Post here what aspects of your game you are going to work on to improve your game, along with any questions you may have to help you improve your game for next year.

I'm going to work on striking a lot on the PBA shots

Realistically, I'm good with major adjustments by now. I am going to work on really getting my speed and axis rotation tweaks down. Also, I am going to work on making good decisions. House shots are simple - move left, maybe a ball change. These shots, I need to learn when to move, when to change balls, when to tweak release.

Also, to respond the question posed in the title, which is a bit more open ended, I will be working on my advanced shot tracking software, which is what I used for the screenshots in the other thread. Hopefully it will be ready for the big-time by the start of Fall leagues, if not before.

Referring back to the other thread, I forgot to ask you if you had tried increasing the speed to allow the ball to hold pocket better, or did you just make the equipment and line adjustments mentioned?

Do you think you could incorporate the stats I was keeping Track of into your new software? If so i will be your first customer.

By the way you seem to be well on your way to achieving your goal of throwing lots of strikes on PBA patterns, keep up the good work.

as i've only been bowling for a short time [jan of '07], and switched to trying to throw a hook ball at mid season of the fall/winter league this year, i plan to work on my focus/ hitting my target. i feel my approach is pretty consistant, and my timing is decent. what kills me is lack of focus, if i keep my head down and follow thru, it's right there, but i tend to want to peek before i see the ball roll over my intended target, and i end up shanking it.

I definitely picked up my speed when I switched the VP2, though I wasn't really thinking about it on each shot. And yes, I plan to make those kinds of stats available.

This summer going to be meeting with a coach to help my game. I also try to practice a lot more.

Things i be working one:
Being more consitent with picking up my spares. I want to increase my spare percentage pick up ratio to about 90-95% right now i think its about 75%

Try to be more consistent from game to game - week to week - day to day. I can go from shooting 650 to shooting under 500. I need to learn to be more conistent.

Learn making better adjustments. This year did learn to play various lines. I want to fine tune that and also learn differnt axis roation and speed adjustments.

Develop more fluid approach. Getting rid of some bad habits like bending over at waist too much and get my timming better.

I had a let down type of year. I developed some bad habits from the PBA league from last summer. Timing was off. Pulled my hand behind my back. Roundhouse the ball, and frequently pulled across. I was a mess. All the work I put into my game the prior year to gain consistency was lost.

I took lessons, and practiced frequently, but it still took 5 months to eliminate the problems. I was a good 20 pins under last year's ending average after New Years. Then, things started to straighten out, making up 10 of the 20 pin deficit, by year end.

My goals over the Summer are to regain the consistency I had a year ago, and retrain myself to eliminate the problems of last Summer. I intend to start the Fall season where I left off a year ago, and improve upon that.

I want to start the Fall back at 200+ and grow from there.

This was duped from another thread.

I had a let down type of year. I developed some bad habits from the PBA league from last summer. Timing was off. Pulled my hand behind my back. Roundhouse the ball, and frequently pulled across. I was a mess. All the work I put into my game the prior year to gain consistency was lost.

I took lessons, and practiced frequently, but it still took 5 months to eliminate the problems. I was a good 20 pins under last year's ending average after New Years. Then, things started to straighten out, making up 10 of the 20 pin deficit, by year end.

My goals over the Summer are to regain the consistency I had a year ago, and retrain myself to eliminate the problems of last Summer. I intend to start the Fall season where I left off a year ago, and improve upon that.

I want to start the Fall back at 200+ and grow from there.

This was duped from another thread.

First things first, I have to get my equipment re-fitted since the spans on everything is long, and more than likely go with forward pitch in the thumb as I think I'm sitting at 0 or maybe 1/4 reverse. I'll probably to a Pro Shop tomorrow, last I heard this one was open on Sundays especially considering the AMF Doubles Tour is there this weekend, and talk with them to see what the cost would be and what they think needs to be done. I might drop a few of the balls off I don't really use so they can get started. Hopefully they don't charge too much as I know the place can be a little pricey. This will go a long way to freeing my armswing up since its pretty free most of the time with the bad fit.

After that its shortening up my approach. As its been stated on another thread from a few months ago, I only take 4 steps from the back set of dots. After taking a quick video or two on my phone the other day I noticed my last two steps are very rushed, I guess to cover whats left of the lane which has to be around 7-8 feet. I'd like to be at least dead in the middle of the sets of dots. Starting from the foul line walking towards the dots with a normal pace and stride I end up just in front of the front dots so I need a little more for the slide. Hopefully I'll be able to get a coach to accelerate that and I need to learn how to adjust speed.

I plan to really focus on solidifying my spare game and working on my footwork to reduce my degree of drift on the approach. I also plan to play at different houses, especially ones that put out more difficult oil patterns. I'd like to participate in training camps or seminars but I just haven't gotten my act together to do that yet.

I'm working more on the mental game than physical. Both are far from flawless but if I want to take a shot at the high average for the house I'll need to avoid any kind of mental lapse and slump. 2 years ago I managed a 221 average for the Summer which isnt all that high now a days except this house isn't as easy as others.

Shallow talent pool, difficult house, inconsistent oiling, break downs what ever the reason but 230+ average bowlers RARELY exist in this place. I'd like to be one of them. If I fall short there is always next Summer and the one after it.

The mental game is all about having confidence in the adjustments you make, and knowing when to make them. Any kind of indecision will leave you scratching your head and wondering what happened.

A PBA experience league would help you more than anyone on this site, if you can get through one of those with a 220 average then it should be no problem to get through your house league with a 230 average if it is difficult or 240 if you find out that it is easier than you thought.

It all starts with knowing what adjustments to make and when to make them and to trust what the ball is telling you how the lanes are playing.

tbill, part of what may be causing you to look up before the ball is at your target is fear that the ball is not going to hook.

You need to work on letting the ball swing your arm and extending your fingers through the target at the bottom of the swing and stop worrying if the ball doesn't hook. If the ball doesn't hook that means you can play a more direct line to the pocket which is easier to play and keep on line anyway so stop worrying. You will most likely hook the ball more after you stop trying to make it hook and learn to trust your swing.

Post a video if you need more help with this.

cg if you are picking up your speed without thinking about it then that is the kinds of instincts and reactions you need to be a top bowler. Barnes, Duke, and the guys don't think about adjustments, they just do it, that is great to hear that you are able to adjust that way. It sounds like things are coming together for you.

How about Stat Tracker for a name for your scoring software?

Brandon, when is your first lesson with your coach? Let me know how it goes and what he/she has you work on.

Increasing your spare % will boost your bad nights and keep you over 550 instead of 500 or lower these bad nights are what kills averages keeping them not so bad is how you increase your average.

Sticking to your game plan and remembering where to stand and aim at is also an area you need to work on, then adjusting properly off of that line when it burns up is another area you need to work on.

I look forward to hearing about your first lesson, I hope it goes well.

What caused you to loop your back swing in the PBA league?

What did you do to turn things around?



And double duped on this one

Your post is what prompted me to start this thread and see if I could help people develop a practice plan to achieve their goals for next year, and keep my bowling mind working since I can't bowl still.

Cal, I have found that most pro shops around our area tend to do what they want instead of what you want, whether that be right or wrong, mostly wrong, and are usually set in their ways. To develop a good working relationship with a shop you need to be able to trust that they will drill the ball properly and the way you want. I had a guy put 3/8 reverse in a thumb hole instead of 3/8 forward like I asked, my student kept dropping the ball and I had his pitch checked by my driller whose shop is 60 miles away and found that the guy put reverse instead of forward because that is what he wanted. Ball drillers can be very stubborn and fear what they don't understand, most of them I wouldn't let punch a hole in a bird house much less a ball.

I would suggest starting off by having him check your spans and pitches and tell you what he thinks, then tell him what you think, and what you are looking for and what your goals are, so you can get a read on where he/she is coming from and how their though process works so you can decide whether to trust them or not. It is hard to trust a ball if you can't trust the drilling.

As far as your approach goes, try walking up to the foul line then turn around place your heels on the dots in front of the foul line and take 5 normal walking steps back, look down, this is where you should start your approach. Grab your ball take your stance, place the ball in your belly then walk back to the line without swinging the ball and see the difference in pace from your old approach, repeat this several times until you feel comfortable with it then bowl using this same pace, then do the belly walk to the line again then bowl. It may take several sessions to get the feel of bowling with your proper tempo, but it will be well worth it.

Post back and let me know how it goes with the Pro Shop.

Learning to throw the ball straight at your spares will help increase your spare percentage and give you confidence in your spare game because you don't have to worry about how much the ball will hook in different parts of the lane because you are throwing it straight and if you do it properly it will go straight on any lane condition.

To throw the ball straight you need to follow through with your pinky toward the target, almost like a back up ball except straight end over end.

Difficult oil patterns are good to bowl on if you have a good physical game with sound fundamentals to where all you need to worry about is what the ball is doing and have fun playing the lane instead of trying to work on your swing or release or your timing, you can do that stuff anywhere.

Kegel Training center in Lake Wales, Florida has classes and clinics all year long check out their web site: http://www.kegeltrainingcenter.com/

Jim, I've noticed that about a lot of the shops too. I could probably get my current driller to do the changes, he shortened all my spans and changed the pitches last summer after he drilled a ball up for me and noticed all the reverse and the length of the span. At the time they felt alright, definitely better than the balls were before. The problem is he works out of his basement and I feel weird calling his house to go to there to get anything done, plus the last time I tried to get something done I couldn't get a hold of him.

The Pro Shop I am looking into is the only one that the guy said he wants to watch someone bowl before he drills a ball for them, so I figure its worth a try to at least talk to him to see what he says about my equipment. I have not had a ball drilled by this shop, nor do I know anyone that has but I know he has many repeat customers. I'd rather be able to just to walk into a shop during its business hours than have to call to make sure I can even drop bowling balls off to get something done.

Let's look at a chronology of events.

XMas '06: Tore the muscles in my sliding hip while at a release. This put me out 6+ weeks while recovering. Upon my return, I couldn't get any leverage out of my release, since I now can't bend at the hip or knee on delivery. I have no poser step.

Lessons in March, came to the realization that I had to work with what I now had, and I wouldn't be able to go back to a deeper release.

PBAX league in May '07 found me with a weak delivery and fewer revs that were magnified in this league. In an effort to gain more on the ball, I started to try to crank, turned my wrist behind me, developed a round swing and really screwed me up. While this was going on, I would step to the outside (result of my hip problem) and lose balance to right.

Each of these were addressed in lessons again, but found it extremely difficult to eliminate all. When one would go right, another problem would take its place. They still come back at times, with no apparent reason, except I noticed the backswing behind my back, and a round armswing when I tried to play inside or pick up 10 pins. This would continue for a ball or 2, until I corrected it by walking straight at my target and keeping my elbow in.

Feb of this year, finally found me becoming more tuned, with fewer relapses of my problems recurring. It does recur in a frame or so, generally after I shoot at a 10. I have given up on my spare ball, since I had no direction with it anyhow, and reverted back to my regular ball, rolling it straighter, with better success.

This Summer, I intend to retrain my entire body to repeat a motion consistently. I can't bend, so my ball has a slight loft now. I can recognize when I have an arm problem, so I have to minimize it. Hopefully, eliminate it. And, I have to improve my rev rate with these limitations.

So, I have my work cut out for me. But, it can, and will be done. Keys are coaching with a watchful and familiar eye, and lots of practice.

jim, i play a pretty direct line, as my ball has very little movement hook-wise [if any really], and it seems like wherever i bowl, no one else uses 'my line'.

like i said, if i ignore the pins, and focus on the target, it all ends up good.

maybe i should tape my chin to my chest?? lol

Jim, I appreciate your feedback. I'm working on throwing the straight ball using the pinky finger lead but it's taking time to get comfortable with the feel required to throw the end-over-end ball but I've started to be able to execute this shot. I'm just not confident enough to trust myself completely yet. I usually miss at least two or three easy spares over the course of league play by chopping a pin or muffing a single pin altogether. As you and Silent Mike talked about earlier in this thread, the mental aspect of the game is also an important area of focus for me.

I plan to use the practice at tougher houses to get exposed to playing outside my comfort zone. I want to enter some tournaments in the 2008-09 season and I know that this means I need to be familiar with places outside my 'home field'.

Btw, I may be in the Tampa area on business next month, so I might check the Kegel Training Center. I didn't even think about this until you mentioned it.

Thanks, Spence

Targeting
I just did not really realize how bad I am. Playing more from the right side and straighter requires accuracy. I started
to use the foul line dots as my focus and for me it helps.Also drift which is about 2 to 3 boards to left, but that too has to be consistent. Sure on some playing conditions you can miss 5 boards and get away with it. However if you are not setting the ball down on the correct board you can not expect to get the same results. The best Execution will not work if your ball is on the wrong line.1 board miss causes 3 board miss at the pins. I have had many times when bowling even striking and I could not say where my ball was at the lay down or the arrows. I think we see bowlers who do not impress us with ther form, but they score. They are accurate. I did some practice on this and found out as Brandon did, that making accuracy your prioity and letting your sub-conscious take care of your Execution, you might be surprised. Also it takes focus and concentration. Read Ron C's article don't let your aim get in your way. Accurate Execution, can't have one with out the other. Now I need to practice what I preach.
Dianne

I hear you Dianne. Accuracy is a real key. I've been working on targeting and using the quiet eye technique that Joe Slowinski covers in his articles. That coupled with freeing my armswing has helped a lot; I've finally got my grip fit adjusted so I don't squeeze and muscle the ball. That plus the coaching lessons I've been taking since the start of the year have really been paying off. Wishing you the best and bowl great.

What am I going to work on this summer is absence makes the heart grow fonder.
As much as I love bowling I need a brake, I seem to bowl as good or as bad whether I bowl once a week or four times a week. Of course thats what always makes us come back, if we bowl good we want to come back and if we bowl bad we can't wait to get back to prove we are better bowlers.
Anyway I will bowl once a week this summer to stay A little tuned up but not four times. You are right when you say it takes focus and concentration but right now I need to have fun and less thinking.

It sounds like you have a good game plan to get where you need to go, just take your time and work on each thing at a time and don't move on to learning something new before becoming comfortable and consistent with what you are working on.

To improve your rev rate work the ball from the inside of the ball at the release, low and long. Low and long will ease the landing of the ball instead of bouncing down into the lane, this is how Mika gets away with lofting the ball.

tbill, it sounds like you have grip issues and like to control the ball to the pocket instead of just letting it go. I may be wrong as I don't remember having seen you bowl, I am just going off how you describe your game and your attitude towards it.

Bowling is a lot like cracking a bull whip, if you try to control the whip you will never hear that loud crack.

Throwing a straight ball is not easy and takes time to learn like any other skill. Most of us try so hard to hook the ball that their mind will not let them throw a straight ball, in some instances, it take throwing a straight ball for strikes to unlock their brain. It took me almost a year, and I practice twice a week.

Red Devil, that is what I usually do over the summer, I bowl one league and then practice once a week. I don't keep score when I practice and this helps make practice more fun.

Well I went over to the previously mentioned Pro Shop, that was open on Sunday and they have good reason to be, they are usually very busy on Sundays as I heard one of the workers tell another that rarely works Sundays. I did like what I heard and a ball is currently there having changes done to it. The first thing done was the span test with just the thumb in the ball. As I bowl both Monday and Tuesday I won't be able to get it until Wednesday. From what I can remember the span is being shortened by around half an inch. They are just going to drill out the thumb slug, plug the hole and move the thumb forward. The way I read the drill sheet the thumb is going to be at 1/4 reverse, I could be wrong. The guy looked it up on the guide sheet for thumb pitch compared to span, thumb length and the maximum angle it can go out to the side. My thumb is in the neighborhood of 2 3/4 inches long. It also gets much wider had the base compared to the rest of the thumb so the thumb is being drilled out at the size around the knuckle and then widened at the top to allow the thumb to get all the way in. Most of my current thumb holes are big enough for the base and requires many pieces of tape, about 6-7 pieces of white with a maximum three up front and a piece of black on the back side. They will be partially plugging the finger holes to do new pitches, but I'm also going to try the Vacu-Grips as the size of my fingers do change, sometimes through the course of a night other times with changes in whether and humidity. From winter to summer I would have to change inserts just to be able to use the equipment without either gripping (bigger inserts for summer still in during winter) or trying to cram my fingers in the holes (smaller inserts for winter during summer). Everything is being done for $25. They charge $12 alone to do Vacu-grips and usually the same for thumb slugs, and $7 a ball to just plug at least that is what the price board said. They might have just gotten a new customer and I saw a few prices on balls that weren't too bad, Black Widow Bite for $145 with out drilling and say about another $40 or so to get it drilled. They also had a few Lane Master balls in there, The Sting, The Black Pearl and I can't remember the third one.

I'll pick the ball up Wednesday, the guy said he will go out with me on the lane to see what minor tweaks might be needed and then we can move on to the other equipment. I'm having at least 6 balls done, I have 9 that are drilled and one still sitting in the box that will eventually get punched up.

Cal, you mean every ball is 1/2" too long in span? How can that happen?

No wonder you strain to bowl.

I just came back to the game after 28 years and I'll be working on my fundamentals all summer: grip, stance, approach, release, hitting my mark, etc. I'll be using a plastic ball and will be concentrating on hitting my target consistently. I'll be doing this at as many different houses as I can so that I don't get too comfortable with one particular lane condition. If all goes well, I might even join a league in the fall.

I'm pretty sure it will be every ball. The one that is there now is the only ball that was drilled by a different person than all of my other equipment. It was copied from a ball that all the rest were drilled or re-drilled by the same guy. When the original adjusted span and pitches from last summer were done I didn't know that much about properly fitted ball and it felt good. It was shortened at that point too, but I think I would stretch my hand some and it wouldn't be that noticeable. I could have also been not putting my thumb all the way in at first. I think some of the thumbs were a bit snug and I couldn't get the thumb in all the way to the base of the thumb either which allow the hand to not seem so stretched out.

I wrote this little speech on targeting earlier. Well then I went bowling. I focused on hitting my targets, had some good balls and others??? Once I figured out my timing had gotten early and fixed that, the accuracy improved. I take 5 steps and if I get too quick taking my 2nd.step leading the ball out and down to soon I get the ball too early and feel rushed at the line. My normal timing needs to be working and when I feel a good slide then I will be ok.These things can sneak up on you.Those of you lucky enough to have a coach be sure you understand the difference between early and late timing. Timing can be the cause of a lot of our bad shots, fast feet,pulling to left and too far to the right ect. So I guess my summer project is keeping good timing and improving accuracy.Can't have one without the other. Also try to have fun!
Dianne

I know how that early timing can affect a bowler. I had a time earlier this season with early timing and my ball was constantly left of target by several boards, but I had less on the ball so it would still hit the pocket most of the time, just skidding as it got there most of the time. I've never seen a righty leave a 5-8-10 while hitting the pocket, and I did it twice in three weeks as well as some 5-10 and 5-7 splits. This has been just one strange season as I've seen three different bowlers leave the 5-7-10, and one of them was me.

Cal, that sounds like a pretty good shop, do yourself a favor and do not squeeze the ball when you try it for the first time, just let it swing and tell the guy if it feels like it is slipping. It would suck to have to do all of those balls plugged and redrilled more than once.

This is what I have been telling you, it is an epidemic with ball drillers in my area, they can't get over the fact that stretching the span is wrong.

NYDave, you don't need to worry about lane conditions with a plastic ball, they are all going to play the same, lane conditions matter if you are throwing one of the modern hook monster balls which I still think you would do better with even a low end one just because it is a different game and you might as well learn to play it.

Wow Dianne, that is great, most people can never tell if their timing is early or late at least without a video camera. There are several things that affect timing beyond starting the ball in motion at the right point:

1. bad fitting ball causing you to control your swing and walk robotically to the line.

2. forcing the swing

3. Fast feet

You can video tape yourself from the side to check your timing. Your timing is right when the ball is at the bottom of the down swing on the second step of a 4 step delivery, at the top of the back swing on the third step and your foot has come to a complete stop and are in a stable balanced position at the line before you release the ball.

Jim, I had a good feeling about this shop when I went in there around January looking at some of the old Urethanes they have in there for sale, and today confirmed it for me. The guy said he wouldn't drill a ball for someone they have never sold a ball to without watching the person bowl, a first for me and I've used 5 different shops since I started hooking and then a different one from before I started hooking. I think this is because they have an Armadillo and layout using the PAP. Others have looked at the Track but never actually measured anything other than the grip layout. Since these balls are already drilled and its just making them fit right they didn't need to see me bowl. When this shop first opened, as it took over the space of a different shop that was having problems with the center management(AMF), I was a bit weary of it when I heard the price for a ball and that didn't include drilling. Of course these balls were Lane #1.

I will try my best not to squeeze, its been something I've been working on with the current grips but it's hit and miss due to the stretch and amount of tape in some of the balls to try to give me a snug thumb.

As for getting all the balls done, thats why I want to start with just a couple to get things right. The first ball getting done is the Liberator. I've never been able to really use it between the span and the inserts being too large and I'm sure I'll love it once I can use it without any fit issues. I had six balls with me in case they wanted to check out any of the others. Those included my plastic ball, the Groove, my beloved Purple Ogre, the Radical Inferno, and the Jazz that has the same issue as the Liberator. My Scorchin' Inferno I've been think of cutting for a while since its reaction is inconsistent like my Absolute. Both balls are over two years old and well used. That leaves the Fury and Super Carbide which I rarely use, the Fury isn't quite stacked leverage with at 500 and the Carbide is leverage with a weight hole and I think at 500, maybe even 360 as I might not had time to take it up last time I used the spinner. Oil and lots of it is needed for those two, and thats why I don't use them much.

Jim,
I have Coaching Session scheduled for friday june 6th. So hopefully i work on what he has me work on after that session. Then schedule a follow up meeting in two-four weeks.

Yeah Spares killed me this season. About 90% of the time i leave makeable spares. Its failing to covert them that has cost me. I think this year i average about 2 opens per game. 66 pins a night.

Im hoping coach goes over adjustments too. I know someone adjustments but need to fine tune them more. Gotta stick to the game plan and adjust properly. I tend to tighten my line up sometimes when i move inside. Got some major work ahead of me this summer but ready for the challenge.

jim, funny you should mention the 'control issue', because if i let the ball do it's thing, and trust that it's gonna go where i throw it, i'm fine. but i do have times where i feel i have to force the ball, why, i don't know, but if i let it do what it do, it works out.

probably the biggest help i have had so far, is reading an article in the local bowling press by cliff saliba, he stresses a free arm swing, and since reading it, it is something i try to do. and i found while doing so, the ball feels like an extension of my hand, almost like it isn't even there.

i also have come to realise a certain comfort level, if 'it' doesn't feel right, i'll step off the approach, spin the ball on my shirt, put my fingers in, get a comfortable grip, and step onto my 'foot mark', set myself, then start my approach. although i'm a novice at bowling, when it goes right, i can call a strike as soon as it leaves my hand [i know you know the 'feel'], my spares are the same, i know as soon as it leaves my hand if i made it or not.

all of my snafu's are mental, i either get lazy, or excited, which plays hell with the game.

tbill, do you have aspirations to improve, or are you happy with where you are?

Tbill, thats one thing I rarely do, step back if something doesn't feel right when I'm set up. Usually its with holding the ball so hopefully that will be fixed and happen less and less. As for calling strikes off the hand on something that feel like it all went right, well I've done that a few times and it not happen.