Week 22 Recap

Game 1: 192
Game 2: 216
Game 3: 214
Series: 622
Week Avg: 207
Season Avg: 196

Once again an observant teammate noticed that high school bowling teams were on our pair prior to the start of league, which I almost prefer because I am at my best when the lanes break down. I started with the C-System, but made the mistake of scuffing it prior to practice and knowing that the lanes would be drier. I decided on the ball maintenance because I wasn't thrilled with the reaction I was getting last week. I wanted to have a strong outing to bounce back from last weeks abysmal third game, but my practice shots indicated that that wasn't going to be the case.

After a high pocket shot in the first frame I moved my body a board left and found my line. I threw six strikes during the game, but couldn't manage to string more than two in a row. I also whiffed on a 4-pin and chopped a 3-10 split. I finished the game with a 192, just under average, and the team as a whole hovered right near our expected scores. The opposition, on the other hand, had a great game and blew us out of the water.

Around the eighth frame of the first game I was leaning toward a ball change; the stronger ball demanded a much tighter line with little room for error. I finished the first game with the C-System to try to locate a new line but then switched to the Python to start the second game. I've gotten much better at understanding when to switch between balls and there is no longer a learning period on adapting to new lines. I picked up right where I left off and was striking with regularity. My only open this game was an 8-10 split in the third frame. I did manage to strike out in the tenth frame and threw a 216. The team also had a good collective effort and we won the game.

I had to battle a little bit in the third game, the strikes just weren't coming as easily as they had in the second game. I saw a few ringing 10-pins and the ball started to run a little high. I kept the game clean and finished with a 214. Despite a good team performance, the opposing fourth bowler had a great finish to the game and their anchor basically just had to keep the ball on the lane his first shot in the tenth to win.

First, I need to congratulate our lead off man. He fell a few pins shy of his third career 600 series after throwing his second last week. He has been throwing a smooth, consistent shot and has been getting a lot of great pin action. Last week the team didn't really offer him any support, but this week we were just victims to great over average bowling by our opponents.

I was fairly pleased with my response to how last week ended. I simplified everything to focus on my follow through and release, which allowed me to spend the time between frames thinking about how to adjust to the lanes.

The team is hanging on in the standings, but we need a couple big weeks to reclaim first place. Should be fun.