Monday night we had our annual end of the year banquet for the bowling league.  As usual, it consisted of a steak or chicken dinner and drinks, followed by the awarding of prize money.  The Lebowskis finished in 14th place this season, out of 22 teams.  It was the same as last season, although I would consider it a slight fall since there were 24 teams then.  We started off this season quite well, finishing in the top 10 during the first half.  However, we fell apart during the second half, which concluded in the 14th place finish.  Like I did last year, I will examine how each bowler finished.

Tony ended the season with a 170 average, a 7 pin improvement over the 2007 - 2008 season.  He threw the ball much better, particularly on the first ball as was shown by his greater striking ability.  I’m not certain he really improved on his spare-making, but this season was proof that the new grip he adapted last season has been a big help. 

Nick ended the season with a 167 average, a fall from his solid 2007 – 2008 season when he averaged 183.  He was pretty consistent most of the season, keeping pace with last season.  However, right around the time of the city tournament he started bombing.  He started throwing many more gutter balls and open frames, and simply couldn’t get it going.  It does look like he was dropping the ball often, and his grip needs some serious work.  He may need to clear his head and practice a few times later in the summer to figure out what he’s doing wrong.

Ray ended the season with a 160 average, which is an improvement over the 155 he had during the 2007 – 2008 campaign.  He started off the season where he left off last year, however around the time of the city tournament he talked to a guy at the pro shop and figured some things out with the way he was throwing.  Some things that he tried worked almost immediately, and he had an improved last couple of months of bowling.  He still doesn’t bowl as well as he did during the 2004 – 2006 seasons, but at least he made some strides on improving his game and getting it back to where he wants it to be.

I ended the season with a 216 average.  It was an improvement over the 213 I had over the past two seasons, but not quite as good as my best two seasons before that.  Overall, I felt that I picked up my spares a little more consistently than last year, and that may have been the difference maker.  Overall, though, my game didn’t improve that much.  Honestly, I may have reached a plateau.  I’m not sure I will bowl much better than the 215 – 220 range unless I start bowling more often than once a week.  Yeah, I enjoy bowling… but I’m not one of those multiple-league bowlers, though. 

Dad ended the season with a 196 average, which is an improvement over the 192 he sported during the 2007 – 2008 season.  His average had been over 200 most of the season, until he fell apart near the end.  As usual, he threw consistently, he just had trouble stringing together a lot of strikes.  He probably led the team in 10-pins, and his inability to pick them up at times cost him. 

As a team, it does look like we improved.  We just didn’t throw the ball very well the last couple of months of the season, which led to many losses during that stretch of time.  Hey, we’re the Lebowskis, we will never be in the top tier of teams.  We can only hope to improve some and perhaps get back to the top half of the teams.  We have proven that it is possible.  Then again, we have proven that we can flail with the best of them.