Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 12 of 12

Thread: Putting Together the Perfect League Team

  1. #11

    Default

    Great responses!

    My current Tuesday morning team inspired this thread. It's a trios league. I bowl lead-off. It's my job to watch my own ball reaction as well as the ball reactions of our opponents and give the rest of my team a heads-up when I see changes coming. I am also known as a very good spare shooter, so my bad games are never too far below my average. I've been bowling with our anchorman for about a year. He is a high rev, high speed player. When we first started bowling together he told me that he wanted to learn to bowl tournaments. I agreed to help him, but only if he agreed to follow my advice... I can't tell you how many bowlers ask me for help and then argue with me when I try to help them! When I first started bowling with him, he was primarily throwing urethane equipment so that he could stay in his comfort zone on the outside part of the lane. I immediately told him to leave the urethane balls in his bag until I specifically told him to take them out. He had to learn to move out of the track area if he wanted to become a bowler. He has done this, and just recently has begun to be comfortable playing left of the fourth arrow.

    This season, our third team mate couldn't bowl because of a knee injury. We got a new bowler who had just moved to Vegas from Illinois. He is a forty-year-old lefty. The first week, he averaged 116! We started talking after bowling, and he told me that he was bowling so bad because he was used to bowling two-handed and thumbless, but his senior teammates in Illinois told him that he should watch videos of Earl Anthony and bowl like he did. I suggested that perhaps that had not been the best advice, and that he should go back to his own style. He is now averaging nearly 160 and is getting better and better at adjusting to changing oil and picking up spares.

    Last week we were one point out of first place. I decided to employ a lane strategy to maximize our chances at winning all three games and totals. The team we were bowling against was comprised of a woman who throws the ball straight up the middle and is not known for her accuracy, a second bowler with whom I bowled last summer and is one of those who asked me for help and then argued with me about what I told him. He insists on using and overly aggressive bowling ball and throwing it out far right. He rips up the track area and never adjusts. He is also so competitive that he puts so much pressure on himself that he chokes any time that he needs a mark. Our opponents anchorman I have nick-named the legend (in his own mind). He is a typical "house hack" who never moves from his favorite shot around the third arrow using a very aggressive bowling ball.

    Before we started, I told my teammates about my plan. I told our anchorman to start playing around 17 board, just to the left of the legend. I played around 13, just to the right of the legend. I told our lefty to subtly let Mr. Competitive know that he was competing with him, head-to-head. We won the first game, despite the Legend shooting 245. We were all in the low two hundreds which was plenty to beat them, as Mr. Competitive bowled about thirty pins under his average. The trend continued as the Legend dropped into the 170's as he shot went away. We're now in first place all by ourselves. I love it when a plan comes together!

    By the way, I am appalled at how many of you are being asked to put up with bowlers who are emotionally twelve year olds who throw tantrums when they get a bad break. Bowl1820: are there any USBC rules that allow real bowlers a way of getting away from these idiots?

  2. #12
    High Roller
    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    Pittsburgh
    Posts
    2,591
    Chats: 0

    Default

    I feel I do better under pressure and like it. Although it might not seem like it after those few weeks of struggling...lol. But back in the early 90's when MC Hammer had his song 'Hammer Time' when I was up and we needed a big frame I would tell my teammates 'Hammer Time!'. I enjoyed the pressure. And when we are in a tight game in the 10th I try to let my opponent bowl before me just to add a little more pressure to me.

    But yeah, our 2 teammates with tempers are father/son but the father is my best friend and has been for years. I do wish they wouldn't do it but they have for as long as I remember. I tell them to calm down and keep their heads in the game but I'm usually ignored.
    Arsenal "15# Global Eternity Pi-45x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Xponent-60x4.5x40" "15# 900 Global Zen Soul-60x4.5x40" "15# Roto Grip Idol Helios-90 x 2.25 x 45" "15# 900 Global Altered Reality-50x3.625x30" "15# Brunswick Uppercut-80x3.625x35" "15# Brunswick Igniter-70x5.5x35" "15# Raw Hammer Pearl 45x5.75x40" "15# Brunswick T-Zone"
    Rev Rate about 270 @ about 15.5 MPH at the pins* High Game: 290 - High Series: 733. PAP: 5 1/8"x1" up; tilt 20*, rotation 75*. YTD highs - 290-733
    Oh, and LEFTY!!!

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •