234 average mentioned above. So far Aslan on those new lanes, I must say might be a step up from the AMF that you thought was so easy!! LOL (
Time will tell! That's one thing about AVERAGES,,,, it takes into account you GREAT GAMES and YOUR Crappy games!

Gene2u,,, will testify to the way that ball is working,,, LIKE I SAID ON the DEADLY AIM THREAD: Gene told me to leave
ALL MY OTHER BALLS AT home and just bring my spare ball, and the DEADLY AIM!! LOL But I am looking at summer as a time to experiment, with a lot with different balls, and playing different parts of the lane! I can't afford a coach!! I am retired!! (

[MICHAEL]

Is Coaching a GOOD positive thing in regards to being the BEST YOU CAN BE? YES!

Does practice help reach higher averages, Maybe, Sure, Probably, doesn't hurt, and CAN be of huge benefit, (if you practice smart).

Do all bowlers who are coached, and practice hard make that 220 and higher level? NO! But I think a good percentage can, and do!

Are there Gifted bowlers that, ( with OUT hard work, practice, and coaching make that pentacle?) YES, I know several!


THERE I HAVE SAID it, and I stand by the above statement! Is it TRUE? That's up to you to decide,,, just my Cool thoughts on the subject, Ice!! LOL

[RobLV1]

Michael: I know several "gifted" bowlers who average 220+ on a THS. Permit me to tell you about one of them. He stands all the way back on the approach and runs as fast he can to the foul line. His timing is so late that he actually drops the ball about three feet in front of the foul line. After releasing the ball, he cannot possibly post his shot, so he falls off dramatically to the right. The more he falls off, the better the rsult of his shot. Does he have "The Gift?" Definitely! The gift is doing the same thing over and over, exactly the same way, without any thought involved. Does he average 220+ on a house shot? You betcha! Does he bowl in tournaments on real patterns? No way! He'll be the first to tell you that he is a great house bowler, but as a real bowler, he sucks! Get over "The Gift." The Gift is nothing more than repitition on a pattern that will let you do most anything you want as long as you do it the same each time.

[fortheloveofbowling]

Rob, You are right on the money with repetition. There is no wrong way to bowl and as long as you can repeat what you do consistently you will find greater success.

[rv driver]

It's that ability to repeat within the context of changing conditions and unknown conditions that separates the men from the boys in the "Gift" department. That's why the pros are the pros. They know how to adapt such that they can continue to consistently do what they do on different surfaces.

[Aslan]

Does he average 220+ on a house shot? You betcha!

Phew…without this sentence…I'd think the post was about me.

[MICHAEL]

Michael: I know several "gifted" bowlers who average 220+ on a THS. Permit me to tell you about one of them. He stands all the way back on the approach and runs as fast he can to the foul line. His timing is so late that he actually drops the ball about three feet in front of the foul line. After releasing the ball, he cannot possibly post his shot, so he falls off dramatically to the right. The more he falls off, the better the rsult of his shot. Does he have "The Gift?" Definitely! The gift is doing the same thing over and over, exactly the same way, without any thought involved. Does he average 220+ on a house shot? You betcha! Does he bowl in tournaments on real patterns? No way! He'll be the first to tell you that he is a great house bowler, but as a real bowler, he sucks! Get over "The Gift." The Gift is nothing more than repitition on a pattern that will let you do most anything you want as long as you do it the same each time.

I had no idea bowling was just that simple??? MOST sports are not that way, it takes a gift to compete on high levels. YOU make it sound like
you Rob, bowl1820, and myself just can't be repetitive. He is more gifted then the 3 of us, and many out their on league night.

Well I guess Bowling is different then MOST sports. As I have said in regards to track and Filed.... there are many good runners, Milers, 1/2 milers, 1/4 milers, 100 yard dash runner, disks, and shot put throwers,,, many average to good at all the events, but the gifted ones are the record setters!

Sure most track and field participants work their buts off, I use to be one myself,,, had a GREAT COACH in high school and college. I worked my ask off running well beyond the scheduled practice times.

WAS I GIFTED,,, no,,, good enough to qualify for state in the High Hurdles, and the mile relay, but didn't win the big one, a GIFTED runner beat me, not one that worked HARDER THEN ME!

THERE ARE GIFTED PEOPLE in SPORTS that EVERYTHING COMES a Heck OF A LOT EASIER too! Do you deny that Rob?

Basketball, Football,,, you can work your butt off, and still be very average, if you don't have THE GIFT. NO amount of coaching, or hard work can make you play at the gifted level, unless you have it!

Rob, maybe bowling is not like most sports! Maybe everyone can bowl at a HIGH level, 220, 230, on house oil if they have a good coach, and train hard. If that's the case then maybe bowling is something different then most sports.



We all have LIMITS as to our capabilities! Hard work and Coaching does not guaranty high level in most sports!

Since all it takes is GOOD COACHING, and LOTS OF PRACTICE, bowling is a very different sport that anyone can bowl as long as they become repetitive in their delivery.

I am still not convinced that the better bowlers that I know around here, (just don't have the gift)!

PLEASE GET THIS STREIGHT! LOL

I am not knocking Coaching!

I do think that hard work, and practice can get you to the level your capable of!

Not all bowlers, in my opinion are capable of 220 average because of their blue print laid out at birth, when DNA is mixed to form the essence of who THEY ARE! Some are MUCH luckier then others, its THE GIFT!

Be it in Math, Science, English, you name it,,, some do have fantastic gifts, while others, who might WORK REAL HARD, are just average.

Its the human condition.... We are not created equal.

[MICHAEL]

It's that ability to repeat within the context of changing conditions and unknown conditions that separates the men from the boys in the "Gift" department. That's why the pros are the pros. They know how to adapt such that they can continue to consistently do what they do on different surfaces.

Yes, and the person that can do the above, is going to be a better bowler then most, BUT even that person has to be gifted, to reach the higher levels of bowling.

Knowledge is very important, but execution is paramount, and the Gifted do that MOST OF THE TIME, where as Rob, Bowl1820, and Iceman don't!

Has nothing to do with knowledge,,, as in my case, I am new to this great game! Or is it a sport?? Is horse shoes a sport, or game!

Regardless of what it takes to get that 220 or higher average, it a BLAST!!! That's all that matters to me!! Ice