Author Topic: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot (Read 5400 times)

Neptune66 · « **on:** January 14, 2012, 07:48:53 AM »

It was "just" practice (although it's never JUST practice to me) and I didn't feel nervous or tense, but I was anxious to get it over with. The previous 11 shots had all been solid and well thrown. Even 2 Brooklyn's that were technically off the mark but delivered with the same smooth (for me) delivery as the others at just the right speed and angle.

Had been here before too. A total of 4 times. But the previous 4 times I had been nervous and anxious and didn't throw the ball quite as hard cause I was trying to counter my tendency to throw too hard when I'm excited. No... this time I was cool as a cucumber. Even considered sitting down for awhile or walking around and chatting with people. Anything that would be different from the first 4 times.

But I wasn't worried. I would just pick up the ball and throw it soon as I could before I forgot how to duplicate the exact delivery I had executed 11 times in succession. So I picked up the ball and calmly got ready to throw and then ----there it was again. The voice in my head!

It said to be sire to throw the ball hard enough (unlike the last 4 times) to compensate for the likelihood that I might not throw it hard enough. And then the other voice said that was hogwash, and that I shouldn't change anything and shouldn't be listening to the first voice or even the second one. And I threw the ball and it was a relatively clean delivery and release, but because I had been thinking was just a hair slower then the previous balls (about 17.5 or so compared to the relatively high 18.3 for this mid fifties guy who still relies more on power than rotation), it started it's movement just about 2 seconds too soon, and ended up on the Brooklyn side. but this wasn't the hard type that would bury all 10 pins or the super light kind that would mix them into submission. This was just plain old stupid [choke!] of a Brooklyn, and the end result was another 298. Have now thrown 4 of those and a 299 in the last 3 years.

And although this was my first time over 290 in 18 months and I should be happy about that in some way. right now I just see it as the 5th time I have messed up the 12th shot.

I wish I HAD been nervous, but I wasn't. And I could have thrown a ball that I felt was a good shot and still gotten a 298 if 2 pins remained standing, but I KNOW (just like on the other 290 games) that the 12th shot was a stinker. Not a horrible one, but it was not just bad luck. It was a choke.

Only it wasn't a choke from nerves. It was a choke of stupidity from thinking too much about the 12th shot. How does one stop themselves from doing that? Maybe next time I should stop and go to the bar and order a drink or something?

Ugh !!!!!!!

Edited by Neptune66 on 1/14/2012 at 4:49 PM

Edited by Neptune66 on 1/14/2012 at 4:52 PM

trash heap · « **Reply #16 on:** January 16, 2012, 10:33:21 AM »

Neptune66 wrote on 1/15/2012 4:46 PM: The only difference between practice and league to me is that in league I have to wait longer to deliver my next shot.

And its a big difference. That's why practice is not like league. You can easily repeat shots when you don't have to wait. The other big difference is you don't have others messing with the oil pattern.

Practice is about working on improving your game. Truly if you want to experience competitive envrinoment then try to bowl with others or at least increase time between shots. The key to this game is being able to repeat shots.

Your 12th shot should be no different than the previous 11. You must make moves according to the condition you truly beleive that is out on the lane. Worrying about slowing down or speeding up, then trying to compensate for it is totally incorrect way of thinking.

Obviously you are not focussing on throwing a good shot. You are thinking more about what is going to go wrong then right. This is the mental aspect of the game. You need to stay focussed, if your mind starts to drift, step off the approach. It is so crucial to get that preshot routine in place. You should already know where and how you are going to throw the ball. Now its just time to step up on the approach and execute.

WaltMisser · « **Reply #17 on:** January 16, 2012, 06:33:18 PM »

I find common ground with only a few of the threads here. Whether it be league, open play, tourney, pot games, etc., are all irrelevant. For that matter, the score is irrelevant as well. Simply put, an understanding of this will enhance execution. A 300 game is not a measure of one's ability as a bowler, nor as a human being. It is merely an isolated score.

Neptune66 · « **Reply #18 on:** January 16, 2012, 06:41:10 PM »

I know that I mentally mishandled the 12th ball, which is what prompted me to make my original post.

But for those that recommend not keeping score and working on my mechanics --- not the problem in this case. Had I thrown the ball poorly due to poor execution or lack of concentration, then yes. But then I also wouldn't have been as upset, either. The reason this was so frustrating was because it was my thought process or attitude that changed and messed up the shot. I didn't trip or stumble or a\miss my mark. I was doomed before I even released the ball.

And THAT's what Iwant to prevent next time. As long as I can deliver the ball with the same authority and confidence as the first eleven, I'll be happy. Happier if all 10 go down, but I CAN bowl a 298 and be ok with it ----providing the ball is delivered as I intend it to be. Then if it's off target or even on target and the results aren't there, so be it.

As for the "spectators" ... I didn't invite them or want them, but they were there, and although I did not want them to have any influence, somehow they did (I hurried up to throw the last ball before my karma changed).

Next time.... I won't care if everyone in the bowling alley is watching. Cause this failed attempt has given me a little more of a chip on my shoulder than the first 4 did. I cannot quite describe it, but I am angry this time, and more determined than ever to reach my goal. Preferably in league, but not a necessity. The other times.... I was more disappointed or depressed than angry.

WaltMisser · « **Reply #19 on:** January 16, 2012, 09:06:06 PM »

I think you may have missed my point. Whether or not you get/got the 300 game is not a "measure" of you as a human being and/or bowler. I think you are being too hard on yourself. You are allowed to be human.

Pinbuster · « **Reply #20 on:** January 17, 2012, 07:33:52 AM »

As long as there are voices in your head you are nervous/choking. The only thing you should be doing is going thru your preshot routine and then trying to replicate the feel of the previous shots. It should be pretty much on autopilot.

Your initial paragraph says a lot to me in that you didn't have a problem with the 2 brooklyns. Those are bad shots, not just a little bad but bad. If they were the right speed and angle then you must have missed your target by 3 boards at least.

Bowling on a THS lulls us into thinking what is a good shot, in that many "bad" shots still find the pocket and often strike.

Sunshine n Lollipops · « **Reply #21 on:** January 17, 2012, 07:50:31 AM »

Your initial paragraph says a lot to me in that you didn't have a problem with the 2 brooklyns. Those are bad shots, not just a little bad but bad. If they were the right speed and angle then you must have missed your target by 3 boards at least.

EXACTLY!!! That says it all about the OP's thought processes and his practice habits. He throws two Brooklyns but instead of saying they were bad shots, he rationalizes them because, gosh, they were part of 11 in a row and he has a shot at a practice 300. A practice 300 which is worth nothing. Almost 20% of the balls he threw up to the 12th frame were bad balls! Pulled your arm across his body or thumb was down meaning he overturned, etc. That is what keeping score does for you. Did you know that you can tell the counter that you don't want to keep score and they can set the computers to do that? That is what you should be doing. You should be counting how many times you hit your mark, how many times you hit the pocket, and how many times your pocket hits carried for strikes. When you left a ten was it a weak ten or a ringing ten? That's what you concentrate on in practice, not a fools gold 300 or 700 plus series.

Don't believe in the Uzi, it just went off in my hand. I, I believe in love.

Neptune66 · « **Reply #22 on:** January 17, 2012, 09:01:41 AM »

In a way I am being too hard on myself, but it was still a choke. Only in this case, the battle was in keeping myself on autopilot and keeping the voices from creeping into my conciousness for the entire game. I succeeded on the first 11 and failed on the 12th.

As for the debate about the Brooklyns being bad shots or not, I do hear you. And I am well aware that a Brooklyn is an off-target ball. But it's not that simple. Sometimes----as I am delivering the ball--- I can feel that I am lined up wrong and I know that the ball is going to go through the nose, so I conciously give it a little extra push or lift on purpose knowing it will cross over to Brooklyn. Am I that good that I can always do this and get a strike every time? No. But it is a last minute adjustment made on purpose with the intent of hitting the Brooklyn side of the head pin versus hitting it dead on.

That doesn't make it a textbook strike, but it's not the same thing as a completely errant shot that just happened to saunter into the Brooklyn pocket and result in a strike. The 2 balls that hit Brooklyn were otherwise thrown well and I KNEW that there was a high probability that they were going to be solid strikes. The 12th shot was a weak shot that I KNEW as soon as I released it was not going to produce a good result whether it hit the pocket or Brooklyn.

As for measuring my worth as a bowler or person by getting (or not) a 300. I won't be jumping off any tall buildings if I don't succeed. It's just that I have now had 5 opportunities to do something that was very important to me, and have not succeeded. It will be that much sweeter when I do, but it's still disappointing.

Plus... I have scheduled knee surgery (meniscus) for late April, and it would be nice to have attained my first 300 game before going on the disabled list for a several weeks.

dizzyfugu · « **Reply #23 on:** January 17, 2012, 09:08:21 AM »

Pinbuster wrote on 17.01.2012 8:33 AM:
As long as there are voices in your head you are nervous/choking. The only thing you should be doing is going thru your preshot routine and then trying to replicate the feel of the previous shots. It should be pretty much on autopilot.

Absolutely correct. I also have come close to the 300 two times, and ironically both ended ina 279 in a kind of deja vu. Both were training, one even with mass audience during official club training. Both times I recognized after 7 striokes up front that there COULD be a good result coming up, but I did not pay much attention, I focussed on execution and the "groove". This went pretty well, until the 10th frame when in both cases the ball started hooking a bit too early, leaving a 9... Not 100% certain whether it was me becoming a bit too cautious (and therefore less frim with the release), or just the line having dried up so that the ball would hook that foot sooner... anyway, I do not see both occasions as a failure - I enjoyed it while it lasted, and both were good games. A 300 might come along, but I am not keen on it as a "trophy", I rather see it as a bonus for well executed shots that would carry the deck. If there's a Brookyn strike or something messy... who cares afterwards? We are human, after all!

DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
2010/11 Benrather BC Club Champion
Confused by bowling? Check out BR.com's vault of wisdom: the unofficial FAQ section

Sunshine n Lollipops · « **Reply #24 on:** January 17, 2012, 09:09:56 AM »

Have danced around it enough. A practice 300 is NOT a 300. It doesn't matter to anybody. It counts for nothing. Nobody cares. It wasn't shot during league with distractions and some pressure. It wasn't shot in a tourney with money and a lot of pressure. IT DOESN'T COUNT. Quit rationalizing. I have sanctioned 300s and I have strung enough strikes in practice to have many more. Guess which ones I talk about when talking honor scores? Plain and simple, you're practice attitude is flawed. It will not get you to where you want to go in bowling. Turn off the scoreboards. I speak from experience.

Don't believe in the Uzi, it just went off in my hand. I, I believe in love.

Neptune66 · « **Reply #25 on:** January 17, 2012, 09:19:00 AM »

Only rebuttal I will make is that once you have reached an accomplishment in league or tournament, then of course the practice means nothing. As for anyone noticing or caring about the practice version?

I would know that I had accomplished something that was important to me. That would be enough ----until the next league outing at least.

spmcgivern · « **Reply #26 on:** January 17, 2012, 09:55:47 AM »

Obviously your current method of bowling under whatever pressure you put on yourself isn't working. I think that is what should be taken from this. I understand you have a goal in mind and unfortunately you have also put a time frame goal with it. This is counterproductive in any competitive setting. You have to concentrate on the PROCESS of throwing the ball and nothing else, not matter what the conditions are. Throw the ball to the best of your ability (including speed, balance, rotation, tilt.... anything you want to work on) and the result will occur when it occurs.

If you want a 300, your goal shouldn't be getting 12 strikes in a row, but throwing 12 good shots in a game. Not 8 really good shots, 2 brooklyns on purpose and 2 "I'm not sures". 12 good shots. Once you get in that frame of mind, you will improve your performance in any situation and your goals will be realized.

Just as an experiment, practice for a month without keeping score. Work on the fundamentals you need to work on. When you bowl league or a tournament, do the same thing you did in practice. Concentrate on throwing the ball the best you can. Make your adjustments before you step on the lane. Once your foot hits the lane, be committed to your decision on any adjustments.

Do this while becoming more consistent in the fundamentals and come back and let us know the results. You will not become a worse bowler. I am willing to bet you will impress yourself. Will you get a 300? Can't say for sure, maybe you will. But you will perform better in all situations.

I am not a pro-bowler, but I do play one on BallReviews.com

Neptune66 · « **Reply #27 on:** January 18, 2012, 07:49:44 AM »

Well, I can't say whether I'll take the plunge and practice without keeping score after 40+ years of keeping score.

However, I will concede that my results (both in bowling and other areas) are better when I am not trying so hard to achieve perfection (pun not intended, but leaving it in just the same).

In fact.. I can honestly say that every one of my 5 near misses (four 298's and a 299), happened on days where bowling a 300 was the furthest thing on my mind----at least until after I had thrown the first 5 or 6 strikes.

On a positive note, I started a game last night in league with the first 4, and although I can't say that going off the sheet never occured to me, I had a much more ho-hum feeling about it than before. Not that a 4-bagger would cause me to kick up my heals and get super-excited normally. It was a subtle difference. But somehow I have mentally moved my excitement level further down in the game. I didn't bowl anywhere near 300 either, but it was a decent game and I finished strong, so I was ok with it.

Maybe next time I find myself with the first 11, I will not view the 12th shot as a different animal and will truly FEEL that way naturally, rather than running an inner dialogue in my head where I am trying to convince myself of this fact. I think that's the key for me.

I KNOW intellectually that the 12th shot should be no different than the rest and carry no additional pressure. I obviously still have to work on actually feeling nothing special when I am about to deliver it. Whether that comes naturally, or whether I need to walk away from the lane, or get a stiff drink, or talk to someone before throwing it, remains to be seen.

And I can see that if I can get myself to practice without keeping score that I may actually start bowling in league without keeping score (or keeping score as much). And that would be a good thing.

Edited by Neptune66 on 1/18/2012 at 8:54 AM

spmcgivern · « **Reply #28 on:** January 18, 2012, 08:36:48 AM »

I wish you the best in getting the monkey off your back. I was lucky, I was able to get a 300 after one 299 game. (I don't count my 296 as a junior bowler) It is impossible to feel the same on the 12th ball of a 300 as the first. You can only hope your mind allows your body to do the same it had the previous 11. I can only imagine the added pressure one would feel after so many chances at 300 and not be successful.

Just stay positive, don't let doubt creep in, and I feel your goals will be achieved eventually.

I am not a pro-bowler, but I do play one on BallReviews.com

trash heap · « **Reply #29 on:** January 18, 2012, 10:04:11 AM »

Well stated. Be positive. Don't let this be too much of a burden. Stating from experience, don't keep score in practice so much. It really does make a difference.

spmcgivern wrote on 1/18/2012 9:36 AM:
I wish you the best in getting the monkey off your back. I was lucky, I was able to get a 300 after one 299 game. (I don't count my 296 as a junior bowler) It is impossible to feel the same on the 12th ball of a 300 as the first. You can only hope your mind allows your body to do the same it had the previous 11. I can only imagine the added pressure one would feel after so many chances at 300 and not be successful.

Just stay positive, don't let doubt creep in, and I feel your goals will be achieved eventually.

I am not a pro-bowler, but I do play one on BallReviews.com

Neptune66 · « **Reply #30 on:** January 18, 2012, 11:23:31 AM »

Thanks.

I always start off not caring about the score. Even in league.

At first am just happy to be able to deliver the ball relatively pain free, and have it hit with authority at or near the point where I aimed it. But sometimes, after I throw 3 or 4 strikes in a row, the "just happy to be here and be competitive" mindset morphs into "I have to keep this going and see where it goes", and when it does, the quality of the deliveries tends to deteriorate.

I used to think it was cause I was nervous, bt can honestly say I was not nervous at all last Saturday. I was anxious, though, and irrational in my desire to hurry up and deliver the ball before the magic went away.

Course... the magic was gone as soon as I allowed that thought to enter my head.

:-)

Author Topic: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot (Read 5400 times)

Neptune66

0 for 5 on the 12th shot

trash heap

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

WaltMisser

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

Neptune66

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

WaltMisser

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

Pinbuster

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

Sunshine n Lollipops

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

Neptune66

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

dizzyfugu

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

Sunshine n Lollipops

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

Neptune66

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

spmcgivern

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

Neptune66

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

spmcgivern

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

trash heap

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot

Neptune66

Re: 0 for 5 on the 12th shot