I have to admit, I'm rather relieved that the current bowling league has completed. Overall, the season was mediocre, but I was able to raise my average from 87 pins to 109 pins. While it seems like a small increase, I am pretty satisfied with it. The only downside is that I brought it to this point sometime mid-season, and have been unable to bring it any higher since.

A big part of my reason for being relieved of the end of this season is that the general atmosphere at this bowling alley has been less than admirable. I'm not sure if it's the staff, the other teams, or my team as a whole. I just know that every night when I have left, it has been the highlight for me. My team for the summer league (at another bowling alley) is comprised of people whom I work with and respect for what they do within our workplace. We have all been able to form an accord inside the office, so I don't see why we will be unable to do so outside of the office. At any rate, I am anxious to see how this will affect my feeling towards bowling on Sunday nights, and if it will affect my average score in any positive way.

Another part of my reason for being so eager to move on to the next season is the bowling alley. The lanes on which we bowled this last season are ill-maintained: During the days before we bowled, the lanes would be open to the public. This meant that the oil that was applied to the bowling surface before we bowled would be smeared or "pushed" on down the lane, causing the bowling ball to react differently. From previous experience at the alley where we will be bowling this summer, I know that the lanes are maintained before each league game. If this holds true for this summer, it should be much easier for me to work on improving my game.

One thing I would really like to do this summer is master the "hook" style of bowling. I have been working on this since last summer, but have been unable to make any progress. What I really need is to go bowling on a day where there are few others, and experiment with different shots. It has been difficult for me to do this in other settings, as I have either been bowling in some friendly competition with friends, or I have been bowling in league play. I think one other thing that may help would be to borrow a video camera from someone and review each shot and see what I am doing right or wrong.

Additionally, I am going to see what I can do to my bowling ball to improve my game. The way it feels right now, I don't have enough grip on the finger holes of the ball. This is a hindrance to hooking the ball, so I am going to try various things to improve the grip. If necessary, I will invest in rubber grips for my ball, which should also help with the "burn out" I am getting on my fingertips.

For now, I am going to enjoy the 2 week break from the "serious" bowling, and bowl for fun with my friends outside of the lanes. Once May 4th rolls around (no pun intended), the game is on again!