This article is a continuation from Part 1 in my Blog Post on 11/15/21:
Teams can have anywhere from 2-5 people, it depends on the league you want to join. I think a Winning Bowling team should have the following: 7. A good LINE UP. This means that you should pick a solid averaged bowler, one who is consistent on getting spares to be the first bowler. It's important to have a good Lead Off person so that the other bowlers can hopefully follow suit and do their best to mimic that lead. 8. The best averaged bowler on the team being in the ANCHOR position which is the last person to bowl on the team. This is important in case in the last few frames it's a close game. This person should be able to pull a strike or double to win the game. Sometimes the top averaged bowler may NOT want to be the anchor bowler because of the pressure with this anchor position. If that is the case for your team, then put the second best averaged bowler as the anchor and the top bowler in the lead position. 9. Bowlers that are always ready to bowl when it's their turn. Over the years I have bowled with some winners that were always at the bar, going out to smoke a cigarette, getting food, etc. Then me or another team member had to go and find them to let them know it was their turn. This was very distracting and downright annoying. A bowler can be skipped, but sometimes could throw off the other team members timing. 10. Bowlers being aware of the Bowling Etiquette. Please see my blog post from May 24, 2021 if you are Not aware of it. 11. Light conversations with other team members that can be stopped or continued easily after the person bowls. There is nothing worse than having to wait for a person to bowl because they are having a deep discussion with someone! It's annoying and rude to the other bowlers. If someone was on a string of strikes, it can ruin their timing! 12. Manners toward the opposing team.Your team should always be cordial to the other team and give a high five for a great shot, even if they are winning the game. I was on a team where the guy would randomly yell out loud when he missed a spare, and people were complaining about him on the league. It was embarrassing, for example, a guy on the other team threw what looked to be a perfect strike, but the 10 pin stayed up, and this guy on my team would yell "stand up and fight". Even though it was kind of funny, it really wasn't very nice. 13. Having bowlers on the team that are aware of what's going on. There is nothing more annoying than having a team mate throw away a possible spare and losing the game because they weren't of how close the game was or that we were even in the tenth frame! My advice is to just be nice, considerate, and be ready to bowl when it's your turn. If you need to use the rest room or get a snack, just let another team member know that they can skip you if you're not back to the lane by the time it's your turn to bowl so things can keep moving along. You'll have more fun, fewer headaches, and other teams will look forward to bowling against you and your team. Check out my ebook available on Amazon/Kindle--"Let's Rev Up Those Bowling Scores"! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZSMB99G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=P3PQWHFB1WYS&keywords=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores&qid=1652035291&sprefix=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-2 Join me next week when I'll be discussing How Do You Stay Calm While Bowling?". See you then! Good Luck and High Scoring!
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If you are familiar with Physics, there is "Mechanical Energy" that you use to release your bowling ball which is transferred to the bowling ball in the form of a force called Kinetic Energy. As the ball travels down the lane, this kinetic energy is passed from the ball to the pins thereby knocking them down and off the pin deck. When releasing a bowling ball, you can hit the pocket area, but if the ball doesn't have anything on it, you may not be able to carry the strike. I have discussed standing on the proper board on the approach, walking on a fairly straight path on the way up to the Foul Line, and getting the ball over the correct target. It is also important that you have "Ball Action" to get all the pins to fall down on the first try. When your ball hits the pin deck, it should look like the diagram below. It's important after your ball goes over the intended target, to move your eyes up the watch the ball and making sure it's path looks like this. If it's not, and the strike is not carrying, then you need to make an adjustment. The ball must hit into the 1 and 3 pins, then into the 5 pin (also referred to as the King Pin), and finally in between the 8 and 9 pins as the ball exits the pin deck. The ball itself will hit into these three "key" pins (1-3-5) and the rest of the pins will hit into each other and you should get a strike. If pins are knocked off the pin deck vertically, they can actually slide off the pin deck without hitting into other pins, but having your ball following this path will help the pins lie down more horizontally, enabling them to slide around better on the pin deck hitting into other pins and hopefully getting you more strikes in the long run. Next time you are practicing, make sure your ball is in a ROLLING phase as it enters into the 1-3 pocket, and then into the 5 pin and getting those pins to move off the deck in a more horizontal position. You can also add a little SPEED and some SPIN onto the ball to carry the maximum pins down on your first shot. Use that 11:00 hand position previously discussed, and pull the 2 middle fingers toward the palm to get more REVS on the ball. Join me next week when I'll be discussing "Bowling Teams"-Part 2. Good Luck and High scoring! Most bowling teams have four players, but I have been in leagues that had 2, 3, or even up to 5 players. If you are a single person looking to join a bowling league, you will be placed randomly on a team that needs a player. If you have a few friends that you can bowl with, then you can just join a league as a team. The latter may be best because then you know you will all get along well.
Let's take an example of a four man team: The person bowling in the first position is called the "Lead Off". The person bowling last is called the "Anchorman" or "Anchorperson", and the rest of the team are the "Middle Bowlers". I will discuss the line up more in detail in part 2. I feel that a A Winning Team should have the following: 1. Should be able to finish in one of the top three positions by the end of the league, meaning finishing in either first, second, or third place. 2. Should consist of different averaged bowlers, meaning a few high averaged bowlers, as well as some that get a good enough handicap to help the team out when opposing team members are bowling over their averages. 3. Should consist of members that can meet and exceed their own averages. 4. Consist of bowlers that have a positive outlook, and that have good chemistry with each other. 5. Should root for opposing team members and show good sportsmanship. 6. Should consist of members that can give each other an occasional tip if necessary, but doing it nicely as to not offend a team mate. Being patient with other team mates can be beneficial. Sometimes people don't want advice or aren't interested in improving right away and that is okay. Everyone needs to improve at their own pace. There was a gal on my team that wasn't bowling up to par and she kept saying to me, "I need to make an adjustment", but she wasn't changing anything. I told her that was exactly what she needed to do and I offered her a suggestion just in time. She got a few spares in the last few frames of the game and helped us clinch the win by a small margin. I've been on teams with married people and the fellow called his wife an "idiot" just because she missed an easy spare. Instead of trying to assist her nicely, he was getting her more angry. So instead of trying to improve, she just bowled worse on purpose and we lost 2 out of the 3 games! So you have to use discretion because some people are very sensitive. Some bowlers just go for socializing and don't really care how they bowl. That is fine but if you are very competitive, then try to form your own team with good bowlers. Just expect to be giving out a large handicap to opposing teams. Join me next week when I'll be talking about "What Happens When A Bowling Ball Hits The Pins"?. Good Luck and High Scoring. Do you bowl all winter long, and then immediately after it's over you join a summer league? I used to do just that every year but sometimes wished that I hadn't. Do you sometimes wish the long 36 week winter league was only 30 weeks long? If your answer is YES, then you may need a bowling break.
Don't get me wrong, I LOVE bowling, but sometimes we can get a little burned out! The perfect league in my opinion would be 25 weeks, then take a breather for 1 month, and then do another 25 weeks. Sometimes I wouldn't join a summer league, and found that when I came back to the winter league that I bowled better, especially if I had been in a little slump or having any issues toward the end the season. I believe that if I just kept bowling without the needed break, I may have compounded any issues I was confronting (making them worse). I felt better stepping back and laying off for awhile. When I did this, then I was excited again and really looked forward to the winter season approaching. Taking a breather once in awhile like this is great for improving your game and it gives your body a chance to rest and repair itself for better overall performance. It's like taking a vacation, you know how you feel more refreshed and have a better outlook when you return to the normal routine after a vacation. By stepping back, it may help you to set some new goals for yourself for the upcoming winter season. However, I do recommend going practicing once in awhile if you do decide to take a league break during the summer months. You want to keep that muscle memory and keep the basics in mind. You can still go practicing sometimes and why not include the kids, since they are home from school during this time of year anyway. You can also just do the motions in the privacy of your home to help with this muscle memory. I also like to travel during the summer months and enjoy the time off from bowling and there's nothing wrong with that, I can still maintain my 200+ average with this short break and you can too! Just don't feel guilty about it or think you're not committed to improving your bowling ability. All athletes take these needed breaks. Keep this advice in mind.You won't forget everything by taking a break once in awhile. You can read my blog or your notes to keep things in mind while you're taking some time off. If you were having any problems with your game at the end of the winter league and you couldn't work them out, taking a break may actually be all you need to help solve the issue and get you back on track. Check out my ebook on Amazon/Kindle--"Let's Rev Up Those Bowling Scores"! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09ZSMB99G/ref=sr_1_2?crid=P3PQWHFB1WYS&keywords=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores&qid=1652035291&sprefix=lets+rev+up+those+bowling+scores%2Caps%2C76&sr=8-2 Join me next week when I'll be talking about "Bowling Teams"-Part 1, see you then! Good Luck and High Scoring! 24. If your ball isn't hooking as much as you'd like it to, then play an OUTSIDE LINE. For the right handed bowler, this means playing more ANGLE into the pocket by moving more to the right side of the lane at the stance. Stand on board 5 or 6 and use the second arrow. use this as a starting point and move left or right a board or two as necessary. Do the opposite if you're a lefty. You can also stand on board 9 or 10 and use the first arrow as your target. Most of the time the oil pattern will have the oil in the center of the lane and the outer part will be dry. The ball will be able to hook in the dry area. 25. If the strike isn't carrying but you are getting decent pocket hits, then try MOVING BACK on the lane 3 or 4 inches.That will make you release the ball a little sooner on the lane and it will have more lane to travel on making it hook an extra little bit to come up slightly higher on the headpin and hopefully carrying the strike. Again, use this as a starting point and adjust from there according to how much hook you have on your ball. If you still can't carry the strike, then just get a good first ball and pick up those 1 pin spares. Remember that all spares and 9's equals a game of 190 which is still a very good score. Just try NOT to get frustrated, and don't move around too much on the lane. You may start getting confused which leads to worry and then you won't be able to stay focused! You want to avoid a lousy game! I have been there and done this many times when first learning to bowl. 26. If you're tense after a stressful day, take several DEEP BREATHS and exhale vigorously. Do a little STRETCHING before the practice begins to get rid of the tension in your muscles. 27. As previously mentioned to slow the ball down to make it hook a bit more if you need to, just SHORTEN your pendulum SWING by holding your ball down lower, or try waking slower if your timing is good. 28. To speed up the ball for a little less hook, hold the ball up higher at the stance which will lengthen the swing, or walk a little faster than normal if your timing is good. Keep doing my bowling exercises to stay in good condition and keep your stamina good. I feel overall that stronger, more fit people are more successful in sports. Have fun and keep being patient with yourself, Rome wasn't built in a day! Join me next week for a discussion on The "Importance of Taking a Breather". Good luck and high scoring! |
AuthorHello!! My name is Joanie. Although I'm not a professional bowler, I have loved the sport for more than 45 years, averaged over 200 for several seasons, and learned quite a bit with research and experience. Archives
February 2023
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