My journey back

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magicmike
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Posts: 270
Joined: June 25th, 2009, 9:49 pm
THS Average: 225
Positive Axis Point: 4-1/2"> 3/4"^
Speed: 17 off my hand
Rev Rate: 325
Axis Tilt: 17
Axis Rotation: 55
Heavy Oil Ball: Jackal Ghost, Forge Flare
Medium Oil Ball: Forge Fire, Jackal Flash, Venom Shock
Light Oil Ball: Supra, Desert Tank
Preferred Company: Motiv
Location: Wenona, IL

My journey back

Post by magicmike »

Hey all, some of you that have been around since the start of this site may remember me, regardless, i'm Mike, an avid bowler in the process of getting back into the game.

Little back story, bowled in college, held an easy 220+ average without practicing or putting in an excessive amount of effort. Eventually got a little burned out on bowling with the competitive leagues dying in my area and then an added kicker of tearing my ACL in my bowling knee. Whew, that's enough fluff, last year I came back and bowled a tad at the end of last year and averaged 217 just being happy to not be in pain.

Now this year, I practiced a bit from July til league season start up (3 weeks ago) and really got the bug back, drilled some new equipment and am finding myself caring as much as I did back in my college days.

All that said, i'm scoring very well on the easy stuff, which is whatever, but I know i'm not bowling that consistently. I'm looking for ideas, really lost any pull in my area to find a sport pattern or anything to practice on to keep me honest. I'm about to punch up something urethane, but what else can you recommend for improving, my thought tank ran dry in my past few years of inactivity.
SomyP
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Re: My journey back

Post by SomyP »

Urethane is a great place to start as it'll teach you the basics or adjusting speed, rotation, tilt, and rev rate. Try throwing a whole practice session with a urethane piece and see how honest that keeps you. Another option would be trying to find tournaments around your area like the ABT. They normally put out pretty tough patterns there so that's a challenge as well.

Try to get to know a bowling proprietor and become a regular at the person's alley. This way you can build a good relationship, they will give you deals and more than likely start putting down patterns that you want put down. Those are some of my recommendations.
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kajmk
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Location: Sun City Arizona

Re: My journey back

Post by kajmk »

Quick comment.
Welcome back, health and satisfaction!
If you do not have a regular fitness regimen, I highly recommend starting one and keeping it for life. Ditto, bowling warm ups and cool downs.

Look up the USBC videos on fitness.
Look at the Kegel Teen Masters videos on the wiki
Look at
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12276" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Remember to POST every shot!

Consider practice sessions devoted to accuracy.
The tougher the shot, the less margin of error (speed, location, etc) that is premium on quality repetition
One of the buzzwords is focal point.
It strikes me (bad pun), that having sessions targeting focal points while using a plastic ball might be a good idea.
Additionally, Rolf Gauger taught about practicing 13 points of contact.
The points are every front row pin (7) and the pockets between them (6).
If at some point, you are allowed to place things on the land, then there are a variety of objects that can be used as on land targets.

Extreme target practice
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Tape on lane, multiple parallel strips of tape, near, mid, far.

Gotta run, oh yeah, good idea ...

Cheerio!
May all beings everywhere be happy and free,
and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life
contribute in some way to that happiness
and to that freedom for all.

John
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MegaMav
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Joined: April 27th, 2007, 5:00 am
THS Average: 225
Sport Average: 200
Positive Axis Point: 5.5 Over & 1 Up
Speed: 16.0 MPH - Camera
Rev Rate: 375
Axis Tilt: 14
Axis Rotation: 45
Heavy Oil Ball: Radical - Informer
Medium Oil Ball: Brunswick - Fearless
Light Oil Ball: Radical - Bonus Pearl
Preferred Company: Radical Bowling Technologies
Location: Malta, NY

Re: My journey back

Post by MegaMav »

Great to see a charter member back!
Welcome back Mike!
User avatar
magicmike
Member
Member
Posts: 270
Joined: June 25th, 2009, 9:49 pm
THS Average: 225
Positive Axis Point: 4-1/2"> 3/4"^
Speed: 17 off my hand
Rev Rate: 325
Axis Tilt: 17
Axis Rotation: 55
Heavy Oil Ball: Jackal Ghost, Forge Flare
Medium Oil Ball: Forge Fire, Jackal Flash, Venom Shock
Light Oil Ball: Supra, Desert Tank
Preferred Company: Motiv
Location: Wenona, IL

Re: My journey back

Post by magicmike »

MegaMav wrote:Great to see a charter member back!
Welcome back Mike!
Hey Eric! Glad to be back, been way too long!
JMerrell
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Joined: August 1st, 2010, 1:45 pm
Positive Axis Point: 5 1/8" x 1/2" up
Speed: 16 mph @ foul line
Rev Rate: 230
Axis Tilt: 20
Axis Rotation: 50
Location: Florence, Ky

Re: My journey back

Post by JMerrell »

Welcome back Mike!
-JMerrell
"Simplify the Motion.....Maximize the Results"
User avatar
magicmike
Member
Member
Posts: 270
Joined: June 25th, 2009, 9:49 pm
THS Average: 225
Positive Axis Point: 4-1/2"> 3/4"^
Speed: 17 off my hand
Rev Rate: 325
Axis Tilt: 17
Axis Rotation: 55
Heavy Oil Ball: Jackal Ghost, Forge Flare
Medium Oil Ball: Forge Fire, Jackal Flash, Venom Shock
Light Oil Ball: Supra, Desert Tank
Preferred Company: Motiv
Location: Wenona, IL

Re: My journey back

Post by magicmike »

Figure I owe this topic an update as league season is well underway. I'm bowling in a highly competitive scratch league in one house (notoriously high scoring house), and a very casual Sunday Night Mixed league in a different house (notoriously low scoring and on Sundays you never know what your bowling on, 90% leftovers that have had open bowling on them or leftovers from travel leagues or tournaments!)

That said, 8 weeks in, the Scratch league i'm at 234 average (which is silly, but i'll ride the wave), and in the Mixed League i'm at 205 (which is fairly low, but it's a challenge).

I've kept stats in Pinpal and it's fun to look at, obviously striking less in the mixed league, but also committing more mental errors leading to many avoidable opens!
Sunday Nights:
First Ball Average 9.2
Single Pin 66/75
Opens 34
High Game 277
High Series 683

Tuesday Nights:
First Ball Average 9.44
Single Pin 67/69
Opens 13
High Game 290
High Series 748

I will be making a conscious effort to get the video camera out this Sunday morning if I’m able to go practice. Being that it’s harvest season, and working full time I’ve been quite busy of late.
Also drilled a couple balls and feel I’ve rounded my arsenal out to the point of almost having too many options, and overall, just happy to be bowling again! Will try and be a tad more active in here, especially as winter approaches and my free times becomes a bit more plentiful.
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