Practice...How??
Last month we talked about practicing balance and the free armswing. As you might be starting to think about the coming league year, here are some ideas on how to get the most out of your practice sessions. Remember, what we want to accomplish are solidifying good HABITS and replacing bad ones with better ones. If you simply put your shoes on and bowl "some games", you may get really good at doing just that.
1. Don't keep score.
If you are watching the score, even if you are thinking you don't care what it is, it changes your focus. (Remember the smooth, free swing you have in pre-league warm-up - remember how it often disappears when the scoring starts?) Ask the center managers to let you pay by the hour. If that's not possible, ask if they can turn the overhead scorers off, and cover the small screens with a towel.
2. Focus on the process, not the results.
Surely by now you have some idea of the things you need to focus on (if not, see a coach - why practice the wrong things?). Pick one - maybe it's starting your feet before you move the ball - and spend 5 minutes (or ten shots, or some limit) on that one thing. Feel what you're trying to feel, without worrying about pin count. Then choose another issue and repeat the process. Maybe one more, then take a break. Come back in 5 minutes and do them again. By now, you've been there a half hour or so, and practiced three things significant to you. Now just bowl a few shots, trying not to think about anything. That's right, the active brain can get in the way of the proper physical execution of the bowling process, so let it rest. It's good to engage the thinking part when trying to fix or solidify something, but when putting the whole "bowling thing" together, you can't think quickly enough to make it work, so get your brain out of the way of your body. Last, go back to each of the issues you worked on and spend a very few minutes revisiting each of them, then one more short "no-thinking-zone" session, and wrap it up.
3. Don't overtrain.
Don't spend more than 45 minutes to an hour in practice (unless you're tuning up for a long tournament). Thirty minutes, three times a week is better than one hour, twice a week.
4. Practice during warm-up.
Studies have shown that muscles learn new things better when they are just beginning to warm up, than after they're fully exercised (scientists don't know why). So, don't wait until after you've rolled a dozen shots to think about how you want to do them - use the first few shots to really try to get that perfect pushaway feel, or follow through, or relaxed release, or whatever.
