Week 12 Recap

Game 1: 198
Game 2: 209
Game 3: 205
Series: 612
Week Avg: 204
Season Avg: 192

Summary

By the time practice was over, I was still pretty uncomfortable with my strike shot and I didn't have a good line into the pocket.  I did manage to shoot one 10-pin, which I made, so I thought at least I would have a good spare night.  Wrong.

I started the first game with a double and then I missed the 2-4 spare.  I shot a strike and then missed the 10-pin my next two frames, and then followed that up with the same sequence.  I did strike in every even frame, 7 total strikes, and still managed to not hit a 200.  I didn't even know that was mathematically possible.  I finished with a 198.

The second game started with a double again, and then I missed the 4-pin.  In the fifth frame the ball hit light and I left the 1-2-5-7-10.  I made four out of the five pins on that leave, which I believe was a first for me.  I followed that up with a few nine count spares, my first of the night, and strung a few strikes together to finish with a 209.

The last game saw the left lane start to dry up a bit, so I adjusted up a few inches and kept my pocket hit similar to earlier in the night.  In the sixth frame I left the 9-10 split and dumped the ball into the gutter about 3/4 of the way down the lane.  I kept it together though and had a strong finish, a 205 game and 612 series.

Lesson Learned

First I want to apologize for the watered down post this week.  I am writing this a half hour after my last game without my usual 12 hours of reflection since I will be out of town tomorrow.

This week was about spares.  I missed my mark on my first six spare shots tonight, which is how a game with 7 strikes didn't break 200.  If I was shooting across the lane to the left I was missing my mark to the right and if I was shooting at the 10-pin I was missing to the left.  I think I was just so wrapped up in getting comfortable with my first ball that I wasn't concentrating enough on the spare.  Once I was comfortable with my strike ball, the spares seemed easier to make.

So the lesson is really to make sure you are focusing on the shot in front of you.  There is time between frames to contemplate what your next move should be.