While I read and write about all the mental preparedness techniques, it's been over a year since I was really active in bowling tournaments other than at the house where I bowl my leagues in. Oh, I practice with different scenarios a lot of times; but, it still doesn't compare to actually being in the situation.

I bowled in a tournament last weekend that exemplified the old Boy Scout motto of , "Be prepared." While I did not win the tournament, I ended up in second place under some very tough conditions. I credit my mental attitude for helping me get as far as I did because I never really got lined up at anytime and my three bowling balls really only performed so-so throughout the day.

There were twenty-eight senior bowlers taking part in a scratch (no handicap) event. We would bowl 4 games and the field would be cut to the top 14, bowl one more game and the field cut to 8; and so forth, until there were two people bowling for the championship. To give you an example of the competition, there were two ex-national touring pros and two regional pros who are still active PBA card holders. I bowled the first four games with one ex-national PBA member and one of the regional pros.

In the first game, I shot 174 with one open frame and one strike. I had several 6- and 7-counts which is why my score "backed down" into the 170's. I was now minus (-) 23 and thinking that I needed to buckle down and shoot some big games to catch up.

By the way, in a lot of tournaments, we use 200 as the base score and refer to our position as a plus (+) or minus (-) from that base on a composite basis. As each game progresses, we would get a plus or minus from 200, then 400, then 600, and then, since we were bowling four games, the plus or minus total would be from a base of 800.

My tactics are a little different in this scenario because total pins do not carry on to the next set. In other words, all you had to do was make the cut (last position) and everyone started the next game all even. Being in the minus, I asked a friend of mine to see what the cut score was after the first game and he came back with minus 29. With that report, I knew that a lot of the bowlers were having as a tough a time as I was so I knew that spares and consistency were going to be the key. Besides, the two pros on my team were also struggling to find the groove and were in the low plusses.

I started hearing a lot of moaning and whining from bowlers on the adjacent lanes and I resolved to block them out and think positive. My self-talk was all about things such as, "okay, you can do this," "keep steady," "just keep making the spares, "you are in the hunt," "it's me and the mark," and, "don't listen to all the complaints."

After the second game, I was at -49 and the cut was at -68; after the third game, the cut was -82, and after the fourth game, the cut came out to be -89. During the next four games, there was only one 200+ game shot. I kept saying to myself how lucky I was to have kept my head screwed on right and how I made it to the final two without really feeling like I had anything going for me. "The best I have bowled without having a line or feeling comfortable."

Well, during the break after the first four games, one of my competitors came to me saying, "Choc, I gave up in the fourth game, I was so mad I purposely threw 6 straight first-ball gutters. I ended up shooting 126 and missed the cut by 30 pins." There were other bowlers lamenting the fact that they had gotten mad and just heaved their spare ball down the lane missing the spare and therefore, missing the cut by less then 10 pins.
Another bowler loudly proclaimed, "If you ever hold the tournament in this house again, you can be sure I won't be here."

I kept my mind steady throughout the tournament. I had practiced keeping a positive attitude and mindset. I had visualized and practiced different conditions and situations in my mind. I had prepared myself for "worst-case scenarios." I kept my mind steady and did well under some tough and adverse conditions.

A Hui Hou! (See You Again!)