Today was my first practice on a pair of lanes instead of a single lane, and I was really geared up for it. However, I found myself disappointed with my effort by the end of the session. I was like a pitcher struggling with his release point today, dropping many shots before reaching the bottom of my downswing, and ending up pulling those so that I would either cross over or come in through the nose. I was also struggling making spares on top of that, missing a total of 8 single-pin spares, mostly 6 pins and 10 pins (right side). I did manage to recover enough at the end to salvage an over-average third game, but not by much, so my averages actually went down this week.

Result: 131-138-166=435

Running average (24 games): 160 Last 9 average: 165

I seem to have settled into a groove in practice where I have a pedestrian first game, a great second game, and a good third game. The great second game this week was a game where I shot a turkey twice (3rd through 5th, and 8th through first ball in 10th) en route to a 221, my best single game so far. The first game has been what’s holding my average down, so I need to learn how to start better. Another good sign, but which came out of something bad, was that I intentionally shot @ the 10-pin with my new ball after leaving the “Woolworth” split (5-10) in the third game and made it. Since the “Woolworth” is a tough split for a right-hander to make, I decided to use my second ball to work on a weakness rather than try to convert the split. It may be something that pays dividends down the line, as I won’t be as afraid to use my new ball to shoot at spares on the right side. Summary of the session: 140-221-179=540.

Running average (18 games): 161 Last 9 average: 172