The end of the league season is upon us. For some it’s winding down rather quickly. State and National tournaments have come and gone, finishes were strong fueling some bowlers desires to press forward, and some were not so spectacular which signaled the other time that’s fast approaching…the season of practice. (of course there is a short respite to be had before the bowling continues… a few beers with friends, rounds of golf or games of softball perhaps…)

A youngster posed an interesting question during youth leagues this weekend. In not so many words, he asked how a bowler should practice. I love this question, especially when a youth bowler asks it! I told this youngster he first needed a plan with a built in goal for each of his practice sessions. A quizzical look came over his face. We talked about his game for a bit and he identified what he’d like to do better. Then, I decided to describe a typical practice session upon which I’ve come to rely. 

Choose no more than three particular things on which to work. No need to get overly tired during practice. Three things gives you one warm up game and three games to use for practice. First, warm up by tossing a game with your favorite (or only) bowling ball just to loosen up and get the muscles into bowling-mode. Sometimes it only takes a few frames to get warmed up. Everyone is different. Listen to your body and start the practice session when you know your body is loosened up and ready to go.

Second game, if you know there’s something physically you could be doing better on the lanes, choose to work on it. A common example is following through your mark. Third game, after you master following through your mark, choose a pin or a group of pins that give you trouble with spare shooting. For me, this past week that was both the seven and ten pin. Shoot a game focusing on nothing but this particular spare of which you’d like to make more. Try to make as many as you can in a row. My coach challenged me to do this years ago. When I first started I had a difficult time making a particular spare (10-pin) five times in a row. Now, I can make up to 24 ten pins in a row. The fourth game, practice the mental game.

Now, you might ask, how the heck do I do that? Well, you’ve already done it without knowing I bet. Do you remember when you were a kid and pretended you were playing in the World Series or a similar event? Bases were loaded, and it was all on you to hit it out of the park to win? Bowling can be practiced in the same way. Set up a scenario, visualize how you think it would be; the sounds, the smells, perhaps the quiet pressure of a crowd completely focused on you…then put it all on the line. 

A situation I’ve used is the televised finals for the U.S. Women’s Open. I’m up and need a mark in the tenth to shut out one of my heroes, Carolyn Dorin-Ballard. It’s all up to me. She’d done bowling. My fate lies in my own hands. I feel hundreds of pairs of eyes on my back. There’s some noise from behind and to the side of me. I hear people shifting in their seats and some whispering, trying to be quiet…you know that sort of thing. Try it sometime. If you really get into your thoughts, really focus on them, you can prepare yourself for similar situations which will arise. Then, you have something to reflect and focus on which should help you handle the pressure of the situation. Who knows? It might not be anything like the U.S. Open but it could be the final frame during a league roll-off where everything, the whole season, the jackpot money you and your team will share, is up to how you throw one single ball. How thrilling a moment that can be, especially when you come through in the clutch!

Of course, if you’re up to it, after four games of hard work you might just want to bowl a game for score. Quiet the mind, trust the body and reap some of the benefits of said practice. Remember, practice smarter, not harder. Plan your work and work your plan, watch the scores go up and as always…Roll on!