Bowling. The last time I went bowling was for a friends birthday party in 7th grade...many moons ago. I remember that I was kicking ass, right up until I threw one ball backwards - my fingers just lost grip. So last night I revisited this old past time....for a friends 33rd birthday. And it was much more difficult than I remember, or perhaps that's because I drank a couple pitchers of beer {it makes bowling all the more fun and entertaining haha}. Joining in on Vanessa's 33rd Bowling Birthday was: Greg Beck, Sharon, Jeff, Jackie, Heather, Andrew, Kenny, Wick, Brian, Bethany, Andy, and of course, the birthday girl. It was some great, old time fun. We played music from the jukebox, drank pitchers of beer, wore the funny bowling shoes, danced, bowled, and trash talked each-others bowling skills. With every sip I drank, my skills suffered. I started with spares, and ended with gutters. Alcohol had a reverse effect on my friend Jeff, who began with nothing but gutter balls, and was throwing strikes by the end of our 6th game. There truly is skill involved though, because Greg Beck threw a strike almost every time. At first I just thought it was luck from his pink "Bowling" shirt {badass, I will post pictures later this week}, but after a while none of us could deny his talent. So I have been researching all morning about becoming a better bowler. Here are some things that I discovered, and need to work on:
- Focus. It's nice to invite your friends to go bowling with you but talk less and pay attention to the game. *So, I shouldn't attend bowling birthday parties if I'm serious about bowling?
- Find your mark on the lane. There are seven arrows on the lane. Do not aim for the middle. *I thought the whole point was to aim for the middle? I'm confused.
- Release the ball. When releasing the ball release it in front of you not behind you. *Must remember this, no more backwards balls like I threw in 7th grade...
- Point your feet at the pins you're aiming for. *This is confusing to me, because the site also says use the "rule of thumb" - wherever you are pointing your thumb, that's where the ball will go.
- Watch the pros and try to emulate their style. *I can't find bowling on ESPN...?
- Stress. Don't get stressed because your ball keeps going in the gutter and not staying on the lane. I've had my ball go into the gutter many times before, but did I get stressed? No I didn't. I just kept playing. Trust me, nobody is perfect at anything. *I was stressed, so I had a drink to ease the stress, but then I threw gutter balls because my judgement was impaired, and then I was stressed again. Vicious circle.
- Don't overthrow or you may hurt yourself. *I think I was overthrowing last night, because my body is very sore.
A big thanks to Greg Beck on trying to coach me last night, I tried, but I think that my dream of being a pro-bowler is just that - a dream.
In my research, I was skimming through youtube for a good "How To" on bowling. I found this very funny, very odd Japanese instructional video. It's almost porn-esque, hysterical - a must see.
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