Yogi Berra said it best with one of his most famous quotes about the sport of baseball: “Baseball is 90% mental — the other half is physical.”  This is so true.  This is also the case with the sport of bowling.

Bowlers encounter mental tests on a consistent basis.  The focus of making that great shot, trying to block out conversations behind you about the basketball game, or the opposing team saying things to get in your head.  Let’s not forget about all those announcements over the Bowling center’s sound system. So how do you go and battle all these variables?  I will touch on some of the best tips that have helped me over the years and I still use to this day. Maybe some of these will work for you maybe they won’t but you know what, you will never know unless you try.

Some of the top coaches in the world use visualization.  See it. Do it. Your mind can be a wonderful tool or one that will always get in your way.  We have to train ourselves on how to use the tools we have and make the best work possible with them.  I use visualization every time (well almost every time) I step on the approach. I will explain how I use this technique and hopefully it works for you as well.

When I pick up the bowling ball from the ball rack I see myself throwing a great shot. I take every little thing into account. From how I look at the foul line to how I see my bowling ball roll down the lanes, to the final result of the ball entering the pocket.  I see and I do it!!

Other techniques that you can use are those preset messages in your head before you roll the ball. This is another technique that I religiously use on every shot.  Now these might work for you or you may need to come up with your own set, this is an example of how I do it. I say these 3 things before I roll the bowling ball.  Nice knee bend, good follow through, watch my ball roll over my target.  Then I’m off like the horses in the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby.

The last tip I learned from my Father, who isn’t a bowler but has a great sense of how to look at this Sport.  He always told me that your main focus when you step up for your first shot in any given frame is to knock all ten pins down.  If you don’t succeed, then your only focus on the next shot is to pick up what you left. Pretty simple, right?

So remember, Stay focused.  Create a pre shot routine and stick with it, and always focus at the task at hand and not what should have or could have been.  You can’t change it; you can only excel from it.

With El Paso,Texas, serving as the host city in 2010, the world’s largest participatory
sporting event for women will be staged at the El Paso Covention and
Performing Arts Center.

This will be the first trip to El Paso for the Women’s Championships, and the
“Sun City” area has a lot to offer those planning to spend a few extra days in town.
Besides the local attractions and shopping, just across the border ic Ciudad Juarez,
Mexico, El Paso’s sister city.

But the main reason to head to El Paso is the Women’s Championships.
The annual event, which started in 1916, will again have bowlers of all ages
and skills competing in team, doubles and singles.

Bowling today is far more advanced then days of the past. The technology and equipment have well surpassed the days of old. New core designs, new cover stocks, new oils, not to mention lane surfaces. So why do so many people still think the sciences of years ago apply to today’s bowling environment?  I still hear this everyday when I encounter bowlers from all across the country.  I tell them all the same thing:  Static weights don’t adversely affect ball reaction!!!

I know I can hear it now:  side weight makes my ball hook more in the back end.  Thumb weight makes my ball roll earlier.  Finger weight makes my bowling ball go further down the lane.  Don’t get me wrong, back in the days of Rubber and Plastic bowling balls, this was the norm.  But let’s realize that today we have far more technology then we did then.  I am not saying they were wrong with their statements; they just didn’t have the technical knowledge we have today.

Let’s first start out by defining what I mean by static weight.  When the person drilling the ball positions it for drilling and they shift the weight block to one quadrant of the bowling ball this causes an imbalance to the ball.  These imbalances make the ball wobble, therefore creating a different ball reaction.  If they shift the core to the side of the gripping holes it creates side weight. Shifting the core towards the fingers creates finger weight, and so on. The ruling bodies created parameters for this. You aren’t allowed to have more then one ounce of finger, side, or thumb weight.  You are not allowed to have more then three ounces of top, or bottom weight.  This rule applies still today.

Now let’s get back to the tip of the week.  Ball motion.  If you are looking for your ball to go longer, you should pick a weaker core design or a weaker cover stock bowling ball.  If you want a more aggressive bowling ball for oil, then you should pick a stronger core design and stronger cover stock bowling ball.  First you have to understand your bowling center and your bowling style.  Everyone will see the lanes differently based on their bowling style.  Some bowlers will think the lanes are oily while others might think they are dry.  That’s O.K. Bowlers are all different. You need to pick the right ball for your bowling style.

Placing locator pins further from your P.A.P. or positive axis point, will make your ball go further down the lane. Pins closer to your P.A.P. will start to hook sooner. Pins positioned in between these will create stronger overall ball motion.

While drilling techniques still play an important role in ball motion; core, cover stock and pin placement can be just as important given today’s technology.  You need to first figure out what kind of lane condition you are bowling on, and then talk to your local pro shop to find the correct ball for your needs.

Next week I will go over the other question I get asked all the time:  Why do you have so many bowling balls in your bag? Until then, have fun, and let’s shoot some big scores!!!

If you don’t know your dominant eye, here’s how to determine it. You are about to perform some magic by making the pins move without ever touching them. They are going to move behind one of your hands!

Hold your arms out in front of you with the palm of the hands facing away from you. Touch the index fingers together and overlap the thumbs so that a triangle is created between the two parts of the hands that are touching. Keep the hands at arms’ length and, with both eyes open, put something 10 or 12 feet or even farther away from you in that triangle. Don’t cheat and look at whatever you have chosen with one eye or the other. Do it with both eyes open.

Close the left eye and then open it. Then close the right eye and open it. When one of your eyes was closed, whatever you were looking at disappeared from the triangle. That is your dominant eye. Some people think that if what they are looking at doesn’t move, that is the dominant eye. Not. Think of it this way: if you close the eye that is dominant, its dominance will be negated. That’s why it’s dominant! (As an interesting aside, a right eye dominant right-hander will perceive the object as having disappeared behind the left hand and a left eye dominant right-hander will perceive the pins as having disappeared behind the right hand!)

Most right-handers are right eye dominant. The necessity of the triangulation of the target, the eye, and the shoulder (the ball) can cause a miss of the target of about two boards left. It is not uncommon and is not an error. For some people it has no effect. The important thing is that you know whether it affects your accuracy or not. If it does, merely change your targeting. If you want to hit 10, you merely look at 8.

Some right-handers are left eye dominant. This is also not a problem as long as it is known. Left eye dominance in a right-hander usually causes a miss left of three or four boards (sometimes more). No big deal. Want to hit 10? Look at 6. The variance in the miss is caused by how far the eye is from the target. What a left eye dominant right-hander sees with is pretty far from the bowling shoulder!

Eye dominance is common to most of the population. Regardless of which eye is dominant, it is possible you will be able to look directly at what you want to hit. However, if you are missing left, this simple, non-threatening explanation can be a lifesaver. It is possible but rare that your eye dominance doesn’t cause you to miss to the inside but rather to the outside. Don’t worry about it. If this happens to you, just look left of what you intend to hit.

NOW THAT YOU’VE DONE ALL THAT, YOU SHOULD KNOW IT’S NOT ALWAYS TRUE

Keep in mind that it is not only possible but also likely that you may miss what you are looking at in different amounts in different parts of the lane. For instance, you may need to look two to the right when playing 10 or out, look at what you want to hit when playing 11 to 16, and go back to looking to the right to play inside of 17. This is not a problem unless you don’t know it.

It’s up to you and your coach to discover what your tendencies are. You can use tape or ‘clickers’ to mark the lane for this exercise. Some people put coins on the lane. I personally don’t advise this as sometimes when you hit the coins, they put a dent in the lane. Not a good thing for your relationship with the proprietor and laneman.

Clickers are the tabs purchased in the office supply store that affix to files. They will attach to the lanes well (if you remove the oil in that one little spot), cause no damage, come in different colors, and make a clicking sound if hit by the ball. Place one each on the 6th and 9th boards for instance. If you look between them and hit the one on the 9th board, you likely will need to look to the right of what you intend to hit when playing this area of the lane.

Continue to move the clickers across the lane until you have defined your tendencies in all the areas of the lane. This will be invaluable in helping you hit what you intend to hit regardless of where you need to look to do so.

Accuracy plays a critical role in our sport and how to properly choose a target is important. This is also important to the mental game. Let’s say you’re just cruising along, pounding the pocket and getting rewarded, and someone asks you what you are playing. You tell them you are playing 8. They look at you incredulously and shake their head while their eyes roll back in their head. The entire league that is watching your performance from the concourse begins to snicker when your ‘friend’ tells them what you have said. They can all plainly see you’re hitting 12.

“I am too hitting 8. Just watch this,” you think as you squint, bear down, purse your lips, clench your teeth, and really, really try hard to hit 8 all of which will have no affect except to make your facial muscles tired. Understanding eye dominance can go a long way toward teaching you to forgive yourself and understanding where to look in order to hit what you intend to hit. A better answer for your friend’s question is “I don’t have a clue. I just roll the ball and it seems to work.” Or you could ask a clarifying question, “Do you mean what is my target or where do I intend the ball to go?”

This exercise will help you learn how to line up, how to deal with the reality of the lane vs. the perception of the lane, and point out the importance of a precise stance to eliminate misalignment as a cause for inaccuracy. This should help you make sure that if, by some miracle, you miss, it won’t be because you didn’t line up right!

This is a question that is continually talked about in each and every Sport. Not only is it continually talked about, but it is also continually argued.

Usually, there is no clear-cut answer and the reasons for that are many. The most common reason is that you must consider “eras”. Every “era” is different for several reasons, and the main ones usually are: equipment, the competition and the environment.

Discussions (arguments - conversations) about “who” was (is) the best bowler “ever”, continue in our sport as well. It seems that wherever you turn, or whatever website “chat-room”, “message board” or “discussion group” that you go to, has some conversation of this nature.

I am sure that you have your own opinion about this, as well. I do, too.

Before getting into that, I must explain that I have had the luxury of watching the greatest bowlers in the world perform against each other on an almost daily basis for over 30-years, which has helped me to offer my opinion. Obviously, there were great bowlers (before my time) that I have never seen perform. In a way, I wish that I did. I would have loved to seen Ned Day, Hank Marino, Jimmy Smith, Junie McMahon and many of the other old-time greats, compete.

The only reasonable way that I can have an opinion, is to tell you about “who” I have seen, watched and studied. So, having said that, my opinion is based on my observations of just having watched (and known) the PBA bowlers - who are generally accepted as being the greatest bowlers in the world.

As previously mentioned, all of the “eras” are different. Below are my choices as the best bowlers of each “era”. (Note: I have limited each “era” to 5-players (which was very hard to limit to only 5), and they are listed in alphabetical order).

Well, there you have it. That’s “my” opinion. And, as “they” say, opinions are like noses - everybody has one.

Before the arguments start, let me explain my opinion.

Exactly how do you pick the “best”? You must have a formula. Reasonable people have one.

Here is mine:
A bowler must possess several outstanding “basics” to be considered great. In alphabetical order, they are:
A). Accuracy
B). Knowledge
C). Longevity
D). Power
E). Repeatability
F). Shot-making ability
G).Strong Mental Game
H).Versatility

With those “basics” being itemized, we can now go forth with what we originally set out to do, and that is to pick WHO is/was the BEST.

First, we will pick those All-Time greats from each of the “eras” to make up the Top-5, and we will list “them” in alphabetical order.

ALL-TIME GREATS:
Earl Anthony (80’s)
Don Carter (50’s)
Mark Roth (70’s)
Dick Weber (60’s)
WR Williams (90’s)

WHO WAS/IS THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL?
In my opinion, it was: Earl Anthony.

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