They Want Me to Bowl?

Some of us like to ski, some like to bowl,golf or maybe it's baseball. Whatever the sport you can really get wrapped up in it. This is a rendition of how this writer found her own way to adapt to this sport.

The very first time substituting for a friend on a league was the funniest and best time ever had learning this sport. First off ,they tell me (after throwing two gutter balls) You need to place the correct fingers in the ball. I, in my infinite wisdom of the sport, had placed the thumb,index finger and middle finger in the ball, thus giving me no control at all. Now,with the ball correctly placed on my hand, the awkward approach begins. One,two,three,four Release! And over the foul line I go. There is an awful buzzer going off, and I think,oh no! Did I break the machine? Now my team mates are in hysterics, telling me to calm down and try again, (yes, I hit the pins and left two) Hey this game isn't so bad, I think I rather like it. So goes the next thing I have to learn. Always release the ball before the foul line. Now to try and get the last two pins. I line myself up, slowly sneak up on them, ready,aim and throw! Yippee, I got them. Well now I am hooked. For the next 14 years I bowl on one league or another, sometimes two nights a week. The idea of getting together with friends and just having fun really can be relaxing. Not to mention some very close friendships arose with the sport.

With any sport there are those that excel at it and those that keep trying. After years of taking tips on everything from where to stand and what arrow to throw the ball over, form stance and release, confusion was my middle name. So taking some of the advice given by several individuals and putting all that information in one basket, I took the most informative and the ones that seemed to work best for me and ended up with my own style, and finally an average that was not so bad. A 163 average was the best I reached then, but so much fun was had during all this time, I wouldn't have cared if it had stayed in the 130's.

Some interesting facts about the sport. All lanes are not the same, They all vary and your ball will react differently according to the condition of the lanes. Heat and cold as well as humidity can affect your game. That's why you may see someone come in and they use two different balls. One may be rubber and the other Polyurethane. Both have different reactions on the lanes. The oil on the lanes is yet another factor as to how the game can go. That's why it's important to have consistency in the way you throw the ball. With consistency you can more readily adapt to different lane conditions.

These are some things I bought while engaging in the game.
Bowling balls,Two, one ten and one twelve pounds.
Bowling ball bag
Shoes
Towel,(to keep your ball clean from lane scum)
Rosin bag to keep your hands dry.
Score book (to keep track of your games and average)
Wrist brace (to stop you from twisting your wrist )
And let's not forget the league shirts.

I have to say that what makes the sport is the people and as long as you are having fun at it, keep going, if not, maybe it's time to find another sport?