Since deciding to learn to actually bowl correctly, and not just stay in mediocrity with what works, I've been hitting the lanes more often. A lot more often.

I go squeeze in about 2 games during my lunch break most days, and in the evenings I'm continuing my book studies, which I may make another thread about soon and rate my favorite instructional books.

So I've decided to chronicle my learning in this thread. The point of this will be for several reasons: To leave a watermark that I can look back to as I progress, To remember key things that I've learned in case I digress, and to share what I pick up in case anyone can learn anything.
I encourage anyone to pitch in with their $.02, because I am an absolute sponge for any advice.

Earlier this month:
Plagued with accuracy problems, too slow of ball speed and lots of high/brooklyn hits, my coach's son advised me to work on my push-off.
I began working on my push off, and was trying to keep the ball pushed out on the first step, straigt down on the way to the backswing on my second step, etc.

From Today's Session (4/22/08):
My push-away has gotten my ball speed up to avgeraging in the high 16mph range, some rolls today event went up into the high 18's.
Because of staying so focused on my timing and correct technique, including the free armswing, I have all but completely lost my hook. Right now I'm leaving that be, and trying to still stay focused on perfect timing.
Today my pro got me on film, and we found that:
*I need better balance at the foul line (I have a tendency to hop backward and pop up into a full standing position)
*My steps get gradually longer, so that by the time I hit the foul line I'm almost diving forward. Another reason for bad balance at the foul line.
*I need to scoot up on the approach and take shorter and slower steps.
*I need to push my arm out, instead of starting out already holding the ball straight outward, which is probably another reason my timing was off.
*Lastly, and this one seems like it's going to be the most difficult for me to figure out how to train my brain to correct: Although I correctly cup my hand through my backswing, I break my wrist back on the way down, and then try to bring my hand back under the ball at the last possible second, but I never make it back under in time (which is probably what's killed my rev rate). I need to have my hand behind/under the ball at all times and never let my hand get on top of the ball. For some reason, it's ultra difficult for me to make myself do this.

Thoughts:
For you strokers out there, how do you train yourself/your arm to have a free, non-muscled, gravity-powered wing pivoting on the shoulder, while still using hand/wrist muscles to stay cupped under/behind the ball all the way through?


I will be continuing this thread as progress happens.

First let me welcome you to the site.

Second you can learn a lot on Ron Clifton's site: www.bowl4fun.com

I will help you with what you described:

To me it sounds like you are taking a different pace to the foul line than you would just walking down the street. The way to find your natural pace is to take your stance, place your hand in the ball, and put it in your belly, and just walk to the foul line. Notice the difference in this walking pace and the pace you bowl at, see how much more under control you are just walking at your normal pace.

Do this drill several times until you feel the pace, then do it one last time, but this time turn around at the foul line and put your heels on the dots in front of the foul line, then walk back the number of steps you take in your approach, notice how much closer you now are to the foul line, take one more step, take note as this is how far from the foul line you should start your approach. Now try throwing the ball with the same normal walking pace that you just learned. Repeat the belly walk drill as many times as needed to get the pace.

Next thing, don't try to gauge your ball speed by the mph on the overhead as it is measured at the pin deck and doesn't mean anything ball speed wise except you are throwing the ball too hard, the speed should be between 14 and 16 for strike shots for optimum pin carry any faster and the pins go too high in the air and fly around the skinny neck area instead of the fat belly part.

The reason you can't hold your wrist under the ball is you are forcing the down swing, if you let the ball swing your arm and feel the zero gravity point at the top of the swing and let the ball fall from the top of your back swing and then concentrate on keeping your wrist in position instead of trying to hook the ball or throw it hard your rev rate will go up.

CoachJim, thanks for your usual in depth reply, and hopefully you will find it gratifying that your thoughts will never fall on deaf ears with me, and I will take what you've said and hopefully have good news to report back on my next entry to the thread.

From Today's Session (4/30/2008)
*I've continued to work on my timing, walking approach. After a few frames, I will usually notice that I've began to let my mind wonder, and focus on other aspects, and when this happens I revert back to taking longer steps and walking faster. I have to keep a constant mental watch on just walking my normal pace as CoachJim said.

*The frequency of when my wrist breaks backward and the ball has no hook and goes right over my target and directly into the channel are becoming less and less often, but it still happens. Again, this is because if I forget to focus on this, I revert back to old ways.
...I figure that if I continue to focus intensely on the parts of my game that are unnatural to me, before long those will overwrite my natural wants and desires and become the "new natural". At that point hopefully they will becomre more automatic, so that I may then move along to focusion on more advanced parts of my game, including ball choice and other adjustments.

Speaking of ball choice, I'm currently considering getting a decent polished/pearl ball to act as my dry condition ball and also my spare ball.

Anyway, I can't wait to get passed the mental hurdles that I mentioned above so that I can move on to focusing more often on my wrist/hand position and hopefully generating a few more revs.