Coach, I’ve Got a Question! – December 2022

In this recurring feature, I answer questions from Bowling This Month readers. If you have questions, please leave them in the comment section below so I can address them in a future installment of Coach, I’ve Got a Question!

I am a new bowler bowling in my first sanctioned league. I don’t know how to tell if a missed shot was caused by my release being off or if it was due to changing lane conditions that I should be adjusting to. Do you have any tips for someone at my level who doesn’t have perfect consistency to identify one from the other?

Congratulations! As a brand-new bowler, you’ve already identified one of the most common issues that bowlers face throughout their entire careers. Even professionals want to improve their ability to distinguish between these two things, albeit at a different frequency compared to a beginner. One of the things that I’ve often said to intermediate-level players is that their progress stagnates when it is less about “throwing it better” and more about “throwing it smarter.” The earlier a bowler can learn important tactical cues, as well as the skill of differentiating when to blame yourself and when to blame lane, the faster your progress will be.

Even for beginners, I recommend asking yourself these two questions after shots when you are not sure what to do.

Did I throw it well?

“Well” is relative. A beginner will naturally have a lot more errors built into their game than an experienced player. This is all the more reason to find the most forgiveness possible on the lanes. Missing by two boards might constitute throwing it well for someone whose game is still under construction, but it would be a bad shot ...