Team Bowling

bowlingball.com Staff Writer, Cortez Schenck

Published: 9/5/2022


Bowling is unique because it is often played as an individual sport. It's rare to bowl on a team or in pairs when bowling in tournaments. This brings us to the dilemma of how to succeed in these team environments. I will refer back to my most recent doubles event that I competed in this past weekend.

Something that I believe is crucial to succeeding in team bowling events is communicating. Indicating and voicing to your partner/team what you feel and see on the lanes is important. It's helpful to do this because it can help your team or partner adjust to the lanes. It can also help them give tips and pointers to you on what they see from the back.

For instance, this weekend, my partner would throw a shot on a new pair of lanes we moved to that was good but would end up with an unexpected ball reaction. He would relay this information to me, and because of that, I could take advantage and make a small move going into my shot and end up with a more desirable result.

Another important aspect of team bowling is the mindset of winning and losing as a team. There will most often be times when one person bowls better than the other. It can be difficult on the mental game when this
happens as if you are the one not bowling as well, you can begin to feel bad and even embarrassed. A good partner should encourage their teammate that it is okay and it's a team event. Things will only get worse, and you will probably end up making more errors if you get in your head about your performance.

The next tip I will give is to know each other's games ahead of time. It is likely you and your partner will have different styles. It's important to recognize this difference because you will feel freer to do as you need to score high. Just because someone may be hooking the ball from further inside the lane doesn't mean you should play in there too. This weekend my partner and I played different angles and also threw completely different types of equipment. We knew we would be doing completely different things on the lanes because we already knew each other's styles and what was needed. The last tip I can give you is to have fun. No matter what happens, just have a good time. I, as much as anyone else, want to win, but in the end, if I had a good time and learned a couple of things, then that is what matters most.




-Cortez Schenck