Summer League: May 7th 2009

So tonight was the second night of Summer League 2009, here in Hazard, KY.  Unfortunately, I forgot to grab the team scoresheet, so I don’t have the exact numbers of my team mates, but I can tell you that one of my team mates bowled a 759 scratch series, 783 handicap, which I suspect will be the high scratch and handicap series for the league.

So this week, I started the first game the best way possible: three in a row! Unfortunately, I then went on to open three times in the remaining seven frames, which is disappointing.  I was hoping to open the night with a strong game, but I ended up finishing with a paltry 168. Average by any stretch of the imagination.

The second game started pretty well as well. I opened with a strike and two spares, but again, I finished out the game with a couple of open frames, one of them in the tenth, when all I need was a spare and good count to finish with 200 flat, instead, I finished with a 189.  A better game, but still a little disappointing since I missed the 200 because of a simple missed spare.

The third game was the saving grace for the night.  I still missed a couple of very easy, single pin spares, but I managed to string five in a row in the towards the end of the game and pulled out a respectable 212. This game was actually one of the more frustrating games of the series, because I threw what looked like perfect pocket shots and left some stone 8 pins AND a 4-9 split (which I missed… completely) and still managed to break the 200 barrier.  I can’t help but wonder what might have been.

Tonight I was really hurt by spares,  or a lack thereof.  I seemed to be having one of those nights where I was doubting my spare shot, which is really a place you don’t want to be mentally. I think the last few weeks, I’ve been focussing so much on the strike shot in my practise sessions, that my spare game has gone all to hell.  In the game of bowling, he who spares consistently, scores consistently, as was evidenced by my scores tonight.  Had I picked up every spare I left tonight, I would have easily finished with a low 600 series, which is a good start to say the least.  

After two weeks I carry a 192 average, which equates to about 6 pins handicap.  Not too bad, but definitely room for improvement. My goal for this league is to finish with at least a 200 average.  If I do this, I will qualify for PBA membership, which in and of itself isn’t a big deal.  However, it will open the possibility for me to bowl in PBA Regional tournaments at a reduced cost (though I’m not quite certain how much of a reduction there will be) which will help a whole lot towards gaining the high level experience I’m looking for.

I finally feel like my release is starting to get more consistent and that’s evidenced in my ball reaction.  I need to work on accuracy and speed control more.  I let myself down a few times tonight by getting fast with my legs, which translates to a yank swing and often results in a pulled shot and therefore a high miss at the pins.  After some discussion (via email) with a very experienced coach, I think I need to get my fit tweaked to add little left pitch to my thumb hole. I strongly suspect I’m squeezing the ball through the swing, which creates inconsistency at the release.

I’m hoping to pick up some new equipment and take advantage of some great deals I’ve seen online and I will take a lot of time to get the fit as close to perfect as I can this time around, as well as fine tune the fit on my spare ball before the fall league starts again.  Until then, I’ll do what I can with the equipment I have.


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