Week 8 Pre-Bowl Recap

Game 1: 179
Game 2: 172
Game 3: 201
Series: 552
Week Avg: 184

And the song remains the same. Coming into the alley on Sunday I had one goal: get out of this slump. I knew I was missing my mark to the left because I was unbalanced at the foul line, but I still wasn't very clear on what exactly the problem was. I needed to diagnose and resolve this issue if I was going to bowl better.

The lanes were dry, untreated after a night of laser light bowling. I moved down to my Python and just for fun at the end of practice I decided to throw my plastic spare ball. Surprisingly it hooked quite a bit and I was able to cover about 12 boards in the backend. I was basically able to throw my preferred line for a fresh oil pattern with my most reactive ball with my non-reactive plastic ball.

I started the first game with a turkey and then missed my mark left in the fourth frame, but I finally found the problem. I was looking up before my ball crossed my target, pulling my head up and causing me to miss left. i focused on keeping my head down the rest of the day and I only missed my mark a handful of times after that. I chopped my spare in the fourth but had a pretty solid game until the ninth and tenth frames. I left pocket 4-6 and 8-10 splits killing my chances at a 200 game.

The second game started with a double before the wheels fell off again. This game I missed four spares, including three single pin leaves. Not corner pins either, a 6-pin and two 8-pins. I finished a bit stronger to salvage another game in the 170s.

The third game was better. Not too many strikes, but I kept it clean. After four straight pocket hits couldn't carry the corners I moved down to the plastic ball and played over the 8-board which gave me a better entry angle and better carry. I squeaked out a 201 and I was thrilled.

For the most part I came in and did what I set out to do. I diagnosed a problem and I fixed it. I tried to make the best of a bad situation given the lane conditions and I suppose I was lucky to escape with a 550+ series.

The next issue to tackle is my lackluster spare shooting. Now that I can hit my mark, it should just be a matter of concentration and execution. I know how to line up for spares, now I just need to get it done. We'll see how things pan out tonight.