Week 26 Recap

Game 1: 203
Game 2: 182
Game 3: 209
Series: 594
Week Avg: 198
Season Avg: 198

This week we were bowling against the team we were deadlocked with for second place. I threw two frames of practice, but that was all I needed to tell me to put the C-System away and move down the bag to the Python to throw my preferred line.

I stayed clean through the first game, but strikes were harder to come by. There was little room for error and I left a lot of corner pins. I struck my first ball in the tenth frame and then a light hit left the 2-4-5. My ball got stuck in the return and after about five minutes of waiting it finally came back . . . damaged. I don't know what it was caught on, but it ground flat spots all over the ball surface, some in the track. I should have taken a photo, but I wasn't thinking clearly. My rage got in the way. Now I was forced to use the C-System for the rest of the night, but it started alright by picking up the spare for a 203 game.

I spent most of the second game playing with different lines, trying to find the right balance of oil and entry angle to carry all ten pins. I struck twice, but primarily had single pin leaves for spares. I was still clean until the first ball in the tenth frame. I left the 6-10 and dumped the ball in the gutter just short of the pins. It was a 182 game, but it didn't really reflect on how good I thought I was doing.

In the third game I had a Dutch 200 going until the ninth frame when I was finally able to double. When I wasn't throwing a strike on the right lane I was leaving single pins on the left. An opponent said I had a German ball (it kept getting Nein! Nein! Nein!). I switched it up in the tenth frame and threw a spare and a strike to finish out with a 209 and hit my exact average for the night.  The team did not fare as well and we lost all available points.

As for the Python, I left it with the bowling center.  They have a sister center with a pro shop and their guy is supposed to look at it. Hopefully the ball just needs to be resurfaced, but there was a whole lot of powder on the ball and throughout the ball return (so much so that my other ball came back with streaks of it for about two frames, which just made me more mad) so who knows if it is even salvageable at this point. I should hear back soon with the diagnosis and they said it would probably be ready by next Monday. With the season winding down and a tournament at the beginning of April, not to mention my goal of a 200 average hanging in the balance, I need my full arsenal ready to go.

I had a very quiet one open night. It was a pretty consistent effort, despite everything that happened. I was happy with how I kept my cool when it came time to bowl. There was a time when an incident like that would have really ruined my night. I tried to stay optimistic: the Python should look like new once its returned.

Lately the lanes have been breaking down a bit quicker and the break point has gotten shorter, so I need to learn how to throw further inside or get the ball further out on the lane. I like the reaction I get from the C-System and want to keep with it, but I'll need to be more versatile. Its a good quality to have anyway and I think playing different lines will be a big part of my summer practice sessions.