Getting over pumped.

[Billy_Pilgrim]

Lately when I get ready to bowl league on Wednesday night, I feel like I chugged a pot of coffee. Not in a jittery sort of way but adrenilin rushed and performing at 100 miles an hour. It started after I threw a 290 game (my personal best on league). The harder I try to relax the worse I get. I've even thought about a couple of beers, but I haven't found it necessary to drink since May 13, 1989, so I would like to avoid that route.

Any suggestions, comments, criticisms?

By the way this year my average has been constantly increasing, until this little setback.

[Leonten]

It's hard but you have to learn to take this game 1 ball at a time. Most likely what's happening is (as you were getting a higher average) you began to anticipate the final results, before you threw a ball.

Some tips to help.

#1. The score shouldn't matter only your execution.
#2. Take a (or 2) deep breaths as you are standing drying your hand, before you get on the approach.
#3. Have a set routine for each ball (Strike or spare) your routine should be exactly the same for both.
#4. Do something different to take your mind off your game, between shots.
#5. Always remember an average is just a number, usually half the time we exceed it and half the time we don't.
#6. Nobody in the world has averaged 290 for a season. You simply want to do it again.

Have you forgotten to have fun?

[Jim H]

The harder I try to relax the worse I get.

There are several techniques that facilitate relaxation. If you have not tried Yoga, it might be worth your while. If there is no yoga group or calss in your area you should be able to get a book or even a video on yoga relaxation techniques.

You don't have to change your life, but I believe you will be surprised at the result.

[KAJMK]

No criticisms are due, you are human and you reacted like many other folks would.
I heard an interview with Pete Weber in which he stated that he still gets nervous ...
In addition to the fine comments already made.
Be sure to stay hydrated, dehydration will hurt you physically and mentally. Stay away from caffeine, that will escalate the heart beat, and also dehydrate you.
Consider that you can only dwell on one thought at a time, find a positive thought or one that well let you RELAX and trust your body.
The little ABC pamphlet had a few thoughts on handling pressure, you might check it out.
I think that each of us has to know what makes us tick. You might enhance the way you deal with things by various methods, in short knowing which buttons you have to push on your body/brain console.
Some people thrive on pressure, some don't, some people play internal mind games with themselves.
Bowling is a non-contact sport so you can't discharge energy in a tackle or block, ever see football players before a game.
Look into breathing exercises and stretching routines.
Read a few books for ideas and to see how similar what you feel is to what others feel. "Focused for Bowling" by Dr. Dean Hinitz; "The Inner Game of Tennis" by W. Timothy Galwey are a few good ones.

Realize that there are reasons why things happen or do not happen, deal with them objectively, adapt, and adjust. Don't feel cheated or that bad luck has befallen you if you get tapped or if your opponent appears to be lucky.

Most bowling we do simply involves outscoring the other bowler or the other team, not the margin of victory.

Every sporting endeavor breaks down to one event at a time, we as humans bundle them into games, innings, etc.

I read a column by Mark Baker in which he said some of the best advice he ever got regarding bowling came from Earl Anthony, he said something like "Son, sometimes you have to learn how to get 9".
Advice from Marshall Holman " If your swing is tense, the pins will feel it and you are going to leave more corner pins; that relaxed swing, that's what gives you carry".

Pride yourself in making a good pure and fluid athletic shot, results will happen.
Don't get hung up or depressed if the first frame does not result in a strike. That's about like Bobby Bonds getting down on himself when each swing does not result in a home run.

Take care.

[rangerl]

I've used this book, The Mental Edge, to help with relaxing and focusing techniques. Perhaps it will help you too

NOT PERMITTED]http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=2TZE5EFZTR&isbn=0399524819&itm=2[/url]

[yankeefantastic1968]

I too have concentration problems sometimes when I arrive for league. I find after a trying day on the job( I am an educator in a High School) it is difficult to arrive at the lanes and jump into bowling.

I have found however that my league scores go up if I practice bowl a game or two before I compete in league. It allows me to loosen up, get rid of my daily baggage, and develope a feel for the night. Even if the practice games are not par, I can usually find something to be positive about before league starts.

Good luck and good bowling!

[yankeefantastic1968]

I too have concentration problems sometimes when I arrive for league. I find after a trying day on the job( I am an educator in a High School) it is difficult to arrive at the lanes and jump into bowling.

I have found however that my league scores go up if I practice bowl a game or two before I compete in league. It allows me to loosen up, get rid of my daily baggage, and develope a feel for the night. Even if the practice games are not par, I can usually find something to be positive about before league starts.

Good luck and good bowling!

[KAJMK]

I want to reiterate a point. Do not limit your readings to bowling per se when it comes to maximizing your bowling.
Various martial arts, meditation are some other areas that are centered on focus.
Len Mal, a very well regarded coach once told me that "The best book on bowling was Heise's "Bowl Better Using Self Hypnosis". The point is there are mental disciplines to help you use the correct part of your brain to bowl.
Len continues to coach Pro's and amateurs alike and is a nationally respected coach.

Always note the sources in the Bibliography for additional references to build your knowledge base.

There was a very good set of articles available on the PBS website, some of them have expired. There were programs on the mental side of sports performance. Don't let the analytical brain do your bowling, it's job is to plan, it is not designed to facilitate smooth athletic moves.
Read what thread remain at -
http://www.pbs.org/saf/1206/resources/resources-2.htm
This should spur your imagination.

I would bet the ranch that any baseball infielder that is having trouble throwing the ball to first base is thinking about it. You do not think it, you do it. The brain is computer #1, it has segments designed to do certain tasks, e.g. solve a mystery, breath, etc . When a quarterback throws a pass he does not think about the proper wrist motion or leading the receiver, those processes are honed in practice until they become automatic.

If you can truly focus on the execution and not the result, that is a huge plus. The best feeling is the feeling of no feeling, those will be your very best shots. The old saying "trust is a must or your game is a bust" say's it all.

Take care.


Take care -

[Leonten]

Bowling is like walking. The last time you walked from the parking lot into the lanes were you thinking Lift my left foot, move it forward, place it down, lift my right foot, move it forward, set it down........or did you simply walk without any thought of the processs?

You walked, with out any conscious effort! Why? because you've been doing that all your life. Bowling is no different. The less thoughts the less that can go wrong. Bowling is the same process as walking.

There's an aspect of the mental game that I call "Radar Concentration." Think of your head as the center of the radar screen, your target is the "Blip." You stand on the approach and you're concentrating on your target. After the delivery you watch the ball roll over (near) your target. When you have good concentration you may not even hear what's going on around you.

Now for Radar Concentration. As you're making your approach your eye notices another ball rolling down the lanes. That's another blip. You hear a bowler behind you talking, another blip. You notice the rake on the lane next to you sweep away pins, another blip. You notice all these other blips from the time you started your approach to the time you release the ball. If this has happened to you, you're suffering from "Radar Concentration."

Blips in front, to the side, behind, in front everywhere! All this happening while you're looking at your target. Your eyes may have never left your target, but your mind is all over the place!

I've been there enough to know, when I have radar concentration, my scores are going to suffer. There was an excellent movie, staring Kevin Kostner called "For Love of The Game." I'd recommend you rent the movie, sit back and enjoy the film. When Kevin is pitching and gets into the zone you'll know it. In bowling we all need to stay focused on our target, and just like walking.........bowl with a clear mind.

[KAJMK]

Leonten - That movie is a very good reference. "Engage the mechanism".

Another thing, and forgive me if it's been mentioned, if you are inclined to
analysis paralysis or what Dean Hinitz calls "stinkin' thinkin'", the less time you spen in your stance the better.

Plan before you step on the wood, when it's your turn, do your preshot routine and begone!!

Take care.