Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl. Location for today’s block
7/22 – I have witnessed one of the most deceptively cruel shots I’ve ever seen. Ball roll looks good but consistent carry is another story. The scoring pace is low, as expected and as it should be for the U. S. Open. After Courtney got over some early jitters she threw the ball well but, was just not able to string strikes and catch a few breaks. It was one of those nights where you know you bowled way better than what the score indicates.
There were some very positive takeaways from today’s block. Courtney threw the ball extremely well today. Of course there were a few errant shots but, overall she looked super. Ball choice was on the money. She started throwing an Aura Paranormal which was able to read the pattern well and break down the lane a bit. Courtney moved to her Aura when the Paranormal started to burn up a bit around the end of the 2nd game of the block. Her Aura looked really good for about a game or so and then it started picking up on the lane a bit early and finished really hard. Next she moved to her C-System Versa Max and was able to stay on that ball for the remainder of the 8 game block. The moves were in using the same breakpoint down lane at around 10, essentially just changing the angles in the front of the lane to get the ball to face up to the pocket at the breakpoint. The transition was very fast and staying ahead of the moves was tough. We need to do a better job of that tomorrow since in looking back at it we were a little slow to pick up on the transition. The other thing she did really well was keep her composure. Many bowlers would have panicked and started pressing for score. Courtney really stayed in the moment on each shot and treated each frame as an isolated thing. It’s hard to do over 8 games especially when there is a premium on strikes. Courtney’s spare game was on point today as well. She only missed a few makeable spares and believe me she threw a lot of them today.
All in all, she had a solid block even though it did not translate to big scores. This is her first time on such big stage and she held her own today. We are hoping to take this experience and leverage it tomorrow. Let’s sit back and think about the quality of the field. First off there are numerous current and former female PBA members who have significant experience bowling at this level. Also, there are many international and regional players here who are used to bowling under pressure on demanding conditions all the time. This is what she is surrounded with and to hold her own against some of the best in the world is a great first step. On a positive note, the torn fingernail did not bother her bowling tonight so, we may have dodged a bullet there.
As I mentioned, we’re looking to take what we learned today and apply it tomorrow. Courtney has the early block tomorrow so, when we finished the block we left right away and got some dinner. She will need a good night’s sleep to be ready for tomorrow squad at Western bowl.
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