In the March 2008 issue of Bowling This Month, there's an excellent article on Using a Quiet Eye. It discusses visualizing your target and your ball path, and how we often don't take the time necessary to prepare for the shot.
At the risk of boring you all to death, I'll quote two segments of the article .. .
"In simple terms, a skilled athlete focuses more on their target and maintains a lock on their target for a longer period of time. ... Yet less skilled athletes do not realize that they are actually not looking at their target as long or that they are looking all around rather than on their target."
At the end of the article ...
"If you think this is a long time, then look to the bowler who was the fastest ever to 10 titles. From the time he steps onto the approach until starting the approach, Tommy Jones takes a full 11 seconds on each shot. This includes setup, pre-shot routine, etc. Perhaps, you are not taking adequate time to lock your target gaze."
There is much more to the article, and every bit of it is gold. I've been trying the visual target lock for the past few weeks since I read the article, and my accuracy has improved greatly. It's starting to show in my scores. At first it felt odd to take the extra time to truly focus on my target, breakpoint, and back to target, but it's well worth it to me. My goal is to improve my game. This works. Everyone else can just wait.
Deb
quote:
I guess none of you get this whole 15-20 seconds on the approach. It is not to wipe off your ball, it is not the time you are trying to figure out your line. It is a time for you to get focused and get set. I take 10-15 seconds like I said before. This is picking up my ball, stepping up, placing my feet, setting and checking my start position. I then take a few breaths to clear my head and go. Chris and I are not talking about getting set and just standing there for 15 seconds. All that does is make your hand sweat.
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Edited on 4/12/2008 3:07 PM