The End of the Slump, Hopefully

Took a 2-week mini break from bowling to clear my head a little as I had been in a sort of slump recently. Before the break, I had been consistently posting scores of about 100 every game, sadly. Although my average is not that high in the first place, seeing your score not exceeding even 110 or 120 every game is really frustrating.

As every person would, I tried hard to improve my score. However, no matter how I tried, my score just seemed to drop further and further, to the point I was starting to average in the double figures. The more I tried to make changes and adjustments, the more my throws worsened and my scores plummeted. My strike rate dropped to less than 2 strikes a game, which was probably about less than half of my usual games. My spare conversion was affected badly as well, with probably about 6-7 open frames each game. Not only did my confidence tank, but so did my enthusiasm and spirit.

I returned back to my local alley, Penang Bowl, yesterday after my break and it seems that I may have been able to clear my head and hopefully bring myself back out from my slump. Managed to get 140-150 scores and considering my game play over the last month or two, I was genuinely delighted to get those figures. My throws felt more fluid and I was starting to hit the pockets again. For the first time in weeks, I actually enjoyed the bowling.

Thinking about heading back to the alley again today and maybe with proper concentration I would be able to lift my scores a little further. Some of the frustration I was carrying with me has dissipated and I feel that the time off has definitely helped me to cope with the sometimes neglected mental aspect of the game. I definitely recommend anyone in a slump to just take a step back, take a few breaths, or maybe even take a few days or weeks off to just refresh your mind and spirit, regardless for if it was in bowling or not, and I'm sure it will help tremendously.

Andrew