Keeping Your Change

Just like anything in life, we as bowlers want to evolve and get better every day, every week, and every month. Getting better can mean you are learning more about the technical aspects of the game or more about the physical aspects of the game. Either way, both take different amounts of time for everyone.

While learning more about the game, things can sometimes take a turn for the worse and put us in the wrong place mentally. This month, we are going to discuss how to mentally approach making changes to your game. Now is the best time to “break” a bad habit and put a cast on the new habit so it stays forever.

Change

Change is never easy. Let’s get that out of the way first. When you make a change—and this can apply to not only your bowling game but also to bad habits in life—the old habit can be really hard to break, depending on how long you have done it. As a bowling coach for a few long-time bowlers, the first thing I hear out of their mouths when doing a bowling lesson and suggesting a change is, “I have done that forever.” Those five words may be true, but it doesn’t mean you can’t change and improve your game. One thing I have learned in my 10 years of bowing on the PBA Tour and coaching is that this game is always changing. You better keep up with the change or the game will pass you by faster than a bullet.

Making a change can be a strange feeling on the inside and out. You make one slight footwork adjustment or swing adjustment and you feel like you are going to walk into the next lane, or possibly even throw it immediately into the gutter. With every little tweak to your game, you have to understand that it will take time for your body and mind to learn the “new” path ...