BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: n00dlejester on June 20, 2017, 08:38:33 AM
-
For the last 6 months, I've been slumping. It's on and off, but overall my scores are down. I have some great days - 750 a few weeks ago; 695 a week ago. But my bad days are bad - 450 last night and I had a 515 about a month ago. Overall, my house shot average is down 9 pins from last year and my sport league average went down 8 pins from last year.
What do you guys do when you're in a longer slump? How do you boost your confidence levels?
Any and all ideas are greatly appreciated!!
-
Beside crying a lot, I do a couple of things. My slumps are generally related to footwork issues. My first step becomes too long, so I concentrate on shortening it a bit. That adjustment usually helps timing. In other threads on this Forum, several bowlers mentioned shortening that first step. It does work for me.
To maintain ball speed, I also concentrate on getting the ball into the backswing as quickly as possible with a very short arm extension and downward motion of the ball. I get into trouble when my push-off becomes too "loopy."
These are a few things that seem to help me (not the crying). Will they work for you? Maybe, maybe not. Good luck!
-
Record myself and see where I've altered something that's throwing me off.
-
My slumps have been from overthinking too much and trying to play angles im not accustomed to. Lately i have realized im not a cranker and every once in a while i try to force that to work instead of going to my bread and butter, down and in and just adjust speed and surfaces. Past 4 weeks after leagues ended, i have posted 715-721-741-751 in sweepers every sat nite. I believe if i can control my overthinking, i can get back to where i was years ago. I always say to myself, Keep It Simple Stupid.
-
Thanks for the thoughts guys! It's been a while since I videos myself so I should definitely try that.
Also - the arm swing thing is a very salient point for me - along with footwork. I've worked *hard* on shortening my first step (of 5) and getting the ball in motion as fast as possible. I feel like I'm doing that alright, but I still want to pull the ball down at the top of my swing. I think this is where the video comes into play.
And to St. Croix's point - I've cried so much this summer, and it's only week 3 in summer leagues, lol
-
Great advise here.... I also have gone through BILLIONS OF slumps, and have done all of the above ( along with taking breaks, which also helps).
But as mentioned above, it's all about, simplifying the basics of the game, and things have looked up since.
-
In my recent slump during this years Easter season I was 0 for 5 shooting 600+. Then one night I popped the videos of my sessions with Mike Jasnau and Mark Baker from years past. I realized I looked much better then vs. what I was doing currently.
The following week I practiced and went back to basics, honed in on the same two things these coaches mentioned and the game has been comfortable. The last 21 league games I'm the highest I've ever averaged, 223.
I never put K.I.S.S. into good use, never really tried to. but this time around I kept that in mind and followed through with it. This mentality really does work. The pins don't move, the patterns are relatively the same with these precise machines, and the game is easier. Well for me that is.
Side note: I do practice on tough conditions and use training tools such as the rev trainer (homemade) and a swing trainer. But other than that, I keep everything to a minimum.
-
Just as St. Croix said, most of the time it's a footwork thing where I've gotten sloppy over time. I just try to free everything up and trust in myself.
Slumps can hang on longer than necessary when we worry about them and overwork ourselves trying to get out of them. If we decide that a slump is a period of time when we merely don't score well it can become a monster.
What am I getting at? Scores, good or bad, can be deceiving because they are only part of the picture. However, if I'm struggling to hit a target then it's probably something I should correct.
Think of all the nights you didn't execute well, and yet scored well, and vise versa. Realize that if you're executing well, and repeating shots with some regularity, the scores will usually take care of themselves before long. Take a step back and trust in your abilities. Don't allow your self esteem to be based solely upon scores.
-
Well said notclay +1000
-
Thanks, I'm the Valedictorian of slump management due to how many I've been through over the years. Slumps are a part of life, not just bowling. We can see them as stumbling blocks (negative) or stepping stones (to growth).
If you breathe air, and bowl, they are as natural a part of bowling as anything.
-
Very true.
-
Go back to the basics and it will correct itself, footwork staying down at the line, arm swing and follow through.
-
Kick the ball return and say "**** this house!" :P
In all honesty, I think breaks can be the best thing ever. I think notclay brings up great points as well....
-
Go back to your basics and YOU will correct YOURself: footwork, staying down at the line, pushaway/dropaway timing, arm swing, keeping your eye on the target, and follow through.
Suggested corrections.
-
I love the advice here guys! Thank you so much for it.
I schedule a lesson with my coach for this upcoming weekend, and I'm doing 1 thing differently: I'm trying to stick my landing as best I can. Since doing this, I'm throwing my first shot pretty darn well! It's still going kind of all over, so there's that. But baby steps - I'm feeling better and I'm excited to bowl this week.
Also? $%#^ this house! :p
-
I work on fundamentals, timing and a smooth swing. Often, I'll roll a few games using only my spare ball (polyester with pancake core) and will focus on smooth, forward roll and squaring up my shot to the pocket. Then, I'll work a few games with my spare +1 ball (mildest reactive), continuing to square up the shot. This usually puts me back on the right track. YMMV...
-
I swear
-
I bowl in the dark.
-
I'll have 5 shots of tequila, jk. ;D
-
Slow down, fundamentals, balance. Generally, if I can just focus on ONE thing, then the other things will often fall into place. (This is much easier said than done, of course.) Anyway, for me when I'm slumping it often manifests itself in bad balance at the line, so the ONE THING I try to do is stay balanced on my slide. Just focusing only on my slide helps me in other areas without thinking about it as my muscle memory takes over the other things. Suddenly my swing becomes manageable, my tempo falls into place, my release point becomes consistent, my tilt aligns itself properly, and the pins just start falling easier.
-
Slumpbuster ;)