The International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame has replicas of artifacts for a game similar to bowling which were found in the tomb of an ancient Egyptian youth who died approximately 5,200 BC.

Ancient Polynesians rolled stones at objects from a distance of 60 feet (18.29 meters) – the same distance as from foul line to headpin.

PBA US Open Championship Match, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011

After struggling with the feel of the ball, then leaving a solid 8 pin, Norm Duke finished his game with four consecutive strikes, to force Mika Koivuniemi to mark in the 10th.   Mika threw a great shot but left a solid 10 pin.  One of the best spare-shooters in professional bowling shockingly missed the single-pin, giving Duke the win.

 “I had conceded the match.  I knew the last four strikes were important, because you never know what’ll happen. …  I sat there stunned, shocked,” Duke said. “I knew I had just won the U.S. Open, but at that moment, my only thought was Mika had lost. I was just like a fan watching in the living room. How could you not feel badly for him?

In a 5 step approach the ball does not move on the 1^st step.

This does not mean that you should look like the Statue of Liberty, but that all of your body is still after you have delivered the ball, EXCEPT your bowling arm. It is swinging back and forth and will eventually stop without your help

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.