frustration

[Gordon325]

I'm sure this has come up before but I need some serious help.....last season my goal each and every night was to hit 600 I constantly would hit 580 , 590 etc....until I finally did it and was estatic. My average shot up to 185+ that season it was great.

This season which is coming to a close soon was different. It started out okay. 180ish average and even my career high was thrown second week of the season 268. About 1/4 way thru the season my average began to drop drastically. What used to be the goal of 600 has now become a goal of just hitting my average which has dropped to 171....I rarely hit 500 anymore and my average is still dropping (460 tonight).

In practice I can easily thow a 550 atleast one 200+ game no problem..... But here is what I have noticed.....

This long string of bad series and games gets me more frustrated each week...thus lowering my score more as my head gets clouded with anger and regret. I really need a way to not get frusterated as I am 90% sure this is the main issue with my current game....please help. Thanks.

[resstealth]

Dude you don't have it bad, I have to bowl left handed for the next 6 weeks because I badly pulled a muscle in my forearm. Suck it up and get out of your head, you are your own worst enemy.

[Gordon325]

Wow.....not the least bit helpful at all..... Not ever have a seen someone from the bowling community act so rudely to someone else....I'm disgusted really.

[got_a_300]

You just have to put all those bad nights out of your head and think
positive thoughts. The main thing in bowling is to not dwell on the
bad nights of the game and just let them go as there is nothing you
can do about them now. I have bad nights myself but I just do not
let myself dwell on them because if you do then you already know
what happens to your games and series because they will suffer from
then on. I think I heard Randy Peterson say bowling was something
like 90% mental and 10% talent so if you let the mental part of your
game suffer then you will have a hard time to getting back to bowling
good again.

[Gordon325]

Thank you much more useful than the earlier comment any suggestions on how to let go of a past game? I played competitive tennis for years and struggled with frustration in that as well as I could never just "forget" about it.

[striker12]

another thing that can help you out if not to think of what u want to get but further ahead cause when i was trying to get 650 series that was in my head and i always ended up with 649 soo then i thought what if i push my target alittle further soo i put 700 in my head, and i shot a 699 highest series yet but know im heads at 750 not any luck yet but lanes condtions are changing majorly for me,

but the thing i do to pervent bowling bad and staying focused is lissen to music while your going to the bowling allie clear your mind and while u bowl keep your mp3 players or ipod out and have it on soo when your not bowling lissen to it keeps your mind clear and all you have to do is focus on your line.

[billf]

This seems to be part of your mental make up. I'm not trying to be a jerk just stating what I see from your post. If possible, seeing a sports psychologist could possibly be a huge help. This is actually a common problem for competitive people but especially athletes. The reality is we, as human beings, are not perfect. I have never heard of anyone always bowling 3 game 900 series. Are you bowling to your potential? No you are not. Does performing in this manner really affect any other part of your life? I would hope not because in the big picture of things, it's still a game. As such we need to find ways to relieve to pressure we apply to ourselves, relax and enjoy the sport. Each of us being different will require a different way to reach the area to "let it go".
Not being completely mentally stable, I have always been able to just mentally leave and go some place else. I just zone out. Not sure how as I've been this way my whole life. Good luck to you and please keep u s updated.

[resstealth]

Im not being rude, im giving you tough love. If you keep over analyzing everything, you're problems won't go away. Take it from a guy who played college baseball, you ARE your own worse enemy when you keep over thinking everything. When you step up to the foul line, take a deep breath, don't think, and just let muscle memory and the ball take over.

[JaMau24]

I've struggled with this before, but have drastically improved. I mean, if you miss your mark badly, or miss a 10 pin, sure, its a little frustrating at first, but what can you do?! Its over, its done with, all you can do is do the best you can do from that point forward. The thought that helped me the most was, What would I rather do, miss badly, get pissed off, and keep missing badly, keep getting pissed off, and the series is over and I bowl a 540.. Or would I rather throw a bad shot, relax, talk to your teammates as you would normally, DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE SHOT YOU MESSED UP, just completely forget about it, and go out there and focus harder for the rest of the time, then instead of leaving with a 540, I'll leave with a 610 or something.. Sure, its not a fantastic series that I've overly happy about, but I'm content with it considering the circumstances.

I'm very proud and happy with myself when I shoot a series I'm satisfied with after I regroup, relax, and focus after being pissed about something else.

[Gordon325]

Thanks everyone for the input, I will try some of the advice given to me. Especially the music and talking to my teamates imidiately after about something other than the shot.

And yes being over competitive in competition has always been a part of me whether it was tennis, or bowling.....BUT I also play ice hockey and not once in the 2 years that ive been playing ice hockey have I gotten frustrated I don't know if it is because it is immensly physically demanding and i have no time to think or if its because i have a group of 20+ people there with me.

And no it does not affect my life outside of the alley for the most part. sometimes if my fiance comes and I get upset she will try to "talk to me" about it but sometimes that just upsets me more. But as soon as we leave the parking lot we talk about other things