Week 5 Recap

Game 1: 166
Game 2: 159
Game 3: 205
Series: 530
Week Avg: 176
Season Avg: 204

This week was awful and I was really down after a pretty poor performance. My timing was off causing me to be unbalanced at the foul line which then caused me to miss my mark left on most shots. No matter what I did I could not consistently deliver a good shot. I wasn't getting good carry when I did hit my mark and I missed a few easy spares. It bothered me. I thought I was better than that. I thought I was capable of making adjustments and fixing problems. I thought wrong.

I've bowled poorly before, but this was the first week that truly bothered me. I put off writing this post all week and considered giving up the blog altogether. Who needs to relive failure over and over again? Well, successful people do, that's who. That is how they learn. That is how I will get out of this free fall.

Let's be honest, two stellar weeks so early in the season put my average well above my abilities. Seeing that big number next to my name was exciting, but it made me believe I was better than I am. I made an naive goal of not bowling below a 550 this year after completing my first season with no 400 series. The last two weeks have grounded me, though, and I'm determined to not let my average get below 200. I know I can do that, I just need to work on a few things.

A few days removed from the unpleasantness I can see a bit clearer and find some positives. I know what my problem was, I just need to fix it. I think it is a matter of posture and following through on my shots so some practice should clear that up. Also, the lanes were dry again this week but I was able to move left, find some oil and return to the pocket so long as I hit my marks. These are steps in the right direction.

I've composed myself now and have some confidence back. I can fix this. I am pre-bowling on Sunday to start banking games for my paternity leave in December so I can get to correcting my game soon.

Until then I just need to stay calm and get through this little slump.