My GoPapa Joel and I have been managing the Philly Pinoy Mixed Fall League (MFL) which meets in the Palace every Sunday night at 7 pm. This is an unsanctioned (non-USBC) league, although we were able to ask the Palace to oil the lanes for us - it has made a difference in our scores! Our escapades are chronicled in my Filipino/English blog, the BowlStar Blog. I actually have been religiously posting two (yes, TWO!) blogs a week about that league, which may explain why THIS blog has been idle. Oh well, the MFL is our "baby", the first league I have managed, and it is so wonderful that Joel and I are managing it together, with the help of the Philly Pinoy Bowling Committee and officers.
I am doing quite well in the MFL, where I currently have an average of 156 and am the top female bowler after five weeks of regulation play. There are four more weeks of regulation play left before the finals, and my beloved Team BALUT is still in the bottom but with momentum on our side! it is a short but ultra-fun league. I am proud and happy to have a hand in getting it started, keeping it going and making it a fun and memorable time for all participants.
I continue to bowl with my dear Scatterpins, Sadie, Ann Marie and Ruth, in the Downingtown Women's Wednesday Night league at 6:30 pm Wednesday nights at the Palace. I currently have an average of 145 in this USBC-sanctioned league. It had bothered me for a while that I seem to play much better on my unsanctioned leagues than I ever do on this league, but I hope that I am getting over that mental hurdle already. I am intent on meeting my goal of getting my average in this league above 150 before the end of the year. It's a reachable goal, I just need to keep working on it!
My spare shooting continues to be a sore spot. I am still recording how many spares I make each game and each series = I am up and down on this one, blowing hot and cold, it's either up or down. While I still get some awfully painful games with 2-3 spares only (ugh!), I am averaging about 4-5 spares for most of my games, and can get up to 7-8 when my confidence is good! My spare shooting has slowly been improving with my new hot tamale red spare ball, lovingly named Hot Mama. It has taken a good month to get comfortable playing with Hot Mama, learning where my stances are for each pin, understanding how to make it go straighter towards my targets (push, as Donna said) and just getting the confidence on my shots, as the wavering wrecks havok on my approach and release. My IR (Instant Results) mentality feels that is FOREVER, but that is my reality. Progress is slow, but there is progress! Can't really complain as long as I am moving in the right direction.
Jing with her Hot Mama spare ball
Speaking of moving in the right direction, my lane adjustments are a work in progress, but I feel I am slowly improving on this aspect as well, based on my play at Wednesday league and practice this week. Practice has really made a difference in my learning how to read the lanes and adjust accordingly. There have been a couple of really hot days when the lanes at the Palace were bizarre, but after playing under those conditions a few times, I have learned a few tricks on how to adjust. My Beast Ball (DV8 Misfit) comes in handy when my Spinderella (Ebonite Cyclone) does weird things on the lanes, but I tend to stick with Spinderella now as my go-to ball. I have gotten a good share of strikes, even strings of strikes on good nights, with my Spinderella: she treats me well when I throw her right!
I still have to work on keeping it simple (KISS), keeping my cool and not panicking or over-analyzing or even despairing on the lanes. There have been nights when I just start out bad and take a while to recover and find my groove. Thank goodness for bowling angels who come around to build my confidence and lift my spirits up! When play is bad, Ruth's words ring true: "Get back to the BASICS". For me this means making doubly sure that my alignment is right, and then slowing down and being very deliberate and focused in my approach = basically calling on and employing all the tricks my dear Donna taught me. Then it becomes just me and the lane, everything else fades away....
It makes a difference when I bowl happy and find my zen on the lanes. It has been a busy time, lots of bowling and blogging going on. But oh, what a joyful time it is too. I am improving, not doing too bad, and still learning so much. My journey continues: I am grateful that you are following along with my blog and sharing my journey with me!
OK, tomorrow, Sunday morning, we have bowling practice once more at 10:30 am, then the MFL plays at 7 pm: lots of bowling for one day, I am a happy girl.
Bowl happy, my friends. See you at the lanes!
Jing, Bowling at the MFL
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