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Focused for Bowling - Dean Hinitz
Untitled Document
Focused for Bowling
by Dean Hinitz
NEW, 184 pages
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About Focused for Bowling
It’s the final frame. The score is tight. Everything hinges on your very next throw. How do you rise above the din and the distractions to take your seat at the top?
The pressures of the game can make bowling one of the most mentally demanding sports around. In Focused for Bowling, you’ll discover focus cues and other attention-centering techniques that can transform your game and keep you from making careless mistakes at critical points. Learn the concepts that professionals use to keep their head in the game when everything is riding on the line.
Focused for Bowling provides proven advice to help you pick up spares more consistently, recover from and avoid slumps, and get more satisfaction from each trip to the alley. From progressive muscle-relaxation techniques to positive self-talk, Focused for Bowling gives you the mental edge you need to make the transition from social bowling to the competitive scene.
Considered the leading authority on bowling psychology, Dean Hinitz is a regular columnist in Bowling This Month. To pick up your game, pick up this book and see why some of the country’s most elite competitors trust Hinitz to give them the advice they need for more accurate, confident, and consistent performance when the pressure is on!
About Dean Hinitz
Dean Hinitz is considered the leading authority on bowling psychology. He works with several elite competitors, including many champions in the Professional Bowling Association and the Professional Women's Bowling Association. Hinitz is also a regular guest speaker at the highly regarded International Bowling Academy Super Schools and writes a monthly column for Bowling This Month. He is a member of the Nevada State Board of Psychological Examiners and the Nevada State Psychological Association.
Hinitz received his undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota and his PhD in psychology at the University of Nevada. He resides in Reno, Nevada with his wife, Amy Bay-Hinitz. He is the chief of psychology at West Hills Hospital in Reno.
About Tenpin Bowling
A game of ten-pin bowling is divided into ten rounds (called “frames”). In a frame, each player is given two opportunities to knock down the skittle targets (called “pins”). The player rolls the first ball at the pins. If the first ball knocks down all ten pins, it is called a “strike” and the frame is completed. When pins are left standing after the first ball, those that are knocked down are counted and then removed. Then the player rolls a second ball and if all the remaining pins are knocked down, it is called a “spare.” There are bonuses for removing all the pins. If there is more than one player scheduled on a lane, play passes to the next player until all players have completed the frame. Then play continues with the next frame. The final or tenth frame of a game may involve three balls. See Scoring below.
The ten pins are usually automatically set by machine into four rows which form an equilateral triangle where there are four pins on a side (Pythagorean Tetractys). There are four pins in the back row, then three, then two, and finally one in the front at the center of the lane. The pins are numbered one through ten, starting with one in front, and ending with ten in the back to the right. This serves to ease communication; one could say that the 4 and 7 pins were left standing. Neighboring pins are set up 12 inches (30 cm) apart, measured from center to center. Due to the spacing of the pins and the size of the ball (about 8.6 inches (22 cm) in diameter), it is impossible for the ball to contact every pin. Therefore, a tactical shot is required, which would result in a chain reaction of pin hitting pin. In an ideal shot, for a right-hander, the ball will contact only the 1, 3, 5 and 9 pins; for a left-hander, the 1, 2, 5 and 8 pins. The term "Brooklyn" is used to describe when a bowler obtains a strike by throwing the ball into the opposite pocket, known as the Brooklyn pocket. For example, a Brooklyn would occur when a right-handed thrower obtains a strike by throwing a ball into the 1-2 pocket, and similarly a strike occurs for a left-handed bowler throwing a ball into the 1-3 pocket.
In order to count, a pin must be knocked over entirely. Even if a pin wobbles, unless it is knocked over completely, it is not scored. If the pin is wobbling as the automatic pin machine picks it up (or the machine itself knocks over the pin while it is wobbling), it is still considered standing and is not scored. Also, if a pin is moved, it does not change its designation. For example, if the 10 pin were still standing and the 7 pin slid into the 8 pin position, converting this spare would still be considered and given a 7-10 split award (if performed in sanctioned play).
There are generally two primary styles of rolling the ball down the lane. Most newer players play by rolling the ball straight, hopefully into the 1-3 pocket for right-handed bowlers or the 1-2 pocket for left-handed bowlers. More experienced bowlers usually roll a hook, which means that they make the ball start out straight and then curve towards the pocket. There are two ways to produce a hook. In the first, the player needs to let go of the ball with his thumb first, then the middle and ring finger release almost simultaneously. This gives the bowling ball its spin needed for the hook. If the player is right-handed, an ideal position of the thumb after letting go of the ball is “10 o’clock”, meaning that the thumb has gone from 12 to 10, as looking at a clock. The corresponding position for left-handed players is 2 o’clock. Of course there are innumerable variations in style and technique and the position of the thumb can vary from person to person. The second way is to hold the ball without the thumb in the thumb hole. This uses one or two fingers to produce the hook. Some bowlers will use none of their fingers. Lab research has shown that the ideal shot will enter the pocket at an angle of 6 degrees with respect to the lane boards, which means that a straight ball should be thrown from the side of the lane, near the gutter.
Focused for Bowling
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