BY MICHELLE MULLEN
How often should I practice? What should I practice? How should I practice? These are all great questions that I am asked all the time. How you practice is as important as what you practice.
The first thing I suggest you do is take a lesson from a qualified instructor. I hear bowlers say all the time that they just need to practice more and they’d bowl better. Well, maybe. But that leaves me wondering, “Do they know what to practice?” A good lesson can expedite your efforts exponentially, if you know what to practice, and then enable you to structure your practice so that it is more productive. I would consider taking golf lessons, but not until I know I can commit some time to practice.
Here are some tips to help you get more out of your practice sessions.
Do Not Keep Score. Practice is for working on technique. We never kept score while we practiced to prepare for the tour. (If the bowling center has to have the scorers on to charge you, then just don’t pay attention.) When I give lessons, the scorer is not on. During practice, score is irrelevant, a distraction at best. Yet when I ask my students how their practices are going, they often tell me their scores. I am not asking for their scores; I want to know if they feel like they are improving the technique we had worked on in their lesson.
This means not letting the outcome of a shot distract you from staying focused on technique. When you are working on developing a specific skill, focus solely on that skill, not on where the ball goes. Especially at first.
This brings to mind a great story: PWBA legend Aleta Sill had taken a lesson from former Team USA coach Sean Klug a few weeks before tour started one year. He was working with her on keeping her shoulders open while walking straight. She says she threw about 30 minutes of gutters. I love this story for two reasons. One, she stayed true to the technique she had to correct. Two, who allows themselves to throw 30 minutes of gutters? A great champion, that’s who.
Use Drills. Thinking is necessary to produce a new motion. Bowlers tell me all the time, “I just need to stop thinking!” Well, at…