Rhino's Take - Emotions

Since we just finished the series on the mental game, I find it only fitting to touch on the topic of emotions.  Emotions in my opinion act a lot like gravity does with any object.  The higher you throw an object, the faster and harder it comes back to the ground.  To relate this statement to bowling, let’s take a regular league bowler who just bowled their first 300 game.  Anyone who has accomplished this amazing feat or has even come close knows this feeling.  Your heartrate is through the roof, and your legs feel a little like jello.  Upon throwing that 12^th strike you erupt in emotions as if you sports team has just won the championship.  What an amazing feeling right?  Then 5 minutes later, its your turn to bowl the next game.  I know from stories of others, let alone my own experiences, it is incredibly hard to pick up where you left off.  You start to feel the adrenaline let down, your mind isn’t where it was and many times you follow that big score with a not so good score.  Let’s also not forget the feeling of panic or let down you feel when things really start to snow ball downward.  This is a perfect example of what happens when our emotions get too high in competition.

If you have ever watched a qualifying and/or match play round on the PBA Tour you might notice that players are very much different than what you would expect.  In fact many don’t even talk to each other let alone show much emotion at all.  This is for two reasons.  First, the guys on tour are very aware that within 3-4 lanes at any one shot are other players.  One slap of the hands, or any type of yelling could catch another player in their swing and result in a bad shot.   This doesn’t sit well with anyone as there is a mutual respect that everyone is fighting to put food on their tables.  The other reason however and it is what separates the good bowlers from the great is they know how to work their way through a tournament.  They are incredibly aware of how important it is to keep their emotions in check.

I remember as an amateur being in Dallas, TX for the 2004 US Amateur Championships.  At the time, it meant everything to me.  Not only was it a prestigious event, but it was also the only way to make Team USA.  This particular week however meant even more to me though as I was coming off of my first year on Team USA and I didn’t want to lose that.  Going in to the last block of match play, I found myself at the top of the leader board with a very comfortable lead.  However, with that all said I also found myself on the brink of being disqualified for conduct.  Sounds incredibly silly I know, but my emotions were so high that week that when I faced adversity it was amplified in a much worse way.  I didn’t know how to manage my way through a tournament emotionally.  Although I ended up winning the tournament and making Team USA for the second time, this was by no means my most graceful win.  It was moments like these that I look back to in my amateur career and see I had a lot of growing up to do if I wanted to be one of the best on the tour.

In closing, I now like relate our emotions that we face to Six Flags.  Are you emotionally comparable to Kingda Ka; a coaster that shoots you 456 feet into the air at a speed of 128mph only to come back down just as fast as you went up, or are you more like the inside seat on a carousel that gracefully revolves around with no up or down movement.  Perhaps you are somewhere in between.  I challenge all of you to sit back and reflect on where you are and where you want to be.  Looking back at my amateur days I can say I was the Kingda Ka roller coaster.  My emotions were ferocious and out of control, and it set me back for many years.  Being able to be aware of your emotions and control them through the good and bad are something that can significantly help you be not only a better player, but a more consistent player.