bowling final paper

Reed Carlson
PE 127 Bowling
North Central University
Tuesday, December 5, 2006*

Bowling Reflection Essay

This semester I chose bowling for my physical education credit. Every Tuesday, from 9:30 to around 10:15 in the morning, I would bowl at “Memory Lanes” in Minneapolis, MN. In the three months I was enrolled in this class, I improved both my knowledge and my skill in the game of bowling.

I gained more knowledge of bowling in a variety of ways. The first, and most obvious, was my ability to find “Memory Lanes” bowling alley. At the beginning of the semester, I was very hesitant and uncertain when using the text directions found at the bottom of the syllabus. By the last day, I was able to competently navigate myself, and my passengers, to the bowling alley in a timely fashion without the aid of a map or GPS system. I also learned my ideal bowling shoe size. Throughout the semester I experimented with size 10 – 11 shoes and finally learned that size 10 1/2 shoes provided the ideal levels of comfort and playability on the lanes floor. Additionally, I learned how to competently keep score in a bowling game, whereas before I simply allowed a computer to do this work for me. Whilst this lesson was technically learned outside of class on a social outing at a bowling alley without electronic scoring, I credit PE 127 with teaching me this lesson since it was my idea to go bowling and I wouldn’t have had the idea if I’d not enjoyed the game so much during class periods. Last, I also learned that naming bowlers is a game and art form in and of itself. Using the electronic Qubica system, I’ve learned how to successfully bypass the built-in abbreviation software by simply placing spaces between each letter when typing it into the computer.

My skill in the game of bowling reached a plateau, dipped to dreadful, then skyrocketed to slightly better then it was originally over the course of the semester. This process was facilitated by my rebuilding of my bowling swing. Using traditional techniques, I could rely on bowling slightly over a 100 on a good day, and perhaps a 70 on a bad day. However, I was not satisfied with these scores. After a few class periods I decided it was time to learn how to utilize spin. By removing my thumb from its hole and simply cradling the ball with a greater rotation in my wrist, I was able to create a drastic spinning motion in my bowl. This resulted in the drastic dipping of my scores to well below 50 on some days, since the ball would often spin from almost falling into the gutter on one side to actually crossing over to the gutter on the opposing side, ne’er touching a pin in between. Not to be discouraged, I continued experimenting with foot placement and rotation severity, attempting to precisely time that elemental crossover at the prime opportunity for hitting pins. The breakthrough came on my second to last day of bowling when I switched from the 10 lb ball I had been using (assuming lighter meant more spin) to a 13 lb ball. The results were astonishing. After bowling the 13 lb ball for 2 games, on the last day of bowling, in my final game, I attained a personal best of 156.

I conclude with a quote from Socrates.

"I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean. This instinct is most likely gained from bowling."

* This is my actual paper handed in for the semester final