Still hanging in there with bowling.....

[Hammer]

I bowl senior league at noon on Mondays and put in four games of practice sometimes when possible on Thursday afternoons. At 75 I have old person body issues but I can still make a normal approach and my highest ball speed these days is 13 mph. I use a Raw Hammer hybrid reactive and a urethane Blue Hammer and a plastic ball which are all 14#. I now have a 163 average probably because I don't put in a lot of practice anymore. I am on a fixed income and because the prices on everything are high because of rising inflation it kind of puts a damper on money for bowling.

So I am hanging in there anyway with bowling because after 38 years of doing it I still like bowling and don't want to give it up. Plus it is fun being with other people on league that are seniors and still bowling. Because I have bowled for so long I know about adjustments to make when the lanes start changing after each game. I don't practice a lot so my games are like a shotgun blast which goes everywhere. I can bowl a game from 114 to a high so far of 220. I still have good games in me but still have the other kind also once in a while. My highest scratch series for three games is a 599. So I want to stick with it. I still look forward to bowling on league day. It is still fun for me.

[Phonetek]

No reason to ever give it up as long as you can still physically do it. If you do it for only the enjoyment of doing it then never give up. We have two bowlers on our senior league that are over 100, they say they are happy to shoot their age every game which they always do.

They just go to keep active but both love bowling. One still throws a 16lb ball and he's 103! He still throws a 200+ now and again. People like that are an inspiration. Seeing that also makes me feel a little better about myself and help me mentally ignore my physical issues. I think to myself "If they can do it then I can do it." Especially being over double my age.

[Ryster]

No reason to ever give it up as long as you can still physically do it. If you do it for only the enjoyment of doing it then never give up. We have two bowlers on our senior league that are over 100, they say they are happy to shoot their age every game which they always do.

They just go to keep active but both love bowling. One still throws a 16lb ball and he's 103! He still throws a 200+ now and again. People like that are an inspiration. Seeing that also makes me feel a little better about myself and help me mentally ignore my physical issues. I think to myself "If they can do it then I can do it." Especially being over double my age.

That can backfire too. My very healthy senior mom has been bowling continuously for well over 25 years now and has watched her average drop from the 190's down to the 150's. She sees bowlers older than her on the senior leagues bowling better than her, and frequently asks herself why she bothers to continue when older, less physically fit bowlers bowl better than her. It gets very frustrating for her and she is on the verge of quitting.

[RobLV1]

That can backfire too. My very healthy senior mom has been bowling continuously for well over 25 years now and has watched her average drop from the 190's down to the 150's. She sees bowlers older than her on the senior leagues bowling better than her, and frequently asks herself why she bothers to continue when older, less physically fit bowlers bowl better than her. It gets very frustrating for her and she is on the verge of quitting.

Before your Mom even thinks about quitting, find a good coach in your area. Many senior bowlers watch their scores go down because they continue to bowl the same way they did when they were younger. To be successful, senior bowlers need to focus on what they've always done well, and let go of those things they can't do anymore. A good coach can help her to get there!

[Hammer]

That can backfire too. My very healthy senior mom has been bowling continuously for well over 25 years now and has watched her average drop from the 190's down to the 150's. She sees bowlers older than her on the senior leagues bowling better than her, and frequently asks herself why she bothers to continue when older, less physically fit bowlers bowl better than her. It gets very frustrating for her and she is on the verge of quitting.

That doesn't bother me at all that some seniors bowl better then me. I just like going out there and try to bowl the best game I can. I just figure that I will bowl whatever the lanes will give me that day.

[Ryster]

Before your Mom even thinks about quitting, find a good coach in your area. Many senior bowlers watch their scores go down because they continue to bowl the same way they did when they were younger. To be successful, senior bowlers need to focus on what they've always done well, and let go of those things they can't do anymore. A good coach can help her to get there!

She has actually been to two different coaches. When her average first started dropping that was the first thing she did. The first coach tried changing her game so much she dropped another 20 pins after several weeks of lessons and never recovered. They even started messing with her grip. One day the manager at our center noticed my mom having issues holding on to the ball, and asked why her grips were so loose. She said that was what the coach changed her to, and the manager said it was way too loose and should never have been changed to that. The manager immediately put her back to her original grip and she no longer had issues holding on to the ball.

Then she went to another coach who treated her like she had never bowled a day in her life. The first day were drills such as "Pick up your ball off the rack with both hands. Put your fingers in first, then your thumb...etc." When she calmly said to the coach "I have been bowling for 20 years and used to have a 190+ average, I know these basics..." the coach said "Ok. Pick up your ball off the rack with both hands. Put your fingers in first, then your thumb..." She dropped that coach after just 2 lessons where they treated her like she had never bowled before.