Definitely my favourite sport to play, (football comes in a close second, but there's something about bowling..)
Went bowling with Ash, Stone and WJ again today. super fun!! like seriously i love chinese swimming club cos there's always no one there and we can make a huge fool of ourselves and the people there already know we're fools so they won't bother about us. Bowled 131, 191, 212, 168, 187. well done la glen tan. really need to break the 180 barrier. always seem to bowl one bad game that ruins everything.
Then ash went to fetch diane and pearlyn and we had supper before going home. As usual supper was full of crap and laughing our heads off at things like stacy's mom and zhar bors and other random stuff. Was disappointed to find out that the current VJ guys team has degenerated into shit now. Currently 10th overall after the first day of competition. What the heck. Then also found out that Uncle Billy walked out on the team, cos the current crop was too lousy, disrespectful, and couldn't care less about playing properly. Hello? Shame on you.
Then again, mr glen tan had never done VJ proud either. Still full of regrets that for every competition, I was never able to perform up to my best. The pressure always got to me and a bad run of form would hit just when competition started. In VS, I did relatively ok in sec 1 but the rest of the years, my bowling rotted as a certain paul chua ruined my bowling aspirations with the crappiest, most insincere coaching i have ever seen. He was a nice guy and all, but shouldn't get into coaching. Haha always remember while we were training, he would just sit there chatting with some auntie. Dude, whats wrong with you. Yeah and while David went on to be such an immense bowler, I stagnated and fell by the wayside, and almost lost interest in bowling altogether.
I always remember a particular incident in sec 3. There was once i injured my thumb so badly after training. Yet competition was nearing and I forced myself to go for a saturday training at yishun. Having travelled all the way there, i realised that with the state of my finger, i couldn't bowl at all. Therefore i convinced uncle paul to enlarge my thumb hole so that the injury wouldn't touch the ball when i bowled. No idea why on earth he agreed to doing that, but he did so, and in the process, ruined my ball for the next 2 years. This was a great ball at that time that would go on to become the legendary "Grandfather Ball".
So during competition, I realised i really couldn't bowl well with my ball with the thumb hole now screwed beyond repair. So when halfway through the competition i changed my ball to my much-lousier red Hot Shots ball, my scores improved. And thus i convinced myself that my red ball was better than my Grandfather ball. This went on till JC. Needless to say, my bowling average hit the 140s-150s, sinking to a level that was below my Sec 1 level.
In VJ, not knowing what CCA to join, i unwillingly signed up for bowling after much coercing from mason to accompany him. By some stroke of luck, i got into the team and resumed my normal bowling average of 150 with my crappy red ball. My dis-interest continued and soon i found myself on the outskirts of the team. Then, A divs approached and on selection day, i bowled crappily and found myself pushed into the Boys 2nd team. I was like "WHAT?!!? DUDE I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!"
So i went home and took out my dusty Grandfather Ball, untouched for 2 years. I brought it on one fine training day at Victor's Superbowl. I walked over to Marina Superbowl and got Uncle Walter to redrill the thumb hole for 50 bucks. After it was done, I went back to Victor's Superbowl with my ball, and my bowling was metamorphosised.
The improvement was incredible, my average instantly hit the 160s-170s and after 2 years of crap bowling, I suddenly saw why i had been bowling like crap. I started focusing on Uncle Billy's teachings and methods, and transformed myself, determined to prove myself despite not being in the 1st team. I found myself bowling like a God and soon, was at the same level as the 1st team.
A divs came and the most interesting thing happened. The previous day, the top seeds bowled and the top average was 220. Glen being the champion that he was borned to be, bowled a 1st game of 248. That put me in 1st place :) 2nd game was a 195, that still left me in 1st place. That was when Uncle Billy came over and told me "ok glen just focus on your game and don't think about anything else. Stay focused and bowl your normal style." However it literally fell on deaf ears as all that was going through my mind at that time was "wow, if i keep this up, tomorrow's newspaper headlines would be SHOCK WIN FOR UNKNOWN AT A DIVS BOWLING TOURNEY." I'm serious! Needless to say, my next 2 games were less than ideal and I dropped to 18th, which really isn't so bad for someone in VJ 2nd team.
On the 2nd day of tournament, a few ACJC and RJC guys came over to my lane to watch this rising unknown star bowl, curious to see what threat he posed to them. Needless to say, they left after 1 game. HAHAHAHAH. shame on me really.
But that competition really showed me that i could mix it up with the big guns! yeah!! I had rediscovered my passion and love for bowling, as well as the confidence i so badly needed. I had gained a new companion, my Grandfather Ball. It was nicknamed by the rest of the team as it was a 3 year old ball, compared to the fresh young balls of every other bowler in the team. It was a dull green, while the others had vibrant colours with glittery designs. It was scratched and chipped, while everyone else's had polished balls. Despite that, the much maligned Grandfather Ball had performance beyond its uninteresting appearance and served me well. A slow ball with little spin could still strike the pins with tons of venom and power.
From there, I kept improving and improving after so many years of stagnation. For the next 1 year my scores kept improving. Finally in year 2, I was able to hit an average of 185-195 at my peakest of peaks, a month before competition. That was my prime. I was so proud of myself, and i finally broke into 1st team, being in a quartet with 3 other incredible bowlers: matthew, sam and joshua. Will always remember how during one competition, we all bowled 190 averages to steamroll the competition. Incredible feeling.
Unfortunately, the A divs in year 2 was held at Yishun SAFRA, the bane of my very existence. There, the constant jibes at my Grandfather Ball turned into real criticism and it was said to have "no bite" on the synthetic lanes at Yishun. I fell for the taunts of my coaches and teammates and lost trust in myself and my ball, instead opting to get another 2nd hand ball that was given to me by a teacher. The breakdown of trust between ball and bowler sealed my fate. Our friendship was soured and i could no longer bowl well. Competition came and despite the overwhelming support from classmates and friends, it turned out to be a nightmare experience as i let my whole team down. The team described by Mr Chua as the "best guys team we have ever formed" was torn into shreds, though we did not perform below expectation. However a 190 average from mr glen tan could have made things very different, but it was not meant to be.
Then, i felt so depressed with bowling. My 6 year school bowling career had ended on a terrible note. All the hard work, for nothing in the end.
Then Collegiate came along, and i was given a 2nd chance to redeem myself. The poor form from A divs carried on as the 1st round at Tampines SAFRA ended up in dismal shame for me, with a 140 average. I can so distinctly remember wanting to quit the sport altogether.
The 2nd round however, was when Glen and Grandfather Ball finally re-established their magical partnership. A slow start with a 130 game didn't help things. but a 180 game followed by a final game of 230 effectively spelled a new start for the pair. With my 1st round score being so lousy, I had been given a 30 pin handicap and was effectively top bowler of the 2nd round! WHOOPEE GLEN FTW.
I never looked back and unfortunately, a lvls and army spelt the end of bowling.
Until people like frank, ashwin and family came along to reignite my passion in bowling. In 2009, mr glen tan has hit seven 200+ games, an incredible achievement for a man with such raw talent.
Perhaps another few more months of practice and i'll be ready for competitions! Singapore, your new national bowling star is coming. For now, i will continue to secretly train at chinese swimming club. Anyone, wanna join?
