I asked some of the bowlers at River City Bowl just what bothers them about their game. I mean, what at the most really, really bothers you about your game that you continually do. Every bowler has to contend with their own actions and as I have said before, there is only one person up on that approach with the ball in their hand.

Most of the women that I talked with came out with the same answer, consistency. The able, or I might say, the inability to throw the ball the same way, the same speed, with the same ball action time after time. I would say that this was the most popular answer among the women.

Consistency is defined in Webster’s dictionary as the condition of cohering or holding together and retaining form. This is a very common problem among both men and women bowlers and it all goes back to making sure that you practice so that you have the muscle memory to contain yourself and make each shot consistent with what your are practicing.

Bowling is a very complex sport and for those out there who have not ever tried bowling or maybe who have bowled a few times, I don’t think that you have the full concept of the game. It takes a lot of different practiced procedures to perform time after time in the same manner, without fault, and if you do falter, correcting the problem. It is not as easy as it looks and I hate having the " image " of the fat guy, drinking a beer, with a cigar in his mouth and getting up to bowl every once in a while. So many people relate that to the sport of bowling and do not give it a fair chance, unless you have investigated the game fully.

Some of the other women gave answers like, not hitting their mark each time, missing the 7 or 10-pin on a regular basis and simply not being able to carry out the consistent shots for a full 30 frame series. It takes a lot of concentration and if you falter the least little bit, you can drift off and never be able to retain that concentrated effort that you may have had before.

Now, when I asked several of the male bowlers, I came out with a lot of the same answers but a little different from the women. Men are more proud and not to be negative about them, but they hate to lose or to " admit " to the fact that they may have made a mistake and are trying to correct it.

I got answers like, the lanes have too much oil on them for me to be consistent in my game and I am sure that if I had the right conditions, I would have done much better. Then there was, people are always jumping up on the lane beside me breaking my concentration. I think if people could be a little more considerate of other bowlers, I would do much better.

Some of the men said that they bowl much better when they are bowling on a men’s only league; that the competition gets them going and they bowl much better. So, are they saying that if they bowl with women in a mixed league, it causes them to bowl worse? Hummh….Then there were men that stated that they had trouble with hand positions and knowing that when they throw a bad ball they have to correct their mistake. I think that all in all, everyone makes mistakes and sometimes they are hard to pick up on. We are all on the same level when it comes to trying too hard and figuring out what we did wrong.

I don’t know about you, but when I make a mistake, I can only blame one person and that is myself. As least I know that I am the only one throwing the ball and if I don’t hit my mark or loose concentration, then it is my fault. Now, don’t get me wrong, some of the men admitted that if they practiced more and were more consistent with their bowling they would do better, but a lot of them complain about their equipment.

Maybe, not have the right ball for the right conditions or the inability to make a decision to change balls when the lanes conditions change.

All in all, we can all put blame on several things, but we need to be aware of what is really the most disappointing thing about your own game. A lot of bowlers both male and female are happy with their game and as people are, we do make mistakes and you have to take the good with the bad. The most important thing I guess I am trying to get across to you, take note of your mistakes and if they bother you a lot, change them and make sure that you can correctly recognize them.

Most people go out to bowl in the league to have friendly conversation and most of all have a good time, but how many of us bowlers out there depend on bowling good to have a good time. Think about it. Can you be happy if you are really having a good time with the team you are bowling with and against, if you have a bad night? Can you just shake it off and say, that everyone is going to have a bad night every once in a while and forget about it?

These are the questions we need to ask ourselves and maybe try to change the way that we think about our game. You might find out that you may enjoy the sport just a little bit more, with maybe a better attitude. Attitude is a feeling, a manner or a disposition toward another person or thing. Most importantly it is a emotion that maybe with a little work, we can change it to work for us, not against us.

Are you up to the challenge of working on this part of your game that can really help yourself, not only now but on down the road? I think that we can all change just a little bit, if we want to and you will be surprised at the results that you can get and the rewards that you will reap.