Courtney,
What is making you mad and frustrated? Sometimes a solution as simple as setting or reevaluating your realistic goals will work wonders. Are there roadblock that you are dealing with? If so, work patiently to remove them one at a time. Now with school starting again maybe you should make a call on your school counselor who is highly trained in working with such problems.

when i bowl i get frustrated when i'm not doing good

Okay,
Because you are already a very good bowler, it's now time to invest in some mental training. Look for a coach that has some training athletes in concentration, visualization, imagery, relaxation, and goal setting. Or, if you can't get a mental training coach, find and read some books on these subjects. Most higher level athletes now combine their physical training with their mental training for peak performance.

Courtney:
The mental part of the game is more difficult than the physical and is the area most often missed by athletes. If you can't locate and/or afford a coach trained in the mental aspects of sports, then I agree that you should look to read up as much as possible. Anything by Dr. Dean Hinitz would be good. A google type search should identify a number of sources to help you out.

A far as your physical game is concerned, what I can offer is to take the game one frame or shot at a time. If you make a bad shot, take 2 seconds to have your pity party, then erase it from your head so you can focus for your next shot.

Good luck!

Courtney,
All the advice given is excellent! Working on your mental game is the most important part. You can't control what the pins do, believe me I know how frustrating it is. Also, there is nothing wrong with being competitive and showing emotion. However, getting mad will only hurt your game. When you don't strike, make the spare and next time maybe they will all fall. There are no guarantees in bowling as far as score goes. But, you can guarantee that you give 110% everytime you bowl. Letting go of bad shots is key, make the next one better. One frame at a time is the only way to slow down your mind from thinking of the end result.

Good luck!

Give it your all and just mke sure you have fun. Bowling can be frustrating trust me i know, but when you get mad you lose focus and control over your skills that make you a good bowler. Its hard not t get mad when your not bowling good but if you stay positive and patient good things will happen. You cant force what you cant control so just bowl your game and have fun. I've learned thati bowl better wheni have fun, and when im not bowling good I take it as a lesson on what i need to work on and use it to my advantage for next time.

If you go to bowlingknowledge.info there is alot of techniques there that you can use to develop your mental game, the person that wrote them is my coach and ever since i read them i havent been mad or anything i have always stayed positive.

Good luck Courtney!!!!

When you don't do as good as you like stop and evaluate, i find that when i bowl a bad ball i will be to distracted to do good, let it go, when you let it go you can think as if it never happened

you always hafta think positive or you will do badd

Like in all things, developing positive habits is the key to success.

1st, realize that by getting angry you will only drag more of your frames' scores down. The danger of continuing it is it becomes a bad habit or crutch and it is always your response. Too many wasted frames from then on before you get focused. Just like in developing good bowling technique habits there are good bowling mental habits. Mental Mind memory is as essential as physical muscle memory. More of your Pros and Very good bowlers win because of their overall mental attitude then the physical attitude because they already all have good physical bowling games.

2nd, remember we all have poor games, even the Pros. However, they do not let anger control them and they come back the next frame revved up to do well. Well, at least, the smart ones and the tournament winners do.

Yours in bowling,

The Bowling Is A Sport Addict

Hi Coutrney,

All the advice has been good so far. The only thing that I see that was left out is this.... You say you're a good bowler, and I believe you. But do you believe and trust yourself. Sometimes it's not YOU that is at fault when you bowl poorly. Very often it's the conditions, or your ball. A lot of good bowlers will blame themselves for a bad shot and not make a move the next time they're up. Then 2 or 3 open frames later and you're mad. Trust yourself more! Are other stuggling too? Sometimes the winner is the one who makes the "best" out of bad conditions.

Best wishes!

Coach Gene

If all the good advice people tell you and don't have any time to do any thing else just count to ten or something like that.

When I start bowling bad, I never look up at my score because i know it will just make things worse..i try to socialize with the people around me and try to keep my mind off it ... sometimes ill start doodling as well

A few techniques that my team uses, and I can guarantee that these work (I used them, and I ended up winning the state championship with them.) We do something called "Leave It At The _____". This means, whatever is bothering you, leave it at say the door to the alley, the seat that you're sitting in, etc. The list is endless. However, once you get past said physical thing, you can't think about it anymore. You can't even speak about it. Focus on what you're doing. And sometimes, if you can't seem to relax and chill out, walk through the door again.

Our highschool team (State girls highschool team champions 5 years running) uses a technique called "Drama Circle". We form a circle and talk, cry, rant, etc about anything that we want for 2 minutes. The entire team has to listen and can't say anything bad or negative back. Once the group has dispersed, the subject is gone. No more talking about it. This really helps because you know that people listen to you.

Try it sometime. :) These will help. So either grab someone, walk through the door, or just simply go for a walk and sing your favorite song. You'll calm and cool down in no time.