January '11 Schedule

Here's the schedule for January, please let me know if you have any issues......

(Wilbur and Opal, don't forget to get your shirts!!!)

Rules and stuff (reposted for the newbies)

We're returning back to the Brunzwick Zone off of Olive and Woods Mill-which will be smoke free. The season starts Tuesday, January 4th. You should’ve all gotten an email asking for January availability; hopefully I’ll post the schedule this weekend.

 

To the newbies (and a recap for the rest): 

• You need to pick out your "old person" name. Currently, Pearl (Christina), Gus (Terry), Esme (Natalie), Ethel (Maria), Agnes (Andrea) and Abe (Steve) are taken.
• Don't forget you'll need to get your own shirts to match the team. We get our shirts at a local company called Cruisin USA-its on Olive, just north of the loop. They have a website or you can call and place your order, and pick it up there. We wear the Black and White Retro Bowler (item RBSWBBNK)and get the "Brew Crew" screenprint on the pack and our names on the front of the shirts.
• Bowling is $15 per week, and includes 3 games. The season is 16 weeks total. You can pay in cash or check (no credit cards).
• Get to the bowling center around 6:30-6:45. We're given 15 minutes every night to practice, then it starts at 7. If you're running late, let us know. You can get there around 15-20 minutes late and catch up, but let me know if you're going to be late.
• I try to post the schedule the last week of the month. If something comes up and you are going to miss your scheduled night- you are ultimately responsible for finding someone else on the team to take your place. If you can't, you can either get to the center and pre-bowl (go bowl by yourself before bowling night and have the scores count for that night) or bowl "absent". You pay for the night of bowling either way.
• Please note "Bowling absent"- is a disadvantage to the team because your score is 10 less than your average, so please use this sparingly.
• The first night should NOT be your best night. I won't use the term "sandbag" but feel free to suck your first 3 games. The rest of the season will be easiest if your average is low and easy to beat each night. 
• Many of us also play a card game during the night-$1 per game, so $3 a night. You get cards for strikes and spares and try to build the best poker hand. You're not required to play, but if you're going to, please bring some singles.

Ok, I think that's it. I'll see you guys soon!

 

The fall from 3rd to 21st hurts.....a lot

We finished 21st for the season; not bad, certainly better than our last season of last place. Even though we were in the 3rd, lets not be disappointed in where we ended up. Ok, ok, it hurts a little, but we really had a hard last 3 weeks-we lost every single game. Some we lost by a lot, but some we lost by a little. Its hard, for me at least, not to be pissed at myself when we lose by a couple pins because I can usually identify one frame of my game where if I had done better, maybe if I’d gotten a 9 after a spare instead of a 3, we would’ve won. But this isn't good for any of us....so, we shouldn’t think like that-we should concentrate on how we made it a close competitive game!


I think the thing that gets us is sometimes we bowl GREAT and then others….not so great. So if we suck the week or game after we bowl awesome, it's really hard to take. Bowling, like any sport takes practice, and I think we forget that. Its hard to play a sport only a couple times a month and expect to improve. Things like what shoes we wear (do they slide or not) and the ball make a difference each time. Not just what kind of ball we use, but how much it weighs, if the ball has nicks and cuts, maybe the core is cracked, how far apart the holes are drilled, etc. (Like if you look at the “fingertip” drilling style, your fingers are way far apart from your thumb, this makes the ball spin more.) But, even if you use the 11lb house balls each time, the finger holes might be different than the last one you use, so your game is potentially going to be different than last time. If we ot of different equipment each time and let a couple weeks lag between bowling…we don’t really improve. And that’s ok, not everyone needs to have their own ball and shoes, we just need to know that things will be different each time and not beat ourselves up about it!!! (other stuff, like how much oil the lane has on it, also makes a difference, but that’s another conversation.  :)

So, moving forward….next season starts Jan 4. Good news/bad news, depending on your habits, the alley we go to will be smoke free. We have a couple more people who are interested, so if you’re not really digging it, don’t feel bad about bowing out. I’ll finalize the new roster next week and we’ll get a practice session together over the winter break. Newbies, make sure to pick out your old people name and get your shirts!!!

If I don’t see you before the holidays, have a happy and safe holiday! Its been fun and I look forward to next season!!

Quick trip back to reality

Sad to report that we're not doing so great guys - myself included!!! I had a horrible night, absolutely disgraceful!!! It was that sad night where none of us could get a good game going and our mediocre games didn't stand a chance against the other teams beating their averages by 30-60 pins each game!!

Anyway, we WERE in 3rd a few short weeks ago and now we're probably around 10th. However, the good news is that we should still finish in the top half if we can win a few games in the last 2 weeks (practice practice practice!). Which, in reality, is where we should be. We were living the high life for a little bit, and now we're back to reality!!!

The schedule for the last 2 weeks is below, let me know if there are issues.

Also, I was required to pre-pay the last 2 weeks. Ethel (Maria) has kindly offered to collect the monies next week and will give them to me the 14th, so please pay her.

Good luck and good bowling-someone please text me and let me know how we do!!!