Many us put unnecessary pressure on ourselves. And, we may do it often. We expect so much of ourself. We watch our competitors. We look at the score. All of which, does no good, but to add to our pressure. Why we do this to ourself, I am not sure. But, none of us need this.

We have to just keep telling ourselves that there is only one person that we can control. Ourself. And, there is only one ball that we can roll. The next one. All of the other thoughts are worthless. None of them can help.

So, only focus on you and your next shot. That is the only thing that you can control.

Arnold Jacobs, one of the greatest tuba players and wind instrument teachers in history, used to call this "paralysis by analysis." There reaches a point where you gotta stop thinking about what to do, and just do it.

Actor and martial arts expert before they became mixed put it this way:

"Conscious thought is the greatest hindrance to
the proper Execution of all physical action."

I'm still a semi-beginner and agree with the other posters on this thread, but I would like to add one thing that's not pressure related that I have experienced from time to time. Yesterday, I was bowling and finished game 2 with 5 consecutive stikes then opened game 3 with 3 consecutive strikes. I felt like I was on a roll then I began to miss and didn't roll another strike until I changed my line. Sometimes, when I'm on my line and hitting the pocket over and over, I'm not paying as much attention to how I got there, meaning that I wasn't paying close enough attention to my ball going down the lane to watch for minor changes that, although I'm still getting strikes, maybe I'm not striking as cleanly as before. Before I know it, I'm missing the pocket and asking myself why? The lane conditions have changed, my line has changed, but I didn't pick it up because I was getting strikes. It took me half of game 3 before I was able to able to find the right line again. Had I been paying closer attention when I was scoring well instead of waiting until my game fell apart, my overall scores wouldn't have suffered.

Pattayabowler

the way I break myself down is keep the body mechanics clean and fluid. If the body is 90-95% consistant, then I can focus on putting the ball down in the corner with enough on the ball to make the turn. When you're on, you can't over think the shot. Stand here, throw bewteen those arrows crossing "x" board and the ball should break here, speed gotta be here, this much lift ect ect.

Keep it simple. If the body is flowing right, the phrase should be, stand here, add this much lift, throw to the corner should break on that board and pocket. When i'm in the groove I hardly look at the arrows, I look down lane to where I want to the ball to break.

I've got about the same average, and I've done very well in tournaments the last couple of years. (Also, I've been getting more 700s than 690s.) I agree with Coach Jim--it sounds like your problem is less your mentality than a lack of experience and versatility.

It's very rare for me to finish a league or tournament set throwing the same shot I did at the beginning; part of the game is reading the lane and adjusting your shot to give yourself the most room to miss. If you're pre-bowling, you should know already whether you're eating the oil or pushing it down the lane, so by the time you're done practicing, you should have a pretty good idea what the lane's going to look like during your third game. From your story, though, it seems like the lanes might have taken you by surprise.

Your tournament story, it sounds like you're going out there, throwing the same shot you always do, and waiting for the lane to conform to it. Can you throw down-and-in, or a deeper angle? Can you adjust your speed, your loft, the ball's axis? If not, you've got plenty of time to learn...

One of the things that I do to keep my mind off of my game in between shots is to position myself so I can't see my score. I don't look up until the 9th frame or so when seeing how we are doing in relation to the other team. I also try not to talk about bowling while we are bowling. I do my best when my mind is somewhere completely off of bowling. When I shot my 800, we were talking about AFI's list of top 100 horror movies. I hate horror movies but, it kept my mind off of what I was doing.

Too many times I see people completely change their demeanor while they are bowling because they are doing well/poorly. I see people doing well stop talking to people. Stare at the score board. Do the math in their head. Take extra time on the approach. Want an extra lane or 2 courtesy. When they are doing bad, then start to snap at teammates. Curse at the pins. Go complain to league members about the condition. All of that will change the way your body is when you bowl. If your excited or upset, your body will be a lot more tense. When you get up to throw your shot, you will not be completely loose and fluid with your swing. Before I get on the approach with every shot. I look at the pins and take a deep breath before I get on the approach. One more after I get set and then away I go. It relaxes me as well as keeps my timing the same.

Here is the question though. If you are in a competition, then do you not look at what you are up against? What happens if you throw an open, and a bunch of marks but you are down? Do you see what you need to win? In my opinion, only not look at the scoreboard if you have a perfect game or if you are blowing out the competition. Just my opinion.

Why? On your next ball, you should be trying to strike. It doesn't matter what the opponent has. In the 10th, you can check to see if you should pipe one down the middle for count to lock it up. Other than that, what does it matter what your opponent is doing? You need to strike on the next shot.

Touche