Greetings, everyone! 4 weeks into the bowling season, and it feels like I've seen it all. Good and bad spare shooting, good and bad focus, good and bad physical game, and good and bad luck. This week I was finally able to put together more goods than bads, and shot a very satisfying 761 series, with games of 280, 225, and 256. As usual, I used a lineup of Hammer Black Widow Solid 3.0 in game 1, Motiv Pride Liberty in game 2, and Storm VEBO in game 3.

As for the goods, I only missed 1 spare all night. It helps when you only have 7 spares to shoot at during a series. I even converted a 4-7-9 split. I was very focused on target and launch angle, which resulted in a lot of strikes. Even the bad shots seemed to find their way to the 1-3 pocket, and twice ran over to the 1-2 pocket and still struck. In the beginning of game 2 I got a little too comfortable with my strike shot, which produced a few inaccurate shots to start that game. I understood what I did, and was able to self-correct before any real damage was done.

During the warmup period, I went back to doing something that I had kind of forgotten about recently. I went back to watching my teammates and the opponents as they practiced, and got a clear picture in my head of where they were going to be playing on the lanes. It appeared that they were all favoring the 2nd arrow track (all right handed), and playing down and in. I decided to start 2-3 boards left of everyone else, and made sure to maintain that spacing all night. Even though I had to migrate left on the approach a lot in the 3rd game, I always felt like my ball was going to read in the correct spot on the lane, and my ball continued to attack the pocket with power and proper angle. I think that's the lesson for this week. Make a plan, and adjust and improvise if it proves necessary.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, email me at [email protected]. Until next time:

• Gather as much information as possible during practice

• Keep track of how your teammates and opponents are attacking the lanes

• Don't be afraid to make an adjustment

• Have fun bowling

Craig