by Stan Popovich
Sometimes, fear and anxiety can get the best of us in bowling. The key is to know how to manage that fear and anxiety. As a result, here is a brief list of techniques that a bowler can use to help manage their fears and every day anxieties.
Occasionally, you may become stressed when you have to bowl in an important event. When this happens, visualize yourself doing the task in your mind. For instance, you have to bowl in the championship game in front of a large group of people in the next few days. Before the big day comes, imagine yourself bowling. Self-Visualization is a great way to reduce the fear and stress of a coming situation.
Sometimes we get stressed out when everything happens all at once. When this happens, a person should take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get their mind off of the problem. A person could read the newspaper, listen to some music or do an activity that will give them a fresh perspective on things.
Another technique that is very helpful is to have a small notebook of positive statements that you can carry around with you. Whenever you come across an affirmation that makes you feel good, write it down in a small notebook that you can carry around with you. Whenever you feel stressed, open up your small notebook and read those statements. This will help to manage your negative thinking.
In every anxiety-related situation you experience, begin to learn what works, what doesn’t work, and what you need to improve on in managing your fears and anxieties. For instance, you have a lot of anxiety and you decide to take a small walk before your bowling event to help you feel better. The next time you feel anxious you can remind yourself that you got through it the last time by taking a walk. This will give you the confidence to manage your anxiety the next time around.
Take advantage of the help that is available around you. If possible, talk to a professional who can help you manage your fears and anxieties. They will be able to provide you with additional advice and insights on how to deal with your current problem. By talking to a professional, a person will be helping themselves in the long run because they will become better able to deal with their problems in the future. Remember that it never hurts to ask for help.
Remember that patience, persistence, and education will go a long way in preventing fear from becoming a factor in the sport of bowling.
Stan Popovich is the author of “A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods” – an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com/
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Are you hall of fame material?
Scanning the associations' halls of fame, I notice that some include most anyone, while some have few bowlers. This is not necessarily due to the number of bowlers in that area of the state either.
I was on an association hall of fame committee for three years. During our committee meetings, I was shocked that we did not have discussions and debates on nominated bowlers' resumes. Merits of accomplishments were not discussed. Personalities of the nominees seemed to carry the most weight. Secret ballots were held almost ten minutes into the committee meeting. I openly discussed my criteria so as to start the debate. I did not feel that a friend filling out the application form automatically qualified someone for the association hall of fame.
Scoring is relative. High averages and lots of honor scores do not necessitate an automatic bid to the hall of fame. In what era did the bowler compete? That determines the worth of his average. Here is my criteria:
1970's: 200
1980's : 210
1990's: 220
2000's: 230
There has already been a 240 average bowled in the state of Alabama. The 2010's may up the average requirement to that level. Handicap tournaments realize this increase also. If you are my age, you may remember tournament handicaps being based on the difference in your average and 200. Now, many handicap tournaments are using base averages of 220, 230, or more.
This should apply to honor scores also. A 300 game in 1985 is probably worth 10 such scores today. We can probably calculate this worth by total number of honor scores divided by total number of games bowled in an association. I'm betting the ratio in 1980 is much lower than the ratio will be for 2010. The state hall of fame application has a point system to determine minimum criteria for nomination. It lists points qualified for 700 series. Unless you are over 45 years old and have been bowling for 30 years, this element should be eliminated. In my system, bowlers qualifying in this millennium would already have averages over a 700 series every night.
However, in spite of all I have mentioned earlier, you still need more than a high average and some honor scores from your Friday night mixed league. Have you duplicated this success in other bowling centers? Have you won any scratch tournaments? Tournaments won outside of your home area should carry more merit also. State, regional, and national success will bring no debate on your credentials from your peers.
The Huntsville Bowling Hall of Fame has a lot of members. Not shown, but obvious to many witnesses of Huntsville bowling history, there is a top tier of five bowlers in this hall: Jimmy Certain, Tony Churchey, Richard Smock, and Ron Ware. The fifth bowler to be included on this level is open to debate. Their success has spanned decades, including high averages, honor scores, and tournament victories. Two of these bowlers, Certain and Smock, have PBA titles.
Hall of Fame credentials should stand the test of time. High scores and tournament success over many years will get you in the local hall of fame.
Another subject for another time is the nomination and voting process. Should local board members, who rotate out every 3-5 years, vote on new members? Should the current hall members vote on their newest inductees, like the Heisman Trophy award or Alabama State Hall of Fame?
I was on an association hall of fame committee for three years. During our committee meetings, I was shocked that we did not have discussions and debates on nominated bowlers' resumes. Merits of accomplishments were not discussed. Personalities of the nominees seemed to carry the most weight. Secret ballots were held almost ten minutes into the committee meeting. I openly discussed my criteria so as to start the debate. I did not feel that a friend filling out the application form automatically qualified someone for the association hall of fame.
Scoring is relative. High averages and lots of honor scores do not necessitate an automatic bid to the hall of fame. In what era did the bowler compete? That determines the worth of his average. Here is my criteria:
1970's: 200
1980's : 210
1990's: 220
2000's: 230
There has already been a 240 average bowled in the state of Alabama. The 2010's may up the average requirement to that level. Handicap tournaments realize this increase also. If you are my age, you may remember tournament handicaps being based on the difference in your average and 200. Now, many handicap tournaments are using base averages of 220, 230, or more.
This should apply to honor scores also. A 300 game in 1985 is probably worth 10 such scores today. We can probably calculate this worth by total number of honor scores divided by total number of games bowled in an association. I'm betting the ratio in 1980 is much lower than the ratio will be for 2010. The state hall of fame application has a point system to determine minimum criteria for nomination. It lists points qualified for 700 series. Unless you are over 45 years old and have been bowling for 30 years, this element should be eliminated. In my system, bowlers qualifying in this millennium would already have averages over a 700 series every night.
However, in spite of all I have mentioned earlier, you still need more than a high average and some honor scores from your Friday night mixed league. Have you duplicated this success in other bowling centers? Have you won any scratch tournaments? Tournaments won outside of your home area should carry more merit also. State, regional, and national success will bring no debate on your credentials from your peers.
The Huntsville Bowling Hall of Fame has a lot of members. Not shown, but obvious to many witnesses of Huntsville bowling history, there is a top tier of five bowlers in this hall: Jimmy Certain, Tony Churchey, Richard Smock, and Ron Ware. The fifth bowler to be included on this level is open to debate. Their success has spanned decades, including high averages, honor scores, and tournament victories. Two of these bowlers, Certain and Smock, have PBA titles.
Hall of Fame credentials should stand the test of time. High scores and tournament success over many years will get you in the local hall of fame.
Another subject for another time is the nomination and voting process. Should local board members, who rotate out every 3-5 years, vote on new members? Should the current hall members vote on their newest inductees, like the Heisman Trophy award or Alabama State Hall of Fame?
Monday, February 1, 2010
Bill Simmons and the PBA: Successful Experiment?
Last Sunday's Dick Weber Open featured a third man in the booth. It was ESPN's The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons. Now, I have to admit that I enjoy reading Bill's columns and his interweaving of pop culture into his sports analysis is witty. I feel as if I am part of the inside joke with many of his television or movie references. I'm sure you do too. Most all males currently in their mid-40's can recite many lines from Caddyshack or Ghostbusters. Simmons' in-depth analysis of the movie Hoosiers is like something that I have never read. However, is he good for televised bowling? Does the PBA throw any random person into the announcers' booth as a bridge between the hardcore and casual fanbase? Should the PBA stick to only the 'experts' in the bowling industry?As part of his ESPN duties, Bill also does podcasts, or taped Internet shows. The day before the telecast, he and Rob Stone discussed bowling and soccer. Entertaining interview, but one point made me wince. He asked Stone about the pronunciation of 'Weber.' He asked Rob if he should do some research or do 'fish out of water.' He, obviously, was the latter. Various comments across the Internet seem to dislike his performance.
Is this a one-time shot with the PBA? Will they also have other guest announcers? The WWE has guest host on RAW every Monday night on the USA network. Should the PBA also have William Shatner in the booth with Stone and Pederson?
This was good and bad. I think if Bill had done more preparation for the show, it would have worked better. Most everyone should know about Dick Weber. He should represent the casual fan that the PBA needs to expand its ratings. Also, to appease the hardcore fans, the announcer cannot appear to mock the sport. Rob Stone mentions this in his beginnings as a PBA announcer on the podcast with Bill Simmons.
The hardcore fans want another expert as the third announcer. Not every expert can be a good fit for the booth like Nelson Burton, Jr. or Randy Pederson. The show is not that entertaining if I hear too much technical commenting about how the bowler missed inside of target because of something the expert saw in the third step of the approach. I don't want too much hilarity, but I also don't want too much USBC gold medal coach jargon.
I like to be entertained when I watch the show. So, I give the Simmons experiment a 'thumb in the middle' sign. Maybe another celebrity who knows bowling could be a good fit. How about Jerome Bettis?
Or, bring back Simmons, and give him another shot when he is better prepared. He loves sports and can be that bridge between the casual fan and the hardcore fan if he just learned the sport. Most all of us like to explain the nuances of bowling to our co-workers. Let Randy school Bill like he does Rob.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Can we fix the city tournament system?
In case you haven't noticed in your area of the state, association championships, or city tournaments, are floundering. Entries have been low for years. Reading various associations' board of director minutes, this is not an isolated incident. It is happening all over the state. What can be done to increase city tournament entries?
League bowling is down
Let us not forget this important fact. Long gone are the times of two night shifts of league bowling. Long gone are the days when open bowling was only available during the day and Saturday nights. So of course, association tournament entries will be down also. Now, it is more important than ever to increase the percentage of your membership into tournament entries. There are different ways to secure this goal; a positive one and a negative one.
Promote, Market, Publish, Inquire, Advertise
The association board of directors and various house representatives basically have to work every league night in every house and invite everyone to participate. This is more than making the P.A. announcement at the counter. Invite each team to enter. If they are having a good time bowling one night a week with their friends, why not do it on another week-end? An Open association does not discriminate on gender anymore, so all are welcome to enter the open tournament. Try this method but let everyone know months in advance when the tournament is being held. "The tournament has always been held on these week-ends." Don't assume everyone knows this. Publishing entry forms for the bowling centers 3 weeks in advance of the closing date and posting tournament information on the association web site less than a month before entries are due is not timely promotion. Too many competing activities and other commitments can fill up a person's calendar long before you even notify the community of the city tournament dates.
Change the Dates
If the city tournament has been losing entries, maybe it is time to change the time of the season when it is being held. Leagues that last more than 32 weeks are dwindling as more and more people think the typical bowling season is too long. Shorter season leagues are getting more popular. While the bowling season is young and interest is at its zenith, hold a city tournament. I've noticed that some associations hold their championships in October and November. The association may not have to worry about a ten-pin rule if your bowlers don't have 21 games in the current season for average establishment.
Solicit input from the members
While board members are promoting the tournament, handing out entry forms, ask the bowlers about why they have not participated in past tournaments. Ask for their ideas. They may be more honest than anonymous surveys or e-mails.
Negative Changes
I mentioned earlier of positive changes and negative changes for the association tournament. Positive changes are inclusive so all bowlers feel welcome. Negative changes are exclusionary where bowlers feel they are not wanted in the tournament. One idea that always limits the amount of bowlers available for leagues or tournaments is the average cap. The average cap is the top limit for a sum of a team's individual averages. Obviously, the idea is to foster more balance and equal playing strength among the teams in a league or tournament. There are a few reasons why this won't work. First reason is that the average cap is usually poorly chosen and static. With today's high scoring conditions, bowlers in an high scoring house can not bowl together because they made the unfortunate choice of bowling league in an easy house. Teammates for years cannot bowl together in this average capped tournament or league. Some average capped leagues have had to keep raising the maximum team average to keep the current teams in the league intact. So, instead of recruiting new bowlers, these leagues are trying to retain the ones they have by raising the average cap each year. Soon, the average cap is so high it defeats the purpose of having one.
Who is helped and who is hurt?
Are the high average bowlers winning too much? Mathematically, the higher your average, the more times you should win. I have always believed that you increase your skills by competing against better bowlers. There is always someone better. However, if everyone feels they have no chance and the better bowlers are 'taking all the money,' a perception becomes reality. However, city tournaments have never involved a lot of money. Even brackets and side-pots are measly because tournament squads are small. However, these higher average bowlers support the association championships by entering multiple times. The other side of the equation of the higher average bowlers 'taking all the money' is that the higher average bowlers are putting in the most money by entering multiple times. Rules limiting the number of team events one can enter only seem to apply to these bowlers as they will bowl on two or three teams.
So, an average cap prevents the bowlers who most support the tournament from even entering it. An association championship, as well as league bowling, is still a social activity. Strangers don't come together to form teams to enter a tournament so as to meet average cap requirements.
Tournament managers want the maximum number of entries for their event, so why would any tournament exclude people from entering?
League bowling is down
Let us not forget this important fact. Long gone are the times of two night shifts of league bowling. Long gone are the days when open bowling was only available during the day and Saturday nights. So of course, association tournament entries will be down also. Now, it is more important than ever to increase the percentage of your membership into tournament entries. There are different ways to secure this goal; a positive one and a negative one.
Promote, Market, Publish, Inquire, Advertise
The association board of directors and various house representatives basically have to work every league night in every house and invite everyone to participate. This is more than making the P.A. announcement at the counter. Invite each team to enter. If they are having a good time bowling one night a week with their friends, why not do it on another week-end? An Open association does not discriminate on gender anymore, so all are welcome to enter the open tournament. Try this method but let everyone know months in advance when the tournament is being held. "The tournament has always been held on these week-ends." Don't assume everyone knows this. Publishing entry forms for the bowling centers 3 weeks in advance of the closing date and posting tournament information on the association web site less than a month before entries are due is not timely promotion. Too many competing activities and other commitments can fill up a person's calendar long before you even notify the community of the city tournament dates.
Change the Dates
If the city tournament has been losing entries, maybe it is time to change the time of the season when it is being held. Leagues that last more than 32 weeks are dwindling as more and more people think the typical bowling season is too long. Shorter season leagues are getting more popular. While the bowling season is young and interest is at its zenith, hold a city tournament. I've noticed that some associations hold their championships in October and November. The association may not have to worry about a ten-pin rule if your bowlers don't have 21 games in the current season for average establishment.
Solicit input from the members
While board members are promoting the tournament, handing out entry forms, ask the bowlers about why they have not participated in past tournaments. Ask for their ideas. They may be more honest than anonymous surveys or e-mails.
Negative Changes
I mentioned earlier of positive changes and negative changes for the association tournament. Positive changes are inclusive so all bowlers feel welcome. Negative changes are exclusionary where bowlers feel they are not wanted in the tournament. One idea that always limits the amount of bowlers available for leagues or tournaments is the average cap. The average cap is the top limit for a sum of a team's individual averages. Obviously, the idea is to foster more balance and equal playing strength among the teams in a league or tournament. There are a few reasons why this won't work. First reason is that the average cap is usually poorly chosen and static. With today's high scoring conditions, bowlers in an high scoring house can not bowl together because they made the unfortunate choice of bowling league in an easy house. Teammates for years cannot bowl together in this average capped tournament or league. Some average capped leagues have had to keep raising the maximum team average to keep the current teams in the league intact. So, instead of recruiting new bowlers, these leagues are trying to retain the ones they have by raising the average cap each year. Soon, the average cap is so high it defeats the purpose of having one.
Who is helped and who is hurt?
Are the high average bowlers winning too much? Mathematically, the higher your average, the more times you should win. I have always believed that you increase your skills by competing against better bowlers. There is always someone better. However, if everyone feels they have no chance and the better bowlers are 'taking all the money,' a perception becomes reality. However, city tournaments have never involved a lot of money. Even brackets and side-pots are measly because tournament squads are small. However, these higher average bowlers support the association championships by entering multiple times. The other side of the equation of the higher average bowlers 'taking all the money' is that the higher average bowlers are putting in the most money by entering multiple times. Rules limiting the number of team events one can enter only seem to apply to these bowlers as they will bowl on two or three teams.
So, an average cap prevents the bowlers who most support the tournament from even entering it. An association championship, as well as league bowling, is still a social activity. Strangers don't come together to form teams to enter a tournament so as to meet average cap requirements.
Tournament managers want the maximum number of entries for their event, so why would any tournament exclude people from entering?
Sunday, January 3, 2010
End of 209 Notes
If you are a regular viewer of the front page of AlabamaBowling.Com, you may occasionally click on some of the bowling stories that appear in various newspaper, TV, and other web sites. I have various Internet searches give me a list of daily news stories based on certain key words, such as 'bowling.' I could use an automated program to just post these stories automatically, but you would be subjected to multitude of stories from Great Britain, India, and other parts of the Empire regarding the latest controversies in cricket. You would also get tired of stories about local news in Bowling Green, Kentucky and the multitude of stories that pass on just local scores. However, there is also a lack of creativity in the journalistic profession. These examples include:
Video Game Seniors
Do reporters get writer's bloc? If so, do they read newspapers on-line from another part of the country and just copy the same subject? Our nation's senior citizens are getting exercise by playing Wii bowling. Every part of the country has run this story, including some television stations. My editorial control prevented me from basically showing this same story run all over the country. Just 'google' this subject and see how many stories you can take before you realize that we will all live longer if we pay video game bowling. My personal opinion is that Wii bowling is too easy. Play the Brunswick or AMF Wii bowling games where you have different lane conditions and equipment characteristics. Also, like real bowling, if you are not consistent with the release, you get different results. So, Brunswick's version is not as forgiving as the regular Wii bowling.
College Football: End of Season
Why does each college town paper call a successful football season as 'going bowling?' "The Big 10 is going bowling." "Fresno State hopes to go bowling this season." No, you are not going 'bowling,' you are playing one more college football game as a reward for a successful season. Rolling a ball to knock down pins is not involved in winning the Cotton Bowl. This is a stupid cliché. With a variety of sports web sites and 24-hour sports channels, sportswriters just want to be cool and dream of hosting SportsCenter.
Top NFL Players Change Sports
This year the annual NFL all-star game, known as the Pro Bowl, is not in Hawaii. It seems that most players want to be selected, just not play in the game. Chris Barnes is a pro bowler, not an NFL all star. However, I hear NFL announcers call a player selected to the annual NFL all star game as a pro bowler. Another stupid cliché as it must be cool to compare America's favorite professional sport with bowling. As an aside, of all the major American sports leagues, the NFL Pro Bowl is the worst all star game of the lot. Ironic, as the NFL is the league that has the most popular championship game.
Video Game Seniors
Do reporters get writer's bloc? If so, do they read newspapers on-line from another part of the country and just copy the same subject? Our nation's senior citizens are getting exercise by playing Wii bowling. Every part of the country has run this story, including some television stations. My editorial control prevented me from basically showing this same story run all over the country. Just 'google' this subject and see how many stories you can take before you realize that we will all live longer if we pay video game bowling. My personal opinion is that Wii bowling is too easy. Play the Brunswick or AMF Wii bowling games where you have different lane conditions and equipment characteristics. Also, like real bowling, if you are not consistent with the release, you get different results. So, Brunswick's version is not as forgiving as the regular Wii bowling.
College Football: End of Season
Why does each college town paper call a successful football season as 'going bowling?' "The Big 10 is going bowling." "Fresno State hopes to go bowling this season." No, you are not going 'bowling,' you are playing one more college football game as a reward for a successful season. Rolling a ball to knock down pins is not involved in winning the Cotton Bowl. This is a stupid cliché. With a variety of sports web sites and 24-hour sports channels, sportswriters just want to be cool and dream of hosting SportsCenter.
Top NFL Players Change Sports
This year the annual NFL all-star game, known as the Pro Bowl, is not in Hawaii. It seems that most players want to be selected, just not play in the game. Chris Barnes is a pro bowler, not an NFL all star. However, I hear NFL announcers call a player selected to the annual NFL all star game as a pro bowler. Another stupid cliché as it must be cool to compare America's favorite professional sport with bowling. As an aside, of all the major American sports leagues, the NFL Pro Bowl is the worst all star game of the lot. Ironic, as the NFL is the league that has the most popular championship game.
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