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Scarf posted:and the old-timers who had their 200 avg. on the house shot didn't want to try anything difficult. This is the area of bowlers that I am stuck in. I bowled in college on sport for 3 years, and then returned home to nothing but house shots and old timer guys complaining about even the thought of it. League bowling is huge here, but it's all just house shots. Closest sport league to me is a ~40 minute trip there, and I don't feel like doing that.
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Jun 3, 2014 18:29
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| # ? Jun 4, 2024 16:51 |
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Thom P. Tiers posted:This is the area of bowlers that I am stuck in. I bowled in college on sport for 3 years, and then returned home to nothing but house shots and old timer guys complaining about even the thought of it. League bowling is huge here, but it's all just house shots. Closest sport league to me is a ~40 minute trip there, and I don't feel like doing that. Yeah, still run into that a good bit here. Hell there's one house here (well, it's really just a theme bar that happens to have 8 lanes) that isn't even USBC certified. So their leagues are purely just in-house, for fun, with no real regulation of oil or anything.
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Jun 3, 2014 18:34
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I'm lucky to get 12 bowlers on any given night in our summer sport league. Hell in the fall we still have people bitching that the shot isn't easy enough. It's sad but I just haven't ever put any thought to running a fall sport league because I know no one would commit.
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Jun 3, 2014 18:37
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Caught Cubs Posting
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Devo posted:I'm lucky to get 12 bowlers on any given night in our summer sport league. Hell in the fall we still have people bitching that the shot isn't easy enough. It's sad but I just haven't ever put any thought to running a fall sport league because I know no one would commit. Yea, I am pretty good friends with the family of owners of one of the alleys I bowl in, and I have brought up the idea of the sport league for the fall. They have tried to get interest for it, but it's never there. They wouldn't take away a house shot league that they can fill for maybe a 12 man doubles sport league. All about the money for them, which is understandable, but it sucks. Just wish more of the old timer guys would be up for an actual challenge instead of still content with their 220 average. 
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Jun 3, 2014 18:44
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I was just as proud of that 169 last night on a burnt up cheetah pattern as I would be of like a 225 in my regular league. Plus it's not like it even affects your handicap or regular league average... right?
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Jun 3, 2014 18:55
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Scarf posted:I was just as proud of that 169 last night on a burnt up cheetah pattern as I would be of like a 225 in my regular league. For tournaments no, since you would use your highest average from last season anywyas. But it is under a different USBC sanction.
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Jun 3, 2014 19:19
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Doesn't affect anything but your pride  Our local association a few years back decided to run the county tournament on a USBC white pattern that was the same across both houses the tournament was being held in. Not a sport pattern, not even one of the blue patterns, just a simple easy pattern one step up from stupid. You would not believe the amount of bitching and whining I had to tolerate working those tournaments. The shot was "unfair" or "totally hosed up" and this was the "dumbest loving tournament they'd ever seen." I liked having a similar shot across all the houses for that tournament but needless to say the association went back to letting each center put down their own house shot the next year.
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Jun 3, 2014 19:24
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Devo posted:the association went back to letting each center put down their own house shot the next year. This is how our city tournament is too. It gives a huge advantage to the bowlers who bowl in those houses regularly, and we even have people that switch houses to bowl at the houses that will have the city tournament each year. It's pretty dumb, I don't understand why people don't like to be challenged. 
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Jun 3, 2014 21:02
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They're the same people you see shanking balls at the driving range, but brag to all of their buddies about shooting in the 70s/80s on the golf course. They like the idea of being good at something without really being good at it.
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Jun 3, 2014 22:48
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Got my first 700 series tonight, and 940 overall 244-248-216-232. After the sport league on Monday, tonight's house shot seemed like a cake walk.
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Jun 5, 2014 03:10
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Scarf posted:Got my first 700 series tonight, and 940 overall Grats dude, I bowled a 490 last night.
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Jun 5, 2014 14:34
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RisqueBarber posted:Grats dude, I bowled a 490 last night. Thanks! That was me last week... and I'm hoping I'm over that with this league. The sport shot on Monday really did help me last night. It felt like I had so much more room for error, kept me from over-thinking shots and making premature moves.
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Jun 5, 2014 16:52
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Final week on Cheetah last night, thank god. Bowled horribly. I know it's supposed to be one of the easier ones, but I really don't have the proper equipment for that pattern :\ Next week we start on Viper, any tips for that pattern would be greatly appreciated.
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Jun 17, 2014 16:09
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Loving my new IQ Tour Fusion - bowled 12 games with it so far on our Random House Shot, averaging 233 to start the season  Have a local tournament next week on WTBA Tokyo, will be the first chance I've had to bowl on a non-THS pattern since I redid all my gear. Whee.
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Jul 2, 2014 07:29
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Sport league has been kicking my rear end and showing me what a scrub I am. Though we just switched to Shark and I'm doing somewhat better... Averaging 160 on that pattern. Last night in my regular league I got so drat close to my first 300. Took the front 8, then in the 9th I think my wrist flattened out too much, lost my revs, went deep, came in light and left the 1-2-4. Picked that up and proceeded to hit all three in the 10th for a 277 :\
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Jul 17, 2014 17:57
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So the USBC Open Championships finally ended this past week. I ended up top 75 in doubles   My partner threw a 177 game his first game of doubles and then finally stopped sucking and finished 198-279. It was really unfortunate my second singles game was a 185, but I only had one open and I just couldn't get the single pins to fall. It was definitely an adjustment game. First year there with a really good team that worked together and had good ideas. Was a fun time as well, so we are doing it again with the same team in El Paso. Can't wait! Thom P. Tiers fucked around with this message at 18:24 on Jul 17, 2014 |
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Jul 17, 2014 18:13
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That's a really nice all events man way to go
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Jul 17, 2014 18:19
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Well it took the entire "season," but I finally broke 200 in the final game of the final week of the sport league. Of the three patterns we played on (cheetah, viper, and shark), shark was def. the "easiest" for me. Or I should say, best suited for the equipment I have.
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Jul 29, 2014 14:50
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What opinions are there about traveling leagues? I'm in a tough spot of if I get the new job I applied for, it kills all hopes for evening leagues that are sanctioned (shift ends at 7, league nights start at 7 and the people here generally do not like waiting 15 minutes to get a teammate there). Just trying to get enough games in to be able to participate at state, and this seemed like it could be an interesting way to do so.
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Jul 29, 2014 17:21
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Anyone got goals going into fall leagues this year? I'm going to try to hit a 200 average, get a 700 series (since I've had enough 699s to last me my whole career) and get nothing under 500 series. Honor score would be nice but, baby steps
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Aug 18, 2014 04:07
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I missed all the leagues last year because of work, so this year I'm signing up for a 28 week starting the first week of September. Hoping to get back to my old average of 195, and a 650 series.
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Aug 18, 2014 04:59
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My goal for the year is to retain my reign as most improved female bowler, reach a 155 average, and get 500 series in the first half of the season. (I was close ONCE last year, but not so much otherwise.)
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Aug 18, 2014 17:41
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I've yet to get my first 300, so there's that... I'd really like to get my first 800 as well. But those are both pretty lofty outside of a good string of luck. More realistically, I'd like to finish with a 215 or better average for this fall.
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Aug 18, 2014 20:00
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I'd like to get back up to 190 or higher. Last year during the season my 2nd kid was born so I went to every other week. It was very hard to be consistent, and I couldn't keep it above 180. I also have a new ball (Columbia Freeze) that I'm pretty excited about using. Side note - I'm new to the thread, hello!
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Aug 19, 2014 16:49
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I want to bowl a couple 300's this season and get my first 800. I would also like to keep a season average of ~225. I have finally diversified my bowling this year into three different places. I am looking forward to not being in the same bowling alley every time I bowl. I'm also bowling with different people in every league, so that should be fun. I can't believe I start next Wednesday already.
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Aug 19, 2014 18:06
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I maintained about a 220 all of last year and would like to surpass that this year, but I don't know how high would be realistic. I suppose 230 could happen, so I'll shoot for that. Also would like this to be the first season where I have multiple 300s and possibly another 800. Bowling in 2 different houses which are about as far apart as can be on the house shot spectrum, so keeping a similar average in both would be a bit of an accomplishment. So yeah, 230 average in both houses, a 300 in both houses, and an 800 in either house.
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Aug 20, 2014 04:29
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So the manager of the bowling center at the club said he needed some part-time help on every other Sunday, mainly to work out front, make sure people are paying for bowling and not bringing in outside beer, but also to work the machines if needed. Figured I spent enough time there anyway, I might as well get paid for it. Since it's a private club, and not really a typical bowling center, things are pretty quiet outside of league nights. Yesterday was my first day, the main pin-mechanic was there, so he was able to show me a few things, there was a tournament going on and one lane was acting up, and we had to baby-sit it. Literally, I was sitting on top of the machine for about an hour making sure it would cycle...  (literally my view for a good while) After the tournament wrapped up, the guy told me I could head out if I wanted to, things will likely be slow since it was about 430 and the club is only open until 7 or 8 on Sunday anyway. I told him I'd stick around in case anyone showed up and get a few hours in to earn some cash. He left. As he was leaving, a member and his wife came in carrying what looked like party supplies... The guy said that he had discussed with the manager having his son's 3rd birthday party here at the club (pretty rare for kids parties to go on here), so he just needed two lanes with bumpers and then a few more for the adults, nothing major, the kids are 3-5yrs old and they don't even need to have scores kept, they just want the lanes on. So I drag out the bumpers (which are just giant blocks of foam for us, no inflatable or rail bumpers here...) and get them all set up. Yeah, about 20 kids between the age of 3-5 show up, pretty much take over every single lane I had set up, and are just chucking balls down the lanes as best they can with no real rhyme or reason. I spent most of my time walking down the lanes getting balls that didn't have enough umph to make it all the way down. I almost had multiple heart attacks as kids ran DOWN the lanes fearing they'd slip and crack their skulls open. Exhausting. Luckily I like kids and thankfully none of the equipment broke down. The kid's dad also gave me $40 and the leftover beers at the end of the night. I'm not sure if the manager either forgot that the party was going on that afternoon, or if he willfully neglected to tell me in an attempt to baptize me by fire.
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Sep 15, 2014 17:08
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My personal goals this year are to hit a 180 average (ended last year at 171), bowl a 700 series (hit 693 last year) and use my spare ball on every spare (I had some issues relearning how to throw straight last year after learning to throw a hook, so I used my strike ball for 90% of my spares.) Nothing supremely hard, except for maybe that 700 series. I'm looking forward to trying.
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Sep 15, 2014 19:51
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Baldrash posted:...and use my spare ball on every spare ... Generally speaking, a very good idea. However, if there are sleeper pins in the spare, don't hesitate to hook at it. Even on tough conditions you provide a larger window to pick up a spare with a sleeper if you hook at it as opposed to throwing flat. Also, as someone who has worked on and off (right now off) in bowling centers for 11 years, I can certainly relate to what Scarf was going through. Sometimes a pinsetter can be a son of a bitch and if you can't figure out what is wrong it is extremely stressful. I was even a certified B level mechanic on AMF 82-70 pinsetters and it was almost a monthly occurrence that I would come across something where I had no idea what was wrong. Hell, on top of that, almost every night provided some problem where I knew what was wrong but I couldn't really do anything until the bowlers were done and I could get in and work on it. Or maybe you had the opportunity to work on it, you knew what the problem was, but you didn't have the spare part on hand. Ugh, I do not miss being a lane man.
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Sep 17, 2014 01:28
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So I hurt my hand last night and I'm pretty bummed out about it. 2nd week of my league, 5th frame of the very first game. Immediately upon release I get a sharp shooting pain from the tip of my ring finger all the way to my elbow down my inner arm. Thinking maybe it was a fluke, I went again and it hurt even worse. gently caress. I took my ball to the pro shop and the guy said that my fingers were going into the grips at the wrong angle. He took them out and adjusted them as much as he could and sent me on my way. Either way I spent the rest of the evening pretty much dropping the ball to finish out the night. Today the tendon between my ring finger & wrist is swollen and the skin is slightly bruised. I'm afraid I'll have to see a doc in the next couple days if it doesn't get better. What's weird is this happened without warning, and I was just finding my stride with my new ball. Tl;dr - make sure your ball is drilled 100% correctly I guess.
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Sep 17, 2014 02:27
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I've been spending about half my practice time (7pm-10pm Thursdays for a flat rate? ok!) bowling 2 handed recently, it's fun and the carry is ridiculous. The downside would be that my reactive gear is either illegal for #2hands (thumb + weight hole), or waaay too strong for the much higher rev rate, so I've been using my plastic spare ball  Going to take my old Vendetta Pearl up tomorrow night and see how it goes, definitely needs a resurface but may also need a redrill for some length.
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Sep 17, 2014 12:48
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I should have quit after my first week. I met my goal by setting a 156 average. Still didn't get my 500 series though. And the following three weeks have been consistently bad in comparison. Average is now 10 pins below my book average from last year. On the other hand, at least they are consistently bad and not super low/super high/mediocre games in the series... and I've re-found my way to hitting a 10 pin. Was robbed on so many shots last week though, ended up with so many splits that shouldn't have happened. The bf said it is time to get a new ball, but he was the one that told me he was getting me one for my birthday. My birthday was a month ago. Sooooon Motiv Octane, you will be mine.
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Sep 17, 2014 21:56
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buffto posted:Also, as someone who has worked on and off (right now off) in bowling centers for 11 years, I can certainly relate to what Scarf was going through. Sometimes a pinsetter can be a son of a bitch and if you can't figure out what is wrong it is extremely stressful. I was even a certified B level mechanic on AMF 82-70 pinsetters and it was almost a monthly occurrence that I would come across something where I had no idea what was wrong. Hell, on top of that, almost every night provided some problem where I knew what was wrong but I couldn't really do anything until the bowlers were done and I could get in and work on it. Or maybe you had the opportunity to work on it, you knew what the problem was, but you didn't have the spare part on hand. Ugh, I do not miss being a lane man. Well I know absolutely nothing about these machines (for now). I can clear some jams, reset them, clear a stuck ball, etc. All the simple stuff. The main mechanic knew the problem, there was a solenoid mis-firing, he just didn't have the proper replacement. Supposedly they're getting one by this weekend. Fall league started this past Monday, 169-168-225. Really didn't feel comfortable in my line until that 3rd game... Hopefully I can keep the 205 avg I had over the summer.
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Sep 17, 2014 22:51
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I just started bowling on a regular basis about 2 months ago. I'm slowly bringing up my average and right now I'm around 150, which I'm pretty proud of (regular ol' house lanes). Anyway, every time I go bowling my left leg (I'm right-handed) will start to hurt about an hour in. The pain is in the inner and upper thigh area, feels like right where my thigh bone connects with my pelvic bone. The next day is always the worst, and I usually end up literally limping in pain to the medicine cabinet. I start off with my right foot and end on my left when I toss the ball, with my right foot going into the air a bit after the throw. This also causes me to twist my body slightly to the left. I feel like maybe the weight is causing extra strain on my left leg. I'm not overweight or anything but then again I don't think that matters much since I see huge guys as well as skinny guys kill it at the alley. Do I just need to man up and work out more or is my form wrong? I'm only 26 so I don't feel like I should be having this issue. TheEffect fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Sep 22, 2014 |
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Sep 18, 2014 22:00
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I was getting the exact same thing. Putting in a good amount of stretching beforehand has helped significantly.
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Sep 20, 2014 18:10
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To me it sounds like you're muscling your throw pretty hard... You want a nice easy, free-swinging motion when you deliver the ball. You might be trying to throw it too hard and torquing yourself to the side. Kinda hard to say without watching you bowl though.
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Sep 20, 2014 19:39
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You're right-handed and ending on your right foot? If I read that right you're probably way off balance and compensating by twisting your body around. You'd ideally be sliding on your left foot as a righty which is a much more balanced and natural release. If you're only a few months in, find a coach or just ask your proshop for some advice and they should be able to help you with proper form. Getting a few years in and making an unconventional release a habit makes it much harder to change.
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Sep 21, 2014 15:28
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speedtek posted:I was getting the exact same thing. Putting in a good amount of stretching beforehand has helped significantly. I stretch a bit but not too much. What kind of stretches do you do beforehand? I found this site and a few others. Anything else to keep in mind? Scarf posted:To me it sounds like you're muscling your throw pretty hard... You want a nice easy, free-swinging motion when you deliver the ball. You might be trying to throw it too hard and torquing yourself to the side. That sounds about right. I've been watching some YouTube videos to watch people's form and I don't see too many differences other than the fact that I'm not swinging the ball back as much as some others do. I typically hold the ball with both hands until halfway down the approach, start swinging it back (but it doesn't pass the back of my body like I see a lot of people do), and release with my right hand. I also don't use my thumb hole at all... I feel more comfortable without it. Any concerns with that? I'll try to get a video of me bowling up. The Man The Legend posted:You're right-handed and ending on your right foot? If I read that right you're probably way off balance and compensating by twisting your body around. You'd ideally be sliding on your left foot as a righty which is a much more balanced and natural release. Sorry, I typed that out totally opposite. I start on my left in front of me and push off with my right, I end on my left with a bit of a slide, and swing back my right foot as I throw. The Man The Legend posted:If you're only a few months in, find a coach or just ask your proshop for some advice and they should be able to help you with proper form. Getting a few years in and making an unconventional release a habit makes it much harder to change. I had a coach but he ended up being a meth head and getting arrested in the middle of the alley. I thought the dude was just really excited about bowling... he was actually pretty good too. Anyway, despite the whole him being an addict, he would tell me a lot that I was too "stiff" on my approach. I really need to get a video up. Once I do I'll edit this and put it in because I understand it's really hard to give a critique based on what I'm trying to describe. VV This is what happens when I try to type fast at work. Fixed my post again to reflect that I do in fact slide and end with my left foot. VV TheEffect fucked around with this message at 20:05 on Sep 22, 2014 |
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Sep 22, 2014 18:32
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TheEffect posted:
This is still going to cause problems. You should be finishing on your left foot with your right foot swinging behind you.
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Sep 22, 2014 19:01
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Hello, ladies and jellyspoons. Sorry I haven't been around lately. Started a new job about six months ago and while I have more money to dedicate this stupid loving sport, the time and desire has been lacking as of late. But today I have a story for you. This afternoon I participated in my first UBA event. For those unaware UBA is the Underground Bowling Association. It now fields 95 teams up and down the east coast, from Massachusetts to Florida, with teams springing up in Maine and Vermont next year. Today's event had 400 people in Milford CT. Fun as all hell. UBA has a fun little routine called the 5-pin slap. Basically, if you miss a 5 pin you get yanked off the lane, someone covers both hands in baby powder and slaps you on both sides of the face. You then get to brush off the excess and continue to bowl with your new Santa Claus beard of shame. So about five frames in I dick-yank a shot straight at the headpin. I get one of those ugly brooklyn shots that hits like a dead fish and the 9 topples at the last second leaving me the five. I think nothing of it until someone from the next lane over, knowing it's my first time ever in a UBA event, yells "FRESH MEAT!" The stampede to get in position behind my lane is immediate and frightening. The same guy comes up behind me and says "Whatever you do, don't balk." I'm still wondering what the hell that means as I'm stepping on the lane for my next shot and that's when the noise starts. "Ooooooooooohhhhhhh...." A hundred people in unison are building up noise behind me as I get ready to shoot this spare. Now, not to toot my own very small horn, but I am no stranger to pressure in bowling. I had to triple to win a travel league championship in Jr leagues and did it. I have won hundreds of dollars on one shot, shot my first trey with a hundred people behind me and shot the best game of my life (a 269 on a pair with 10 boards of difference in hook between them) with Parker Bohn III watching. I am, standing on the approach, literally shaking with a bowling ball in my hand. I picked up my spare ball which means I have to go straight at it, thank God, because if I had to throw a hook right now I might dump it at 10 miles an hour. I finally will myself to start my shot and the noise gets louder. "OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH..." And with beautifully practiced timing, the nanosecond the ball leaves my hand I hear: "YOU SUCK!" I covered that 5 pin like a blanket and Usain Bolt couldn't get off that approach as quickly as I did. And, amazingly, not one person in that crowd was disappointed they didn't get to see me slapped. High 5s all around. Probably the most fun I've ever had in a bowling alley.
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Oct 27, 2014 03:06
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