Pulls in the Lead

I had told Josh that I was going to give him 5 weeks until I was high average on our team. It only took 2 weeks! My average jumped form a 191 to 197 in two weeks and he dropped from his 200 like I mentioned to a 195. I really feel bad that he is not doing so good. I felt good going into Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, but I was a little tired. I played basketball that morning after working all night. Took a short nap before bowling. Started out practice really good. I had 7 strikes in a row. The last ball or two that I threw felt like I was slipping back to the old style though. So any confidence I had vanished. I scraped through the night averaging just over 200 bowling a 602 series. I was in between the old style of bowling and the new. Again, once I figure it out all had better watch out because I am going to be on a terror of high scores.

My friend Mike started out his first game with 11 strikes in a row and missed his last ball for his possible 8th 300 game by throwing a 7 count finishing with a 297. I love watching him bowl good and hope that I can be up there with him before too long. I guess the next day in a local tournament he did the same thing! Except this time he only threw a 6! finishing with probably his worst after the front 11 strikes, he obviously got a 296. I can say that is sad, but it is more sad that I can't even come close.

http://mormon.org/me/7H9P/#

Closer Than I Thought

Well, I made up 5 pins from the weeks previous 684 series on Josh. Before leagues started I checked the updated average sheet and I was at a 194 while Josh had dropped to a 198. I started out bowling kind of crappy, not a lot of confidence because the approaches were slick and I couldn't stay on my feet. The beginning of the first game Josh was ahead of me and he was throwing a pretty good ball. He had a couple of late opens while I started stringing some strikes. I ended the first game with a 213, second game Josh tried to stay with me for a while even though I had the first 6 strikes. I ended with a 256 and he had another untimely open. I don't know what we got any of his games but overall I beat him by at least another hundred while shooting a 670 series. I wasn't happy with the overall way I threw the ball but it was mostly because of the approaches. I am happy with my series and for the past two weeks I have averaged 225. I am sure again if I can get this proper release down that a 225 average won't be that hard to maintain overall. I am hoping to get over a 200 average on the year, but mostly I just want to stay focused on getting this release down and in the muscle memory bank!
Josh wasn't happy that I beat him, he say that he has been tired lately which is probably true. I just wish that he could get some confidence and get his first 300. Again my year and a half long goal is to get another 300 under my belt and average a 215 or more for next season! Simply end with a 200 or more this year.
Henry and I did golf today. Triton was sick so we didn't go to church. I had a triple bogey on the first hole we played then double bogeyed the next hole! So, I was 5 over par after two holes. The next sixteen holes I play at 4 over. Shooting 12 pars and 4 bogeys. What happened on the first two holes I have no clue, but I was way happy with the last 16 holes. I hit the ball good and was happy that we got in one last round before the snow fell. It was snowing pretty good when we left. The last green we were on was about a third covered with snow. We finished just in time. Sad that it was probably the last time this year, but way happy that we got to go. I wasn't expecting to be able to get in that round. And to golf as good as I did was a bonus too. USA won The Presidents Cup and if Tiger can golf as good as he did today all of next year he will probably win two majors! That is my prediction for his year. I just want Tiger to beat all the records then he can sail off into the sunset and never golf again. I think that he has to win 10 or 12 PGA events to overtake Snead on the all time wins list and of course he has to win 5 more majors to overtake Jack Nicklaus in the major category.

Long Time

Just a quick post to let everyone know that I am alive. We have moved into out new home and someday I might post some pictures. Hate the cold. Not ready for the winter to be here. Especially since I ended the golf year pretty dang good. I actually scored better than my father in law twice. He is a really good golfer, but on these two days he wasn't scoring his best. Thus the reason I said I scored better than him instead of saying that I beat him. I do not consider him golfing bad and me just golfing okay as beating him. I want to beat him when he is at his best. That will be the day that I beat him.

Henry beat me this year! I didn't get a good swing until late in the year. Ever since he hasn't beat me though. He has a bum shoulder that he hasn't had looked at yet. He usually bowls league with us but he is letting his son Josh bowl in his place. Henry hasn't gotten his shoulder looked at yet. Since the golf season is over now he had better get in and do that. Or he won't be healed (if he has to have surgery) in time for next golf season.

Josh started out the year bowling pretty dang good. He was at a 210 average for the first 6 weeks or so, but has since fell off the pace. If you haven't ever read my blog or known of my bowling career you have to know that I used to be a pretty dang good bowler. I wasn't ever going pro or anything, but just after Sheri and I were married I was averaging about 215. One day I woke up and for some reason wasn't able to release the bowling ball properly anymore? My average dropped off the map! I think the very next season I dropped from a 213 to a 180? My highest average since was last year (after 9 years of struggling) I ended with a 193. A lot of people who don't bowl would think that is pretty dang good. Sure it isn't bad but it is still 20 pins off from what was my best previous. I had thought about quitting bowling because I haven't enjoyed it for so many years. I had a buddy of mine redrill some of my equipment and I think that it has helped a bit. However something might have really clicked in my birds nest of a brain a few weeks ago. I thought that I was close to getting my old release/swing back. I even texted my buddy that redrilled a few of my bowling balls to expect some high scores. I haven't ever thought that I would have that confidence again in my swing. I never imagined that I would bowl another perfect game and someday my lifelong goal to bowl an 800 series. An 800 in bowling is the Mecca for bowlers. You have to average just over a 266 for three straight games! You get this beautiful ring and every bowler in the city hears about it.



With Josh starting the year off so good and me just remaining around that 193 average I knew that I had to figure something out. I have always been known as the best bowler in the family. Who is the best bowler in my family? Anyone and everyone has always said Jason. Josh could be a great bowler and I have no doubt that he will bowl a perfect game someday, but I can't have him surpass me as the best bowler in our family. With my bowling balls drilled perfectly I have been able to tinker with my release and I think I might have figured it out. This last week I was able to release the ball with the most confidence I have had in just about ten years. The bad release and approach creeped in a few frames here and there and basically the whole second game so my scores were 257, 173 and a 254. See the difference there? The 173 is basically what my last ten years of horrible bowling has enabled me from doing. The first and thrid game I was able to release the ball properly and with confidence.

The middle game I was just hoping to slop down the pins? I am on the right path now though. I texted Josh yesterday and told him that I would have a higher average than him in 5 weeks. If he bowls the way he started the year it will be way hard for me to get passed him. He is probably down to a 200 after last weeks sub par performance and I probably jumped from a 191 to a 193. He is in trouble if I can get the feel down and the proper release locked into my muscle memory. That is why my last ten years release overcame me in the second game last week. Because of muscle memory. I wasn't able to keep my new release or thought process at the front of my brain so the old muscle memory just takes over. It is horrible standing on the approach one frame with all the confidence in the world. There were times last week that I knew I was going to strike before I even threw the ball. Then one or two frames later I stand there and I have no clue how to hold the ball! I am so wicked close to figuring it out and when I do my average should just 20-30 pins! I will keep you updated and future blogs about bowling won't be so explicative or boring, okay mom!

I do have no doubt that if I do keep this new proper release in muscle memory that I will bowl another 300. I have a prediction that will happen before the end of the next league season. So sometime before June 2013 I will have another 300 under my belt. I will bowl an 800 (someday) and feel great when I am able to slide this ring on my finger.

For the past ten years I never imagined that I would ever say that or have this condifence again??? Wish me luck! Tomorrow is league night and hopefully my next blog doesn't say I lost it all again!