One of the first things I want to say for my first post back is that I apologize for just dropping off the face of the planet in terms of blogging. I am not going to sit here and make up excuses saying that I’ve been busy with school, bowling, life etc. I have had the time, but I just never sat down to write it out. Certainly there have been many things to talk about over the last few months. There has been many college tournaments, numerous practice sessions, and plenty of adventures off the lanes. So, I have been sitting here thinking about what I wanted to write about. Since it would be hard to give play by play on all the tournaments, in this post, I’ll try to sum up some things I noticed throughout the year. So heeeeeeere we go!
I have found throughout the year how a different bowler I am during college tournaments than say regular singles events. First of all, in collegiate, you have 4 other teammates all bowling with you and a coach watching every shot thrown. Now, what seemed to bug me is that whole coach thing. Growing up a singles bowler, I never had to relay information or talk it out with anyone. I’ve also never really have been taken out. Lets face it, no one wants to be taken out of the game. But with 8 bowlers on a squad and 5 doing the bowling, it’s something that’s going to happen to everyone.
Now, I will do anything it takes to win or help the team win. I have been taken out many times and just took it in stride. I was always prepared to jump back in if I had to. Pride is something I have to swallow for the good of the team. But at the same time, I feel as though I could potentially put up big numbers if I was given a “second chance.” However, I am sure that everyone has that same thinking and obviously it is never always correct.
I want to leave that there so this doesn’t turn into a rant. The other side of my “problem” is that when I have 7 other teammates and a coach watching, I feel I “cant” do some of the things that makes me bowl well during singles stuff. It is hard to explain, its almost like I have little freedom to experiment. It comes down to me wanting to not disappoint anyone on the team or the coach. I am afraid to make the moves that I would make otherwise, or switch to the ball that I have a feeling will work. Being a feel bowler and trying to be technical during tournaments do not mix. Then the fear of being pulled comes into play. I feel if I make a move that is seen as weird or strange and it doesn’t work right away, I am done for the day. It’s not the right thinking, but its always there.
As for general lane play, with the exception of a couple tournaments, the oil broke down the same way. Usually the say starts out tight until about the 5th frame when things start to open up. Then it is just moving to the left and balling down the rest of the day. It almost is as simple as it sounds. People will tell you college bowling is just that. One of the best things to learn is staying ahead of the moves and reading each others ball reaction to get a feel. This minimizes misses and opens which add up fast. A move one frame early is 40-50 pins a game for the team. Over 6 games that’s 300 pins.
So that is just whats on my mind and felt like putting down. I am not happy that I didn’t give recaps for every tournament as that could’ve been very cool. Perhaps next season. As for now, my teammates and I are preparing for our trip to sectionals where we will try to qualify for nationals in April. This is also where national singles qualifying will take place. So this week I will be working hard as im sure Perry will be too. As the week goes on, ill start to try and put some ideas on paper to get on the blog. There is just so much information not to put on the blog.
Thanks for sticking by us.
-Cameron
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