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Jeff Davis
Hall of Fame New York Yankees catcher and philosopher Yogi Berra said, “Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical.” I think we can all agree there are mental aspects, perhaps subconscious, that are important in bowling also. I believe bowlers can use mental imagery and positive visualization to increase scoring.
Many books have been written about the mental game in various sports. Eminent athletes employ sports psychologists to improve their performances. It may sound “far out”, but give it a try.
Picture yourself throwing twelve perfect strikes. Visualize yourself from all four sides and from above. Your subconscious doesn’t know the difference between visualizing and actually doing. Remove yourself from focusing on the physical action – your muscle memory will take over – and think of something like rolling the ball between two posts. Inhale deeply through your nose, exhale through your mouth and execute your shot.
The results below begin with the Thursday Commercial League’s Jan. 25 session and go through the Senior League’s Jan. 31 bowling. The various leagues divide the season into quarters or halves. The standings reported below reflect the current marks, not the overall season.
Keeping It PG is atop the standings in the highly competitive Thursday Commercial League with a record of 10-2. They are closely followed by Wilson’s Proformance and Dirty Hands E, both showing 9-3 marks. Eight of the fourteen teams are above .500. Grip-N-Rip’s Victor Arcos paced the men this week with a 267 game and Jason Parmer, rolling on the Graham International five, took high series with three games totaling 736. Adriana Brena appears in the ladies’ honors for the first time with a 201 game and familiar name Kyra Jenkins of the Tierra del Sol squad topped the distaff bowlers with a 524 series.
Four teams continue to lead Sunday’s This Ain’t Yo Momma’s Bowling League. Adriana’s Boyz set the pace with a 34-18 record, while Full Throttle, Bowl Movements and The 4 T’s have 30 or more wins. Kyra Jenkins, rolling with the appropriately named Jenkins & Company, came on strong for the ladies with a 246 game and 640 series. Trainwreck’s Mini-Me’s Derek McClure took the men's high game, rolling a 265 and Full Throttle’s Doug Eitler was the class of the men with a 711 series.
Three teams are knotted in first in the Monday Trio League. WWM, Spare Me and Fall Goldies all have 6-2 tallies. The Odd Ones are close behind at 5-3. Russ Boyd on the Stone & Gang three rolled a 223 for men’s high game and WWM’s Joe Stern put together a 619 series. Another familiar name leads the ladies. Spare Me’s Debby Essary took the honors, shooting a 222 game and 598 series.
Cletus’s High Rollers and the Strikers lead the Tuesday Mixed League with 10-6 records. Thompson’s Tornado, Dunahoo & Friends and the Odd Ones all show 9-7 marks. Dave Gholson, rolling for the Strikers, bested his average by almost 100 pins, blasting a 277 game. David Strain of Cletus’s four put together three solid games to score a 673 series. The Odd One’s Kyra Jenkins rounded out one heck of a week’s great bowling to pace the ladies with a 224 game and 632 series.
The Wednesday Senior League maintains its highly competitive spirit with 10 or the 13 teams having records at .500 or above. We Usta leads the league at 115, just edging Mine’s In The Gutter at 10 ½-5 1/2. David Vansickle on the Mine’s In The Gutter team captured men’s honors with a 240 game and 644 series. Kathy Price, also with Mine’s In The Gutter, took the ladies’ lead with a 203 game and 520 series.
There won’t be a report next week, but I will catch up on the 14th. Until then, good luck and good bowling.