One thing about opening the shoulders, is that you need to close them back up at the release point. I don't think you are doing this. And this is causing your wrap around your back a bit. Its not all that bad really, I've seen a lot worse.

I think something that would help you would be to incoporate a good balance arm position. Its just kind of hanging there and barely moves a bit into position due to necessity. One thing about your balance arm is that you should use it like a swimmer doing the breast stroke. It starts out supporting the ball, and moves straight out, fully and steadily. It doesn't flop around, and it doesn't fly high above your head. And you can help close up your shoulders if you think about your balance arm going slightly behind yourself. But for you at first, I would forget about everything else, and concentrate on getting a smooth full extension of your balance arm and see if that doesn't start straightening out your swing just doing that.

Watch Patrick Allen and several of the others in this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLiRE40kJo4

The balance arm is slightly behind their backs, which helps them close up their shoulders.

Erin

Here is the way I see it, you start the ball inside of your target, you then swing the ball back away from your body to avoid hitting your leg, you open your shoulders which brings the ball back behind you, you pull the ball down from the top of the swing while leaning to the right to try to help the ball hit the target which makes the ball release 10 boards from your ankle. From the way you squeeze the ball to catch it on the push away and from the inconsistent release, one time early one time late etc, I would say your ball is not fitting your hand properly.

Your foot work looked good it wasn't rushed or anything, you need to let the ball swing your arm all the way through the shot, you want to feel the zero gravity point at the top of the swing and let the ball fall from the top of the swing instead of pulling it down.

I agree with Erin that your balance arm needs to be extended out to help prevent you from leaning to the right so much. I would add that you need to try to keep your head over your right foot, and you may have to try to keep your head over your left foot to accomplish this. Right now your head is 10 boards to the right of your slide foot, and the ball will go right under your head, so try to keep your head over your right foot and stop leaning.

As I have also said in previous posts, to others, it looks to me like most of your problems come from trying to hook the ball. If you just let it swing and keep your wrist in position and if it fits your hand properly, it will hook some amount, you then need to adjust your feet and target so that it hooks into the pocket instead of trying to force feed it on an angle that you are not physically able to play yet. As you learn to let the ball swing while maintaining your wrist position you will gradually learn to hook the ball more without much effort, and be able to adjust your wrist for more or less hook to match the lane pattern.

Coach,

As I tried to emphasize in my posts, Let1Hang has to bring his foot path and target line closer together. Right now his targeting system is set up to accommodate that lean-to-the-right in his delivery. Once he does reset his foot path/target line to be closer, many of the things that you are stressing will become easier.

Note: The original question posed by Let1Hang was why is he swinging the ball behind his back and how to correct it.

I think as has been mentioned, there's multiple reasons why his backswing wraps around his back. There's not going to be one thing to fix that will straighten the swing. You could also look at it as a symptom of the other issues in his physical game. Which isn't to say that he does not have a good game. But like all of us, there are places for improvement.

Erin

It looks like we are saying the same thing, I said it differently because unless the bowler realizes it is a mental block that is causing him/her to lean, then if they move to the outside with their feet and don't change their target, their problems will be solved until they have to move inside, then they will start leaning again. If the bowler addresses the trust issues and plays the line that is prescribed by the movement of the ball then they will be able to move and adjust as needed without being afraid if they move inside, that the ball will not hook back.

In coaching it helps to say the same things differently. Sometimes the bowler will not be able to visualize what I am saying, that is why I posted the Slowinski article when Rickywyn said he didn't understand the clock hand position I was describing.

When I give lessons, I am always learning what makes a student learn, and how to get them to do what is needed to learn new skills. I might have to show and tell them the same things several times, but I will tell them what Ron Clifton told, me or Susie Minshew, or John Jowdy or Bill Taylor or others they all say the same things but say them differently, one of them usually clicks.

Amen.

Well I was able to get to the lanes again last night and do some taping. Things felt alot better however when I was viewing the tape the ball is still going behind me farther than I'd like. It looks like I've got alot more work to go in this area. Perhaps I should bowl a game and tape it by taking my backswing to my extreme right and see how that feels. I was holding the ball both in the center of my stance and in line with my right shoulder and elbow; neither of which seemed to make any difference.

Unfortunately on some of the shots I'm still muscling the ball but I'm aware of it when I do it and I make the proper adjustments to fix it on the next shot.

Still more work to go but slowly getting there. First game 214 second game 165 (I was playing around with moves... made a wrong move when I went from 22 to 24 in the setup... that's why I left a couple of 1,2,4,10s and a 1,2,4 and a 2,4,5).

It is starting out straight, and then moving left. There is only 1 possible cause - a controlled armswing.

You say you should try bowling a game where you "take your backswing to the extreme right". You should not be taking your backswing anywhere. You need to get rid of that mentality all together.

I would recommend some sort drill, at home, where you just practice the pushaway and letting the ball swing. I know CoachJim has mentioned one where you let the ball swing twice - perhaps he can fill in the details.

How often do you get the "double dribble" at your release? Seems to me like you should stay behind the ball a little longer. A little more loft basically. I have the same problem at times, and that is usually the fix. As far as your back swing I had the same problem as my coach noticed when he got some video of me. What I had to do was physically work to keep the ball in a straight line with my shoulder (keeping it from going behind my back). Since I've worked to keep that consistent it's locked in muscle memory.

You are 1/2 way there, you are much improved over the last video, but you still have a way to go yet.

Instead of the ball being a foot away from your slide foot it is now 6" away because you aren't leaning so far with your upper body.

Youtube sucks, it is like watching some grainy video from the early 70s, so I can't tell what your wrist position is, if you are turning the ball early it could be causing your elbow to go away from your body, but most likely it is because you are pulling the ball down from the top of the back swing which causes your arm to swing away from your body. Let the ball fall from the top of the back swing, try to feel the zero gravity spot at the top of the swing and let it drop from the top.

Keep your balance arm extended out at shoulder height, and let your elbow brush your side at the release. One way to do this is to put a towel under your arm pit and keep it there if the towel drops out before you release the ball then your arm is getting away from your body.