Recently I read this interesting outlook on life in a book by Jeffery Deaver.  "Most of our lives are an illusion - everything in our past is memory and everything in our future is imagination.  Those are both illusions - memories are unreliable and we just speculate about the future.  The only thing that is completely real is the one instant of the present - and that's constantly changing from imagination to a memory."

If a person were to remember this as they are bowling, it would help them realize that the only thing they have control over is this ball.  All previous balls delivered are memory and any future balls to be delivered are imagination. 

The following story by an unknown author is about "Attitude" and impresses me as a way one should look at the game of bowling.

Attitude

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.  "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today."  So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today."  So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.  "Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail."  So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.  "YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything.

Be

Prior to the beginning of last season I was trying to come up with a new idea that would spark interest in league bowling in our bowling center and while watching one of the reality shows thought to myself "why can't we have a game of survival in our leagues".  So I laid out the rules where anyone wanting to participate paid a small fee to play and all money was returned to the bowlers in the form of prize money at the end of the game.  Each week people were eliminated from the competition based on being the most pins under their total pin average for that week. 

This format allows all bowlers to bowl on their regular league night(s) and participate against bowlers in all of our leagues in this game.  This generated quite a bit of interest for everyone playing the game as they waited each week to see who was going to get eliminated.  I made the game last 30 weeks with the five finalists bowling off the last week of the season for a top prize of $500.00. 

If anyone would like more details regarding this game or any other games that I have for bowlers please send me a message or comment.

Years ago a friend of mine gave me an idea that I have used over the years to keep my attitude positive.  It has worked well for me and for others that I have shared it with.  The suggestion was to use one word to describe how you want to feel about your game and to then use the first letter of each word to start a small tip to help you achieve that feeling.  I selected the word "strength" to describe my game with the following tips from that word (write them down on a piece of paper and keep them in your bowling bag to refer to if necessary).

Stay focused

Trust your instincts

Remain calm

Each frame is its own game

No excuses

Give your best effort each shot

Treat everyone with respect

Have fun!

Hopefully this little exercise may help someone develop a stronger mental game which in the long run enhances the physical game.

 

If you are bored with your current league formats, I have some suggestions you could present to your league to try to create some excitement and make bowling league more interesting.  The best part of the following formats to me was the fact that when you are done bowling each week you know if you won or lost the game!  In most normal formats when you are done and someone says "How did your team do" you would have to respond "We won two" or "We won four" or "We won thirteen" or something along those lines.  In the formats I am presenting here the results are like most other major sports - you either win or lose the game each day/night that you play.

The scoring in the formats all revolve around the sport that they are named after and utilize terms used in the sport.  I call them my "Sports League" even though they can be bowled on house patterns or sports conditions.  My "Sports Leagues" have been very successful everywhere I have tried them in the past especially when I am able to recruit new bowlers or any sports enthusiasts into joining them.

The most successful way to utilize the leagues are to use the scoring format for the sport in season.  For a long season league (30 or more weeks) I would recommend having a split season using at least two or three of the formats.  The formats work best with three person teams but can be adapted to four or five person teams.

SPORTS LEAGUE SCORING

FOOTBOWL (Three person teams bowling four games each week)

Individual Win = Three (3) Points (Field Goal)

Team Win = Six (6) Points (Touchdown)

Team makes or beats their team average scratch and wins the game = One (1) Point (Extra Point)

Team makes or beats their team average scratch and loses the game = Two (2) Points (Safety)

Team tie at end of fourth quarter is broken by team with most total pins plus handicap receiving Three (3) Points (Field Goal)

BASKETBOWL (Three person teams bowling four games each week)

Individual Win

1-20 Pins = Six (6) Points (3 Field Goals)

21-40 Pins = Eight (8) Points (4 Field Goals)

41-60 Pins = Ten (10) Points (5 Field Goals)

61-up Pins = Twelve (12) Points (6 Field Goals)

Individual Total Pins (Four Games Total) = Six (6) Points (3 Field Goals)

Individual Loss (Score over average) = Three (3) Points (3 Point Field Goal)

Individual Win (Score over average) = One (1) Point (Foul Shot)

Individual Tie = Blocked Shot - No score

Team Win = Twelve (12) Points (6 Field Goals)

Team Loss (Score over average) = Six (6) Points (3 Field Goals)

Team Tie at the end of the fourth quarter is broken by highest team total receiving One (1) Point (Technical Foul)

BASEBOWL (Three person teams bowling three games each week)

Individual Win

1-30 Pins = One (1) Run Batted In (1 RBI)

31-60 Pins = Two (2) Runs Batted In (2 RBI)

61-up Pins = Three (3) Runs Batted In (3 RBI)

Individual Tie = Zero (0) Runs for both teams

Team Tie at the end of nine innings will be broken by highest team total receiving One (1) Run.

Bowler One is Innings 1, 4, 7.  Bowler Two is Innings 2, 5, 8.  Bowler Three is Innings 3, 6, 9.

HOCKEY (Three person teams bowling three games each week)

Individual Win

11-50 Pins = One (1) Goal

51-up Pins = Two (2) Goals

If at the end of third period a tie score exists, the team with High Total receives (1) more goal (Overtime Period) to win.  If at the end of Overtime both teams are tied (this would only happen when both teams had the same Total Goals and the same Total Pins) a tie is recorded.  During Playoffs, a tie at the end of Overtime would be resolved by playing one or more additional periods (Games), using normal scoring rules.  The team scoring the most goals during that period(s) would win the game.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER AWARD

The bowler in each format scoring the most individual points for the league would be the MOST VALUABLE PLAYER.

I found that setting the league up in divisions and drawing team names from the sport that was being played helped stimulate interest as well.  In all formats we set it up so the low average bowler always led off and the high average bowler bowled anchor.

Leave me a comment if you would like any further information on this type of league or any other games or league formats.