Short Bursts Of Concentration For Bowling Better

A key factor in your bowling game will be the ability to concentrate and keep your mind from wandering "all over the place."

Our current world is one of "multi-tasking" and "information overload."

We work through our regular eight hour shifts getting constantly bombarded with tasks, projects, new procedures, and changes of all kinds.

Is it any wonder that when we show up for our bowling competition, we can't quite get our minds to totally “focus on the task at hand?"

A successful elite bowler thinks of bowling the greater majority of their day; us "non-pros" get to think about bowling for probably 15% of our day, if that much .

How many of us out here are able to show up for our league after a particularly rough day at work and shut out thoughts of our workday, completely, for the next 2-1/2 hours during league competition?

Not many, I'll venture to say; however, the ones that are able to do just that will be the ones who can perform at a higher level that night.

Today's "Choc-List" is based on some tips and suggestions for training yourself to get into the moment and concentrate on your bowling:

1. Short Bursts of concentration. Concentrate on the next 10 to 15 seconds of your current moment. Visualize yourself at the exact moment that you're releasing your bowling ball onto the lane - hold that thought for 10 - 15 seconds, then let go. Try it again - visualize your ball rolling over the 2nd arrow - hold that thought for 10 - 15 seconds, then let go. Try it the next time you go bowling - practice or competition - train yourself to get into 10 - 15 second bursts of concentration.
   
   
2. Let go of your thoughts. When you try to concentrate, you may inadvertently defeat your own purpose. Have you ever tried to fight off a thought? What happens? By fighting the thought, your mind is suddenly filled with thoughts of all kinds. If a thought enters your mind, let it go instead of dwelling on it. This will make it easier for you to get control of the Short Burst that you need to keep your mind on your bowling.

3. Breathe deeply and clear your mind. Inhale deeply in through your nose and exhale fully through your mouth. Usually it's long in-and-out breaths. You have to be the judge of what is right for you. Slow your thinking down, synchronize it to your breathing, and stay in the Short Burst moment.
   
   
4. Notice your "stress buttons." Write them down. Recognize them. Become intimate with them. Remember the saying, "Know your enemy?" Well, stress is your enemy for focusing and concentrating so you have to be aware of what causes you to get stressed or pressured out. Breathe deeply and go through your Short Burst moment.

Let's see if we can train ourselves to get into these "Short Bursts of Concentration."

Dubious Bowling Records

"Hey, bruddah, what can you do after you've just completed the worst night ever of bowling?"

Myron the Muse is not really asking me for advice, He's just wants to whine about his "poor" night of league bowling.

"Okay, so what kind of a night was it?," I ask.

"Well, let me tell you," he says; "In the first game, I blow the 4-pin in the 10th frame and we lose by two pins."

"In the second game, I manage to shoot a 200, and we win by a few pins; but, in the last game, I shoot a 114 ….. (a 114!) … and we win by one pin."

"Wait a minute, that means that your team won the overall because you won two games and must have gotten the series total. Isn't that correct?"

"Well, yes, but my performance was really terrible," the Muse whines.

As I see it brother, there's nothing you can do about it because it's gone, in the past, and you can't re-do that night of bowling again.

Just suck it up and get on with your life because as unfortunate as the time was, it might not have been your last "worst-ever game or series."

And with that, I mention to him a "Choc-List" of dubious and odd ABC (now USBC) records.

If you feel bad about your own scores, consider that you don't want to be immortalized as follows:

1) In 1971, the lowest score ever recorded in league competition was rolled. Eighteen gutter balls and two 1-pin counts. Total score of 2.

2) Were you one of the "fortunate" ones to have witnessed the 1991 nationally televised final of the PBA tour when all the pro needed was a 7-count and threw the ball in the gutter?

3) Between 1965 and 1967, the longest losing streak was recorded and reported for posterity - 120 straight losses. No mention of who they beat to end the streak.

4) Bowling in her first LPBT (Ladies Professional Bowlers Tour) event, this woman record setter bowled a 300 game in her very first game as a pro. For the next 17-games of qualifying, she failed to break 200 and ended up in last place

Unless you are on the way to shooting a score of zero, or are rolling nothing but gutter balls, you won't be close to setting any dubious record(s).