Thursday, June 29, 2006
Final Practice
6/26/06
I’ll be honest … I haven’t practiced as much going into these Games as I would have liked. Scheduling conflicts for work and USY just seemed to get in the way, not to mention that every so often I like to simply relax or hang out with friends.
Since I had to pick up one last bowling ball from the pro shop tonight, I figured I’d throw a few games, if for no other reason than to reacquaint myself with all my equipment. I have four bowling balls, each with a different material composition, designed to react differently to various lane conditions.
One would think that having four balls in my arsenal I’d be pretty familiar with each one and what it will do, and that is a good assumption. On paper, I’m very comfortable with each ball and what I expect it to do in various conditions. The reality is that during the year, I bowl in one league and 99% of the time I only use one ball, with the exception of a second ball for 6 and 10 pins.
My practice focused more on getting a good grip in the ball, every shot I threw. Just like baseball batters have a certain grip on a certain bat, a similar theory applies to bowling balls. When a pro shop operator takes measurements and drills up multiple bowling balls for one bowler to use, they are very close but each one is slightly different. Not only that, but the grips used in the thumb and fingers can vary by slight degrees, but when you put your hand in the ball, you can feel it. Finally, finger grips wear out after extended use, so a ball that is not used as much will not see such wear and tear and the grip will feel different than a ball that is more broken in.
So my charge in this final practice session was not only to try and score well, but also to also get a comfortable feel in each ball and be able to execute quality shots at the same time. That’s a lot to ask in three games, but I’m happy with what I was able to do and feel much more comfortable again with my equipment.
Now we’ll see how they work when we get down to Australia. Our official practice day is Sunday, July 2; there may be time to practice on Friday, but that has yet to be determined (and I’m not holding my breath)
I’ll be honest … I haven’t practiced as much going into these Games as I would have liked. Scheduling conflicts for work and USY just seemed to get in the way, not to mention that every so often I like to simply relax or hang out with friends.
Since I had to pick up one last bowling ball from the pro shop tonight, I figured I’d throw a few games, if for no other reason than to reacquaint myself with all my equipment. I have four bowling balls, each with a different material composition, designed to react differently to various lane conditions.
One would think that having four balls in my arsenal I’d be pretty familiar with each one and what it will do, and that is a good assumption. On paper, I’m very comfortable with each ball and what I expect it to do in various conditions. The reality is that during the year, I bowl in one league and 99% of the time I only use one ball, with the exception of a second ball for 6 and 10 pins.
My practice focused more on getting a good grip in the ball, every shot I threw. Just like baseball batters have a certain grip on a certain bat, a similar theory applies to bowling balls. When a pro shop operator takes measurements and drills up multiple bowling balls for one bowler to use, they are very close but each one is slightly different. Not only that, but the grips used in the thumb and fingers can vary by slight degrees, but when you put your hand in the ball, you can feel it. Finally, finger grips wear out after extended use, so a ball that is not used as much will not see such wear and tear and the grip will feel different than a ball that is more broken in.
So my charge in this final practice session was not only to try and score well, but also to also get a comfortable feel in each ball and be able to execute quality shots at the same time. That’s a lot to ask in three games, but I’m happy with what I was able to do and feel much more comfortable again with my equipment.
Now we’ll see how they work when we get down to Australia. Our official practice day is Sunday, July 2; there may be time to practice on Friday, but that has yet to be determined (and I’m not holding my breath)
# posted by Matthew Halpern @ 7:58 PM 
