I have a question/comment about "posting the shot" that I asked on another thread, but it hasn't gotten a response yet and I practice every Sunday morning, so I thought I'd ask it on its own.

About two weeks ago, I started working on getting my trailing-leg foot onto the approach at the end of my delivery, rather than hovering it (which I've always done). Last Sunday, I asked a coach to take a look at me, and his first comment was that it looked like I was bending my slide knee too much. This was getting my bowling hand too close to the lane at release, he thought, so, subconsciously, I was flaring my arm out and around on the downswing, causing me to top the ball.

I told him about my project to get my foot down, and he said that's fine if it works, but we're all different, and it didn't seem to work for my body. I went back to my old delivery and began making better shots immediately.

Now...I have legs that are relatively short for the length of my torso, and my arms are relatively long. (I'm not tall--just 5'8".) My guess is that these proportions make it better for me to hover my trailing leg...and would make it similarly so for other folks with similar proportions.

What do you think? Is it worth continuing to try to get my foot down to properly "post the shot," or should I accept that my body wasn't designed to do that and just do what comes naturally? Thanks for your thoughts.

One thing about lowering your body. You need to lower from the hips. Perhaps you are getting your bowling hand too close to the lane because you are bending your back to assist you in getting lower. Your spine should be about 7 degrees of "tilt". That's not much. So if you think of yourself as lowering your hips into your knee bend and not bending your back, that might help. Another issue, maybe you are dropping your bowling shoulder too much. Though I'd think the coach that watched you would have picked up on that pretty quickly.

And of course the coach is right. What works for some, or even most, does not work for all. If you can keep the trail leg hovering, that's better then probably 75% of bowlers I see out there. But if you want to further explore your trail leg extension, try to keep your back straighter and lower at the hips. And remember to stay down at the line....no popping up. Keep your shoulders level or bowling shoulder slightly dropped.

You can help control the shoulders by the position of your balance arm. If your balance arm is up high waving to the ceiling, then of course your other shoulder must be dropped. So concentrating on where your balance arm is, can also help keep your body aligned.

One piece of bad news....you are 56. You may not have the flexability to get much lower at the line without injury. So be careful in what you are working on. Take it easy and try not to force anything, thus hurting yourself.

Erin

Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed reply, Erin. I'll work on your suggestions this morning and let you know how it goes.

And thanks, too, for the caution. Yes, I'm 56, but I work out a lot and have plenty of leg strength and flexibility, so I think I'll be okay. (Of course, I have to do a pre-practice warmup and stretching routine that I didn't have to bother with when I was 16!)

Okay, here's an update: Practice went well. I was hitting my target board consistently, and when I misssed, it was by only 1/2-1 board. I was also in better balance at the line, although I don't think I got my foot onto the approach as often as I wanted to. That'll be something to focus on next time.

The effort to lower from the hips and keep my back more upright seemed to help everything stay in better alignment. (Does that seem reasonable?) Maybe it helped my release, too, because I noticed that it was pretty clean for the first couple of games (209, 230-something)--no topping the ball. By the third game, fatigue started to affect things (partly from the effort of learning the new mechanics, partly 'cause my cat woke me up twice last night!).

I told the coach what I was working on, and he took a look at me and liked what he saw. So...thanks, again, Erin! It's going to take awhile to integrate the changes, but this feels like a good direction in which to be going.

Well, you probably experienced not only phsyical fatigue but also mental fatigue. But that's OK. If you can strongly commit yourself to your goals in each practise session then you have done what most cannot.

The lowering of your body and not over bending your back, puts you in a much greater leverage position. So if it felt like the ball was coming off your hand cleaner, it was probably due to the effortlessness the position was giving you in your release.

Keep up the good work and let us know how you progress.

Erin

Erin
First strike
I have read your notes. I took two quality lessons
from two hall of famers. Maybe you know them. Pattyann and cliff. Well they teach posting and
it has helped me so much i have more confidence in
myself then i have ever had. They show me to line
up at dots and take normal steps and right arm goes toward target and right leg goes behind left
leg at 45 % angle. They say do not back off from
line after ball delivered until it hits pins. Post
the shot. I think it's great. I also think it is
worth a try in practice. Also do not turn the ball
in your delivery right hand points at the ceiling.
Let me know what you think. bowling joel

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">They say do not back off from
line after ball delivered until it hits pins.</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="VERDANA,ARIAL,HELVETICA,TAHOMA">This is why I harp so much about balance at the line. Its impossible to post a shot without balance. Keep up the enthusiasm Joel!

Erin

Posting a shot means having a perfect balance on the point of release and being able to hold your form after the release.

Chunky

So it doesn't necessarily mean getting your trailing-leg foot down onto the approach, just being stable after the release, however you're able to do that?

I find that if I plant the trailing foot down onto the approach, the reaction is that it prevents my body from tilting too far forwards, creating a more balanced finishing position.