It has been a most frustrating season.  It started with the Sport League I have bowled in for the past 4 or so years.  I was supposed to have a team.  I showed up the first night only to find my teammates are a no show.  Okay, I bowled solo with 2 blind scores of 170.

Week 2 I find out one "forgot" his league does not end until November and the other decided to join another league.  My daughter came in case and we bowled.  Her work schedule would not allow her to bowl every week.  A few other bowlers decide not to bowl leaving me a solo and an uneven number of teams.  So week 3, when they cannot find anyone to fill the team I decide there is no option but to drop.

League 2, Wednesday nights I am placed on a team that is pretty much a throw together.  One of the guys pretty much annoys every one.  He believes every shot should be a strike and complains about being ripped off. The reality is he is not as good as he thinks he is.  I pretty much keep to myself, talking to bowler 3 when he isn't off socializing with his buddies on other teams.  The final bowler doesn't say much to me, but complains about my bowling to the other team members.  he says it just loud enough for me to hear.   Mind you, I am struggling and cannot seem to match up equipment to condition.

League 3 Monday nights.  I was approached to fill a vacated spot and told the captain I really did not want to bowl a 5 person team.  He asked me to at least sub and check it out.  I did and was asked to join, I did.  As with the Wednesday league, I am struggling and reminded weekly why I don't bowl 5 person teams.  The pace is just too slow.

My average is way down, almost 20 pins under book in both leagues.  My timing was horrible and I couldn't figure out why.  I knew I was off at the line, but knew it was somewhere in the approach.  Unable to figure out where the problem, my desire to bowl lessened and lessened.  I didn't want to practice out of fear of reinforcing whatever it was that I was doing wrong.

I ran into my very first coach and in talking he offered to see if he could figure it out.  We met at the center and he pointed out I had gone from a 4-4 approach to a 4-3 approach.  I was still 4 steps, but the ball movement was 3.  I wasn't moving the ball until nearly the 2nd step.  I have been working on it and the timing is better.

While the timing is better, I notice the ball speed is way down.  I think that is a part of the problem.  Now I need to figure out how to increase ball speed while maintaining the proper timing. I just hope 2009 is better.  Right now I am down to a 153 in one league and 157 in the other.