Team Chemistry

[jhays]

Just curious on how others deal with teams with chemistry and without. I bowl in 3 leagues this year - My Wednesday Team we "click" very well together. The other 2 leagues are people that are either not into it as much as I am or newbies, which I don't mind.

My question is how do you deal with staying focused, relaxed and consistent - I know ev1 has nights where nothing works, but I would rather struggle and shoot 590+ then struggle with 500-. I feel confident when I go to the alley, but some people just don't make it easy to focus. I'm not blaming them on my bad nights, but just wondering different aspects of focus without taking myself away from the team or out of the game.

[GBBarrie]

One of the hardest things I find in bowling, and in golf for that matter, is remembering to play against myself. The worst thing you can do is worry about what the "other guy" is doing. There are two reasons that nobody can beat Tiger Woods. One is that he plays really well, and the other is that everyone that is up against him seems to worry what he's doing instead of playing inside themselves.

The best possible way to tackle your situation, in my opinion, is to look at your line, and forget all the others, team and opponent alike. It's hard to do sometimes, but if you can mentally stay in your own game you can smooth out those rough games a little.

I joined an individual league this year to work on just that. If I try to keep track of what the other 15 people are doing each game I'll go nuts. I am just hoping that the experience in that league will rub off on the other three leagues.

[adamo]

What really helps me is... I go in thinking I'm going to bowl the best I can. and this year I've added a focusing time in my routine to help me focus on what I'm doing. for example what I do is... pick the ball up, turn around to where my back is towards the lane. (I do this because I don't want to see what the other guys on either side of me leave).. I then wipe my ball off with my towel. turn around and find my line. set my feet, find my line again, then I bowl.

so to answer your question...
1. Go in having the right attitude (thinking your going to bowl your best)
2. Work in a focusing time in your routine before you bowl.
3. After your turn then just have fun with your team.

hopefully this helps you a litttle.

adam

[BowlingTracker]

What throws me off the most is bowling with those that can't take responsibility for their own bad shots.. Instead they complain about the lanes or some "omnipotent" force that is causing them to miss that pin, arrow or lane.. (yes, i've seen someone "miss" their entire lane and throw it down the neighboring lane)..

Then they come back and complain about it or blame it on something else and try to explain to me that it's not their fault and expect me to be understanding...

um.. sorry.. i seemed to have black out a moment..

I know exactly what you mean about "clicking" or not with your team mates, and yes, it does affect you and it's difficult to overcome.. If you feel uncomfortable in your surroundings, it really does affect you. When your bowling with your friends or people you get on well with, your comfortable, and confident and get the job done.. When your with peeps that kinda rub you wrong, then your not as relaxed and focused as you should be. And that's where your mental game REALLY comes in handy, so you can seperate that out and leave it behind..

I'll tell you what I do.. I always bring a book with me to read while I bowl.. And when I'm in the situation of bowling with peeps that "bug" me.. then I just sit and "read" between each frame and pretty much give out the impressing that I'm not interested in socializing. I quotationed "read" because I'm usualy just pretending to read.. Instead I just sit there with the book in front of me and occasionally turn a page, but I'm thinking about my game, staying focused on what I'm doing.. watching what's going on.. but peeps tend to leave me alone.. lol

[TenPin]

I know what you mean about chemistry, it can be hard a thing to achieve sometimes. Like many on here, I like to focus on what I need to do and not others (unless my teammates ask for simple help). Also, if you want good team chemistry, try to pick your teammates with care. Try to get at least 1 seasoned (10-20 yrs) player with a knowledge of bowling on your team. That player can have a very calming effect on a team in a tense spot.

I myself showed up last year on my All City league and was very fortunate to get on a "throw together" team where we got along very nicely and did extremely well at the end of the year. We took first in both halves, no roll off, YIPPIE FOR US!!!!!

[banjoec]

Last year I started a new team with 4 other warm bodies. Nothing worse than bowling with people that care more about getting home in time to watch their favorite TV show.
This week we just picked up the 4th piece of a decent team with good chemistry. 4 great attitude bowlers. We have fun, and stay focused.

My advise..... Blow it up and start over.

[BigDawg70]

The best thing you can do is practice staying focused on your game. Try this, when you go to practice on the weekend, ask to be put on a pair next to a little kid's birthday party. Trust me, if you can get to the point that you are blocking out 15+ screaming 5yr olds, annoying teammates wont even phase you.

[jhays]

I have to stay the opinions I read on this MAKES ALL SENSE, from every angle - I love the 15 screaming 5yr olds scenario - kinda reminds me of my Friday evening league - they sometimes seem like that when they don't carry. I've fallen into a funk on Friday evenings - and I know the team is not in sync - but I enjoy 1 of the guys, he had the world record for most consecutive bowling hours until this past year. He is a smooth Left Hander who helps me out a lot - but even through I am scoring good on Wednesday (222 after 5 weeks) I am carrying 202 on Friday's - he thinks I "sneak" up on the pins and use my arm to generate the speed. I know I do that, but it scores well. So in closing - thanks for all the thoughts and suggestions, I will heade them well and do the best I can. Once again - Thanks for this site and hope to see all of you on the lanes someday in tourneys!!!!! Maybe the site should have a bowling logo specific for this site, so when tourneys are active, we can see who are members - we can wear it on shirts or bags.