by Caroline Lagrange

A lot of people know that I have cut down on my bowling since the birth of our first child. I am now in a different place in my life and I am very happy with the change. That doesn’t take away from the fact that I have been bowling competitively for as long as I can remember… well in fact, since I am 18 years old. I am now 32. Jeez, where has the time gone? Even though I am not as active as I used to be, I wanted to try to give back to the sport that gave me so much. Give back in my own way. I have been thinking about writing articles about experiences I have had and share my knowledge with others… I guess now is the time to make it happen.

I am an introvert, if you didn’t know that, you don’t know me very well. I have always expressed myself better in writing than in speaking. That is the reason why I always kept a journal in competition. I would like to share passages of this journal with you.

Let’s go back in time…

by Caroline Lagrange

Team Trials is coming up in a few weeks and I am sure you have been practicing a lot in order to be physically ready for this challenge. But, there is another aspect of your game that should not be left behind: your mental game. I don’t care how good your physical game is… if you do not have a head and know how to use it, you will not succeed. Period. Your mental game is what will make the difference, so take some time to get it ready for anything.

There are a few topics I would like to cover in this blog post: Visualization, Positive Self-Talk/Affirmations and the Traffic Lights Concept.

Visualization:

Visualization is the art of seeing in your mind what you want to have happen in real life. Simple right. It is not hard to do, all you need is some time and a quiet place. It is a great tool that will definitely take your game to a higher level, so why not give it a try…

If you have never bowled a perfect game and this is really something you want but can never achieve, you should start by seeing yourself bowl a perfect game in your mind. Try to imagine in your mind every frame of the game. Try to see yourself throw the ball, see the ball path, see the ball hitting the pins, see the strike, for 10 frames, 12 perfect shots. And then, repeat it, over and over again in your mind until the picture is clear. It might be hard at first, your mind might drift off thinking about something else, but try to get it back to where you want it. Practice, practice practice. With time, you will get better.

If you have a hard time throwing the first shot in a tournament, try to visualize the proper attitude and behavior you would like to have happen instead. If you always panic in practice, try to visualize yourself with a calm attitude, clear mind and making shots properly. Visualize yourself throwing a strike in the first frame. Seeing yourself overcome this feeling of fear at the start of the shift will help you. If you see it in your mind before it happens, it will be easier for you to do it in real time. The mind is a powerful thing, it will do what you tell him to do. If you are scared, the mind will recreate fear, if you are confident, the mind will recreate confidence. Which one would you rather play with?

This concept can be applied to many different things, from bowling (visualizing your spares, your different hand positions, different speeds, the attitude you want to have in match play, the attitude you want to have if things are not going well, etc…) to your personal life and even your work life. It is a concept that when you master it, nothing seems unattainable.

Positive Self-Talk/Affirmations:

The way you talk to yourself will affect your performance. If you lack confidence and you keep reminding yourself, you will never achieve confidence. If you say to yourself things like: “Don’t miss another 10 pin, please” , “Why do you keep pulling on it?” , “What’s wrong with me?” , “Why can’t I strike?” , “Why are others lined up and not me?”. These kind of thoughts won’t take you very far. You need to be able to realize that you are having these thoughts and get over them. We all have feelings and we are not perfect, so if you are able to realize that you are having bad thoughts, dig deep and stop them by replacing them with positive ones. This is where positive self-talk comes in. If, from the start, you learn how to properly talk to yourself, you will already be far ahead. In order to keep a calm, confident attitude, you need to be able to talk properly to yourself. How would you talk to your teammates in a team setting? If one of your teammate was having a hard time, would you go up to them and say: “What’s wrong with you today?” , “Why can’t you make a good shot?”. I don’t think so. Instead, you would tell them things like: “Come on, you can do it” , “You got this, you always make great shots” , “See the picture”. What I want to say with this example is that you need to talk to yourself the way you would talk to other people.

Also, the word POSITIVE is very important. When you talk to yourself, you need to always say things that are positive. The mind listens to everything you tell him. When you say things like: “Don’t give up”, your mind hears: “Give up”, it doesn’t know what to do with the: “Don’t”. Instead, what about: “Keep it up” or “Keep it going”. This is a lot easier for the mind to understand.

Affirmations is another concept that can help you a great deal. What are affirmations? Affirmations are sentences that you repeat in your mind or out loud to help you get what you want. Affirmations are always positive and in the present tense. You want to state in the present tense what you want to become or see happen. I am a champion. I commit to every shot. I pick up all my spares. I am a great team player. My mental game is strong. I always strike under pressure. I always pick up my 10 pin. I carry everything. These are all examples of affirmations you can use on a daily basis in your training. Affirmations can also be written down on sticky notes and placed around your house, your car, etc. Placed in spots where you will see them all the time. They are reminders of what you want. They are affirmations of what you want. They build confidence. Affirmations need to be repeated many many times, and they also need to be believable. Wishing for something is the first step to having it become a reality. Dreams can take you far. Believe in yourself and use affirmations to strengthen that opinion and make it become a reality.

Traffic Lights Concept:

Traffic Lights? What the hell you might think… I know it’s strange, but this concept has helped me a lot in knowing who I am and helped me become a much better bowler. Let me explain. The 3 colors of the Traffic Lights are: Green, Amber and Red. The Green light is when you are bowling well, things are easy, moves are easy and you are in total control. The Amber light (warning) comes up when you make a mistake and things don’t seem as easy and you are loosing control. The Red light (danger) is when you are completely lost and frustrated with yourself, you have lost control. There are features, thoughts, feelings and behaviors that go with all 3 colors. You need to be able to recognize them and then take action in order to get back into it. In the picture below you can see my answers to the Traffic Lights. I am using myself as an example only, it doesn’t mean this will work for you, it is just to give you an idea. I think everyone should take the time to do this exercise and fill in the blanks of this chart for their own game in order to better understand the way you react to different situations and how to cope with them. In order to perform at your best, you need to be in the Green light. If you find yourself falling into the Amber and even the Red light, you need to have a plan in order to get out of it fast and minimize mistakes.