A New High for Low

After ending 2011 with a 600 series in my portfolio, this week felt great at the start.  Couple that with a bit of breathing room at work and there was a lot to feel good about.  I was still holding off on scheduling any press conferences or asking Roto Grip to name their next ball the Timmothy (or maybe just the Moth would work, hey), but I felt great and had some real confidence brewing inside me.  Or maybe that was just a bad dinner from the weekend…

Given the circumstance of last week, I was either going to continue to ascend to new heights or plummet back to reality.  Those are the choices, right?  Or can you redefine what reality is and just lightly plummet to this new standard?

Practice on Monday felt a bit weird.  I took the first game to just throw corner pins and try to shake of the nervous jitters of expectation.  You know, those ridiculous neon graphics really present a lot of expectations after you throw your first 600… beckoning you to prove you can do it again.  After getting close, I pulled out the Bandit and decided to just throw a series and not think too much.  I don’t use the Bandit a lot and it was a good ball to break that shell of “I wonder if that was an aberration” off.  It’s really suited to drier oil and I haven’t seen a ton of that.  So, despite whatever the conditions were I was going to deal with ‘em and take that as learning.  I was definitely not going to try to repeat the Thursday before.

I played pretty far to the right and took a down and in approach.  The Bandit gives a good, late break for me but keeps some energy for the pins.  Was surprisingly fun to play from that spot and with that tactic and it definitely helped keep my mind off the 600s.  It was definitely a challenge and I paid the price with some splits in the second and third games.  Still managed 195, 174, and 161 for a 530.  530 would have been great any other day, but it just felt ordinary.  I took a different perspective but still managed to score at what used to be the top.

Typically, I practice Monday and Wednesday but forgot all my equipment on Wednesday after waking up too early and rushing out the door.  So, I did what I usually try not to do… practice on league night!  Ohhhhh nooooo!  Couldn’t happen that every time I bowl the same day as league I would suffer dire consequences at night.  Right?

Thursday’s “no-no” practice went great.  188, 220, and 189 for a 597 that felt smooth, awesome, and motivating.  A slightly high shot in the 8th of the final game cost me my second 600, but everything was clicking.  Good timing, nice slide, good targeting and follow-through.  The Defiant was giving me a great angle into the pocket and even did my taxes on the way down.  A new high-game score for the year, too.  Maybe I was capable of being better than crappy… just maybe…

Then, league night.  I went in tired and unmotivated.  Warm-up stunk and I just couldn’t find my target.  I mean, it’s right there, why can’t I hit it?!  Frustration was in high supply.  I tried to stay positive, though.  No sense damning myself by letting my emotions steer my off the road.  However, it wasn’t meant to be.  Each shot felt out of control.  Instead of things being slowed down, it felt like I was behind everything.  I made adjustments, switched balls, moved around, but it was beyond equipment or conditions.  It was me.  If I had to score my night without seeing the scores on the screen I would have guessed low 400s or high 300s.  It felt like an all-time low.  However… 511 at the end, with games of 168, 167, 176.  Consistent.  Fourth highest series score through league so far.  What the?!

After a beer with McGutters (oh yeah, I threw the gutterball for the night… on the very first shot) I was in a much better mental state.  I bowled like crap and still salvaged a 511.  I persevered and stuck with it and it showed.  I didn’t fall apart.  I can buy that and feel good about it. Scores really aren’t everything.  They’re relative and I’m really starting to internalize that.

Now, I’m just anxious about next week.

Matt, on the other hand, tore it up with his new Frantic.  I figured he’d struggle adjusting a bit to something new, and he did.  To the tune of 655.  I bet that with his dinosaur equipment he would have shot a 555.  Instead of Matt trying to out-bowl a low ceiling, he could let his talent flow into the ball.  And it was beautiful… pins everywhere!   What a jerk!  Ha!

Sorta/almost on-topic—McGutters and I both decided we don’t want to bowl at Bowlero anymore, though.  Horrible approaches.  We’re not expecting a whole lot, but the approaches just don’t feel right and you can’t get much slide out of the them.  Which didn’t used to be a problem, back in my two marks per game days.  Now, it really puts a wrinkle in your groove to suddenly stick while swinging.  Bummer.  Nice place and good people otherwise.  Need to find a new league soon, since we only have four more weeks left there…

Stay out of the gutter (unlike me)!