Consistently Inconsistent

Still waiting for the day that I can write about how great I bowled, but there is plenty of work ahead before that will happen. However, I bowled my best series of the young season last night so I’m  feeling pretty good about where I’m at, but the dumb mistakes and inconsistent play won’t be going away overnight.

It’s been a very busy week and I was not able to get a practice session in. I did get a lesson scheduled but it won’t take place for a couple weeks, hoping once I have a better idea of what my work schedule looks like that I’ll be able to get one in before then, but at least I’ve got it on the calendar.

Due to prior commitments on the part of several team members we had to bring in some true alternates for this week, my friends Ryan and Josh, who had not bowled in months and only a couple times over the last few years. They used the Storm Anarchy that had been my first ball, I got it for Christmas last year when I was first thinking about getting into bowling, but I haven’t used it since I got my Berserk and Defiant, thanks Roto Grip! Josh even had the team’s high score of the night with a 194. Going to have to convince him to start taking bowling seriously, but his form and approach will definitely need some work if he does.

After ending last week with a strong third game I felt pretty good, despite having not practiced all week. I started the first game pretty shaky as I just missed a spare in the 2^nd and had my thumb stick a little and ended up pushing the ball to the left on my spare attempt in the 3^rd. I pulled it together nicely, picking up four of five spares and throwing my first two strikes of the night on my way to a solid 154. My goal for the season is still to get my average up to 165, but at least I’m moving in the right direction!

Game two is where the inconsistency really stepped in. I opened with a strike and was feeling good, but after failing to pick up my spares in the 4^th and 5^th frames I knew I would need a strong finish. I converted my next two spares and felt I had regained my composure. Then I was reminded why it goes from Gutter to Glory as I threw my first gutter ball of the night in the 8^th frame. I followed that up with another missed spare and then in the 10^th frame I threw basically the exact same gutter ball that I had in the 8^th. Not being able to pinpoint what was causing the problem left me feeling pretty anxious as we headed to game three.

Far from perfect, but it could’ve been worse!

Game three also opened with a strike, but quickly went downhill. As the game progressed a combination of fatigue and bad habits, developed with my old form, caused me to get sloppy with my approach and I was pushing the ball to the left again. I left the middle four frames open and was really struggling. A strike in the 8^th put me in position to at least get comfortably over 100 and then a malfunction with the pinsetter delayed our game for a good 10 minutes before we could get our last two frames in. I was not sure how the wait would impact my game and I left the 10 pin in the 9^th, but had thrown a good ball and just missed the spare. Remember how my goal for the week had been to at least get above 400? Well, I managed to get my first turkey of league season to end the game, definitely not the most opportune time scoring wise, but it brought my score up to a 135, saving the game from being a disaster and bringing my series total up to 401!

Now that I’m realizing how long of a process this could be I’m going to keep my goals similar for next week and focus on consistency. I would like to top 425, but as long as I am over 400 again I’ll be happy, and instead I’m going to focus on having three solid games, hopefully nothing under 125. Until next time, keep reaching for glory!