THE DIFFICULTY DEGREE OF BOWLING
From time to time, some people are heard to say, “Bowling is a difficult sport to master.” Indeed, there are several reasons for this circumstance. Consider that in baseball, football, tennis, etc … , your ability is based foremost on your “natural performance.” One speaks of a “natural runner,” a “natural hitter,” a “natural swimmer.” We all recognize and admire an athlete’s natural adaptation to a sport, and most athletic activities provide high dividends for this innate ability through their rules and tactics of play. Outside of some moderate physiological requirements for coordination, skillful bowling depends on acquired technique. MORE THAN 80 PERCENT OF ONE’S BOWLING SKILL IS ACQUIRED THROUGH A LEARNING PROCESS, for bowling is a finess game; a game of estimate, angle, lift, feel, ball turn, cadence, swing speed, etc … , all rolled into one and, for the most part, demonstrated simultaneously.
Furthermore, we often hear the term “a natural” being used when describing an athlete’s initial encounter with a sport. It seems as if some athletes were born to play certain games. Yet, though I’ve noted this phenomenon in other sports, I’ve never recognized it in bowling. On the contrary, I find it impossible to project a beginning bowler’s potential. The reasons for this are:
- Bowling skills, as stated, are primarily acquisitive, therefore, initial performances are vague and misleading.
- Eye-hand coordination (the ability of the hands to work well with the eyes) does vary from individual to individual, and this is impossible to gauge without the use of sophisticated, scientific equipment.
- Neuromuscular ability (engaging and disengaging muscles) is also difficult to assess without proper testing equipment.
- To master bowling a specific intelligence is required, and this too is hard to recognize. One’s ability to absorb, retain and effect knowledge cannot be easily fathomed by a willful observer. Also, while an instructor can help develop physical skills and certain mental aspects, inherent intelligence is not taught. You either have what you need, or you don’t, and sometimes it takes years to find out.
Over the years, I have watched many bowlers strive to master bowling only to fail in the end. In most cases, this failure was attributable to an unsatisfactory level and utilization of intelligence (knowledge).
Make no mistake about it, all other things being equal, the smarter athlete will always outperform the less enlightened one. With this in mind, I’ve provoked discussions with most of the great bowlers and, without exception, I found them to be quite intelligent. All of them had “harvested” a great deal of knowledge about the game and, more importantly, they retained it. In this sense, success in bowling is similar to many other applications in life.
As we move on, don’t get “rattled” by what had been said to this point. It was not my intention to frighten or dismay, but rather to bring you to recognize and appreciate how involved and demanding bowling can be.
Bowling is fun! Rewarding! Also, the act of bowling is easily acquired and demonstrated (unlike golf, tennis, etc … ). Walk into a bowling center, slip on a pair of rental shoes, select a suitable ball off the rack, roll it down the lane and “bingo,” you’ve bowled! But don’t let that simple act mislead you. Mastering bowling is as challenging as running a business!
Hit 4 spares a game and you will average around 125. With good spare ability and a norm of five strikes per game you will hold a 190 average. Reach an average of 200 if you “up it” to six strikes per game. Even more, AVERAGE 6.8 STRIKES A GAME AND YOU WILL BECOME A WORLD CLASS PROFESSIONAL BOWLER.
Granted, that all sounds simple enough. But there is the catch, “THE HIGHER YOUR AVERAGE, THE MORE SIGNIFICANT MINOR MISTAKES AND THE MORE DIFFICULT IT IS TO IMPROVE”. Therefore, as you move up the average scorecard, the talents required. For example, there is a greater skill disparity between bowlers who average 170 as opposed to 190.
But let’s look at the “bright side.” Once you have acquired the basic of footwork and the swing, you will have launched a course of continued improvement and will gradually learn to make necessary adjustments so as to play the bowling game to its fullest. In fact, the correct footwork and swing skill are the fundamental which can afford you the opportunity to become a professional bowler.
In time, you will come to know the selection of equipments involved in bowling. You will learn when to speed up and when to slow down; when to move “out” and when to move “in”; when to lift more and when to lift less; when to effect more side-roll and when to strive for less; when to target-spot closer to the foul line and when to target-spot farther on the lane; when to open the hand more and when to close it more; when to “break” the wrist slightly and when to “cup” it a little more.
As your skill evolves, you will come to enjoy the game more and more. For as you steadily add to your “cache” of techniques, you will eventually discover “the real game of bowling” and begin to view the sport in an entirely different perspectives. You will feel confident about making environment conditional adjustments because you have the “root” of the two basic elements of the game, the swing and the footwork.
Mistakes are expected. Human can never be perfect ongoing all time. But you will learn to recognize these errors and correct them, though never entirely eliminating them. That is the process of refining and improving your bowling skills. Bowling will never cease to provide you with an ongoing source of pleasure and satisfaction.
To sum it up, with good instruction and with persistent practices everyone can become a good bowler. You must be willing and eager to confront and conquer the game’s many obstacles. But don’t be in too much of a hurry. As stated earlier, in this writing we do address the ultimate achievement in mastering bowling!
