Article Contents

  • 1. Trusting the process
    • 1.1. Your training process
    • 1.2. Your decision-making process
  • 2. You’ll be fine
    • 2.1. Your teammates
    • 2.2. Normal physiological responses
  • 3. The pre-shot routine
  • 4. But it didn’t strike!
  • 5. Conclusion

American entertainer Sammy Davis, Jr., once said, “You always have two choices: your commitment versus your fear.” While he certainly wasn’t talking about what a bowler faces as they step onto the approach, it’s very applicable. More than almost anything else in bowling, the ability to commit completely to your shot is what dictates your success.

This is especially true when you are making an adjustment, because your decision is likely one of many possible options that can make you question yourself. It’s a lot easier to commit to what you’re about to do when you’re on a four-bagger than when you’re making a move after a couple of open frames.

The final step to improving lane play is learning to commit fully to each shot. While this is always important, it’s especially easy to lose commitment when faced with confusion about what to do. With this in mind, let’s break down how to improve your ability to commit to the shot.

(Editor’s note: the first four articles of this series are available here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.)

Trusting the process

Hopefully, by this stage of following the steps outlined in this series, you’ve started to develop more trust in yourself and in your decision-making process overall. Having some trust in your abilities to make the right decisions is key in having more commitment. Sure, in the beginning, it might feel like you are making more mistakes than correct choices, but if you’re taking the time to do a lot of this in practice, there’s absolutely no harm.

Your training process

If you’ve spent time learning about your own game, your strengths and limitations, and your equipment, you’ve already established the foundation of a good training process. Aside from improving your technical ...

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Tyrel Rose

About Tyrel Rose

Tyrel Rose is Bowling This Month's Director of Content. He is also currently the Head Coach for Team Canada, with over 20 years of experience coaching bowlers of all levels. Tyrel is an NCCP Competition Development level and USBC Bronze Certified coach, and a former Canadian national champion.