In warming up to league in practice I will throw 7 strikes in a row but then when the games start i start to think about my score and I don't do as well. is there anything that people do to keep there mind off the score? i just wish that i could turn it off and someone just tells me when it's my turn haha

Every time I start to count pins I start losing them. I always tell myself one good shot at a time. Don't do the math IF you strike out, don't add up your first 2 games to see what you need for 600-700-800. Train yourself to let go of doing the math and focus on what you do in practice and make it happen during league which should be executing good shots. It's all focus, at least for me and it's nothing you gain over night.

only count pins in the 9th and 10th so you can get the win or knwo what your team needs to pull ahead or grab it on the anchor.

I'm same way in Practice recently when i dont look at score i seem to bowl well but when league night i seem to concentrate on score too much. When i been able to block score out in league i been able to bowl much better.

What i do is tell my self one shot at a time and KISS (Keep it simple stupid) cause i tend to over think shot time to time which gets me in trouble. I try to not look up at score and when im not bowling talk to friends and others until its my turn. Its hard to look away at score sometimes. I have caught my self staring at score and counting quite a few times and usually when im bowling bad.

I'm same way in Practice recently when i dont look at score i seem to bowl well but when league night i seem to concentrate on score too much. When i been able to block score out in league i been able to bowl much better.

What i do is tell my self one shot at a time and KISS (Keep it simple stupid) cause i tend to over think shot time to time which gets me in trouble. I try to not look up at score and when im not bowling talk to friends and others until its my turn. Its hard to look away at score sometimes. I have caught my self staring at score and counting quite a few times and usually when im bowling bad.

it's not BAD to look at the scores but I dont' like staring at them. I'll be talking to friends or if I'm feeling un social then I'll bury my face into my blackberry and read ESPN or forums or something.

You could enter the same type of focused state that you were in practice. That's what I do sometimes. I treat league nights like I'm out practicing and usually I do pretty well. The other thing that you could try is the Braindead technique. If you've ever seen "For the Love of the Game," it's kind of like that. The main character does something called "clearing the mechanism" to distort and/or remove all the distractions around him and concentrate or throwing the baseball. This could work as well for you. It will help you focus on your shots and performance instead of your score and what's around you.

Try not to think about the score or even look at it (which is tough). But there are more important things to be worried about like reading the lanes and staying ahead of lane transition and out of carrydown.

Also what you could do is change your warm-up on league nights. Find the pocket and try to figure out the oil pattern or where how it is spread about (First 6 balls thrown at half speed on different boards). Next throw some normal shots like you usually do or in pratice to find your way to the pocket. Then throw 2-4 balls at the 10 pin and 7 pin. And lastly, throw about 2-4 balls faster and harder than you normally would. This should relieve some anxiety or ampedness (which isn't a word) that bowlers usually feel.

As was said already, it isn't bad to look at score just to see how people are doing, and who's winning the match, but don't start adding things up. Keep yourself distracted from doing that. If you're not bowling great(which would usually be why you're paying attention to the score), ask yourself questions about what adjustments you can make or what you may have to focus on in your physical game to execute correctly. That's mainly what I do, or talk to people. The only time I find myself saying "I need this strike/spare" is sometimes in the later part of a game where the I start thinking about winning and/or to make my average.

I'm going to start working on paying attention only to what my team needs to pull the win, anything else is pointless and sometimes counter productive until after it's over. However, if paying attention to score at all puts pressure on you, I'd say don't pay attention to it and just take one shot at a time like usual, and roll the best ball you can.

When I look at the scoreboard it is usually to

a) see what the score difference is between 2 teams
b) in conjunction with a, see what marks people have in the 9th and 8th, leading into the 10th frame, to figure out how close it is.

I don't really look at the individual score column - if I do, I don't think about what I see there. What's up there is done - it can't be changed. What can be done is to throw a strike on your next ball, and the scoreboard won't help with that at all.

During league, I actually sit with my back to the lanes (due to the way the tables are set up). I will turn around and look when my team bowls. Otherwise, I don't look. We sit and talk about basically everything except for bowling. It works better for me. I don't think about my shot until I am standing on the lane.