Last Thursday I bowled my first 200 game, Ever!
I followed that up by bowling 230 in a tournament a few days later, making the top 5 and finishing 4th for a nice payout in my first ever tournament.
(full disclosure: the tourney had some modified scoring that made it easier to bowl a high pin fall)
To put this in perspective; I bowled about three times total in the previous bowling season (Banker’s bowling league) and had never bowled above 145avg in several years of being a member of the league.
So what happened?
I can’t be sure, but if I had to venture a guess, I’d say my preparation and mental game is stronger.
Prior to this season I went back to basics and decided on some simple stuff like
- My spare system. I found this chart online and saved it as my screen saver
- Changed my starting stance
- Committed to following through on my arm rotation after release
- Start off by visualizing my ball path for the strike or spare pickup
I believe these small changes have greatly impacted my game. Its still early and I have to maintain it, but as of right now I feel like nothing can stop me.
So what can I learn from this sudden improvement in my bowling results
- I needed to get back to basics
- I deconstruct and practice individual components before bringing it all back together
- Have a system to deal with the less than ideal results that happen every so often
- Use visualization, positive self talk and affirmations
With these small changes we can improve at almost anything!