Mental Bowling Ability and Skills are Key to Better Bowling

The mental side of bowling is critical to bowling your best.

As a bowler, I keep hearing other people talk about mental bowling skills. This is a serious skill that requires years of practice that will allow you to mentally prepare yourself to play the best game that you possibly can. Professional athletes have devoted tons of time to this one simple, yet so complex mental preparation before competitions. The psychology of a play goes deeper than just blocking out the surrounding sounds and mentally seeing the strike in your mind’s eye. To be the best bowler you can be, you must have sharp mental skills.

That’s right. One of the best and most overlooked bowling tips for those who are trying to become a better bowler is the mental side of the game. Some even say the game of bowling is 90% mental. In a competitive league, understanding the mental side of bowling is the difference between going home with the trophy and money and the end of the tournament, and just going home. When you hone your mental ability, you will only then be in “the zone” when it comes to bowling.

Your mental bowling abilities can give you the edge you need to win.

When preparing to bowl in a bowling competition, it is wise to first set yourself up with a routine. First visualize the actual shot you are about to make and then set up in your beginning bowling stance. Then breathe in deeply through the nose and exhale through your mouth. This is the signal to go. Try to displace yourself from throwing the ball or of thinking of throwing a strike. Just allow your muscle memory to respond to the situation. Displace yourself from the bowling shot by thinking of something totally unrelated to bowling. For example, think of rolling a ball in to a trash can or between two post, maybe with red stripes painted on them. Get that imagination of yours working. If your muscle memory is trained well, you will not be able to force your shot. This will all come with practice.

Every player has a strategy in mind when they step up to their ball and take their bowling stance. Some shots are macho and some are showy. Others are intentional safe bet shots and they both have thought patterns that need some adjusting. Your thoughts should stay focused on improving your game and learning the way to bowl to metaphorical scenarios.

It is important to maintain an even emotional pace. Whether you've just bowled a 285 or a 120, remind yourself it is more than just the one game you came to bowl. Emotional spikes can cause too much adrenaline to flow through the body and can cause poor bowling performance.

Pro bowlers have already planned their shot strategically and created several scenarios in their thoughts by the time their turn arrives. Along with these scenarios comes the self pep talk. Panic and other thoughts must be clear before they can truly tap into their skills and knowledge.

Truly thinking about and developing your mental game when practicing and in real play is a great way to improve your game. Your body only does what your brain tells it to, so if you think about it more mentally than you physically exert yourself, your game will increase two fold. Most pro and really good bowlers are always trying for certain goals that they have set in their minds before they even touch the ball.

Mental Bowling is often overlooked, but very important.

Most pro bowlers will try for a repeat of a good shot attempting to recreate the feeling that they got with the shot. Negative thoughts and bad mental responses are pushed out immediately. When a good mental player really concentrates and cuts down on distractions they are able to focus and become more strategic. Hitting the pocket is the main goal and mental conditioning is the way to get there. If you play your best and try to play and practice your mental game, you will show immediate improvement.

The hard part for some exceptional bowlers is actually the self criticism. As a pro you are judged much more than if you are a champ bowler among a league or even just friends. The mental bowling skills are a double edged sword sometimes. Say a pro has a bad shot. He will tend to really distress over this small blunder where any other player would brush it off and forget about it.

The total Psychology of your play can be a never-ending list of affirmations or a constant reminder to stay left. This technique is for players to have a game plan. Bowling without a good idea of what you need to visualize is just bowling. Bowling to sharpen and hone your skills is championship bowling.

We have only touched on the surface when it comes to sharpening your mental skills. We cannot stress enough how important the mental side of bowling is. If you are serious about becoming a great bowler and winning your tournaments, you need to check out Bowling For Dummies. This guide will show you in depth on honing your mental bowling skills, along with many other tips and secrets needed to really bowl like the pros.