Hitting your goals

[star wars geek]

Heylo,
I just started bowling seriously earlier this year, and I set some goals for myself.

The first goal was to hit my first 200 game, and the second goal was to bowl a 500 series.

My previous high had been 172, but that's with bowling like 2 times a year.

Anyway, we're in week 8 of our 12 week league, and last week I bowled my personal best 193.  I went out the next night and shot a 194.

I showed up to league last night, and shot 201 and a 516 overall.

I finally hit my goal!

Now, I need to set new ones.

Do you think that 220 and 575 is a good goal to shoot for?
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The only balls in my hands are Brunswicks.

[MSC2471]

I think better goals to set would include:

1) Having at least 1 game a week clean (no opens).
2) Aiming to have a clean 30 for a set (3 clean games).
3) Improving on your toughest spare leave, set a goal to make this spare 8 out of 10 times in a set.

The score goals are good as well, but I think measurable goals each week that aren't score related but make you focus on shot making will improve your game even more. Keep up the good work.

Matt

[star wars geek]

Thanks for the feedback.

I actually have started trying to get one clean game each set of 3, and I'm getting pretty darn close.


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The only balls in my hands are Brunswicks.

[KDawg77]

Congrats!

Follw your dreams. You can reach your goals. Beefcake...BEEFCAKE!!!!!

[looseleftie]

Regarding goal setting, I have found in any pursuit make both short and long term goals, whether bowling, playing other sport, progressing on a music instrument, whatever. Short term goals are something in the relatively near future with all things being equal, you can achieve with some effort. Now long term, well start with a 600 series, or perhaps a 170 aver (if u are new to bowling). Whilst many bowlers here seem to be 200+ av bowlers, a 170 is a decent average due to the fact you have to make the vast majority of your spares still, some may disagree.

i have made goals in bowling like when I started the regular goal of a 200 game, and then a 500 series. Now, three years later, Ive made further goals some short and long term, some have been achieved, whilst others are coming..

The most important thing about goal setting in bowling, is to make sure your fundamentals are correct, without it, you may flounder around for a bit, this is from experience. You develop your own technique, in most cases with a slight flaw or two, and you reach a point that u seem permantely stuck on.
See a coach, if u are serious and have the time. Me its the time factor, still improving, so I can't complain too much....

See ya LL

[dpunky]

Congrats on your recent goal accomplishments.

The first new goal that I would make would be to go through a game without any open frames.  Concentrate on converting all your spares.  Spare making can make a difference if you are on a lane condition that makes stikes hard to come by.  I would also work on speed control to figure out when to speed up the ball versus when to slow it down.  Lastly, if you can, try different bowling centers.  It will challenge you to make adjustments to the different lane surfaces and conditions.

dpunky

[qstick777]

Congrats!

Everybody has given really good advice.  I would also recommend trying to track your weekly progress - either in a notebook or a program.  I personally use a program called Gone Bowlin! (www.gonebowlin.com).  It allows you to track your league scores (even offers frame by frame scoring for tracking splits, spares, taps, etc), and helps to give you a way to track your progress. Also lets you put in your balls, lanes played, and lane conditions so you can see if one ball seems to work better than another, or if certain lanes score higher. The software is free, although after you enter 7 weeks of scores you have to wait 2 seconds per week before you can enter your scores (sort of a built in nag screen) unless you register (its only $25 to register).

I've found that by using the program it helps me to see where I need to improve, like maybe my first game is the lowest so maybe I need to get there earlier to warm up and practice, or I leave more splits in my second game and need to adjust sooner, etc.  I also find it helpful to track my frames during the game, it helps me to stay focused.

Anyways, thats just something I thought I would throw out there.  Also, if you register you can get an add-in that will allow you to export your weekly stats to a web page.  Mine is here: http://www.dipspit.com/qstick777/league.html