Concentration is required to succeed in competition
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There were some comments in a recent letter, “Athletes should stop behaving like idiots,” with which I am in agreement. It is understandable that athletes may get highly emotional in the intensity of a game or match, but some overdo the expression and some act childishly when they have done something they are being paid very well to do and are expected to do.
I’ve played sports. It is supposed to be fun. But there are times when one needs to give one’s full attention to the goal ahead of himself; competition in individual events like track and field and skiing come to mind. A downhill skier will run through the course in his mind before the gate releases him.
Likewise, a bowler approaches the line reminding himself of all the things he needs to pay attention to if he is to deliver the ball accurately; the correct posture, the spot on the alley, the careful back-swing and the exact release. It appears that the writer must never have bowled or never caught on to these techniques. The competition bowler is most likely not looking at the pins but is focusing on the proper spot at which to place the ball on the alley. The pins will not go down by staring at them; I’ve tried it.
David C. Schwedt
Gowanda
Published: February 10, 2010, 12:30 am