Thanks, Coach Jim. Before going out to Vegas, I had a chance to bowl on a local bowling center's version of the National shot. It was after a 6-game tournament, and there was still a lot of oil on the lanes. To get any pocket angle on this practice shot, I was rolling a sanded ball pretty much straight up the three board.

So, in my mind I expected to see lots of oil and carrydown. That's one reason I decided to bring an aggressive ball that I could use to play up the boards. Surprise! Even on the fresh team shot, this ball was too much, and not having a weaker ball forced me to move a lot more and a lot faster than expected.

One of the guys I bowled with did something a little crazier than me. He only brought his spare ball with him. He wanted to have a new ball drilled up onsite. Unfortunately, he did not get a change to practice with it, and when we bowled the team event it was hanging up on his thumb nearly every shot. He was so frustrated by the middle of the second game, he started throwing the ball with no thumb, something he does not usually do. Needless to say, his scores and the team total for those games was quite forgettable.

I agree with you about the Nationals shot being challenging and having to earn every shot. By the end of the first set, I was feeling much more aware of everything I was doing and how it was affecting each shot. I was thinking how great it would be to practice on such a shot.