Unfortunately the time I had scheduled with my coach was cancelled and I have yet to re-schedule my first lesson with her. In the mean time I've been to the lanes a number of times trying to work on all of the issues I've been working on over the past months.

The Good:
- My thumbhole felt really good for some reason today. It was snug like it had been before but my thumb was not getting stuck like in some of my previous videos. I had clean releases all day long and I wish for more of those days.
- I was fooling around with my release so I could try a deeper line. Today I was able to stand around 25, my deepest to date using my thumb, and I was throwing to different targets so I could see how my ball would react. Some were good while some weren't.

The Bad:
- You guessed it... my multi-plane (back)swing still exists. I will need my coach's help with this as I've tried many things to straighten it out and nothing seems to get it just right.
- I'm still releasing the ball right at my foot instead of lofting it 1 foot or so onto the lane.

The Video:


As usual any and all comments/critiques are welcomed.

Thanks for watching.

Craig

Your feet are a bit rushed, I think it is because your push away is a little too far out in front which speeds your feet up.

Your biggest issue is alignment many of your shots are open to your target line and you are pulling the ball across your body to hit your target.

Another issue is the ball is too far from your ankle at release caused by pulling the ball behind your back instead of just letting the ball swing on it's own.

Your release looks pretty weak it is hard to see on the video, but your wrist looks like it is in a weak position at the release point. Try cupping your wrist or at least keeping it straight to the release point.

Craig, you are not swinging straight. You have a tendency to turn your upper body a little, causing your arm to come down at different directions, some ending pointing at the right, some that you pull back to the middle. Try to keep your plane of the arm perpendicular to the pins.

You also tend to lean to the right occasionally, letting the ball out too far. Both are related. Keep your shoulders parallel to the pins and your target.

CJ:
Thanks for pointing out that I may be pushing the ball out too far and I'm running to it to catch up with it. I'll try a shorter pushaway and see how that goes. As far as my weak wrist I couldn't agree with you more. I plan on going to the lanes this evening but before I get out for some practice I'll stop by the Pro Shop and pick up a wrist support that I will use to assist me to get into the proper position at the release point. I don't want to rely on the support but I do want to use it as a training aid. I was planning on going to the Pro Shop beforehand as I want to pick up the 1/2" thumb tape. I think that the 3/4" that I'm currently using is a bit too wide and could be contributing to my sticking thumb issue that I've been having lately.

DM:
One other thing I noticed is that my hips seem to be opening up a bit as I'm clearing them to allow my arm and the ball to pass. This may also be contributing to my opened shoulder problem which seems to be causing my bad swing. This evening I will make a good attempt to keep both my shoulders/hips in line with my target and to not lean either.

I plan on taping some more this evening and I'll post up another video some time over the weekend to see if I've made any progress with your suggestions. Wish me luck.

Yep, it's on your third step as the ball drops and passes. Your hip bumps to the left. Hold your ball out to the outside more on the presentation, and drop it straight down your side.

Another thing I noticed as I replayed the vid, was you started out OK, and, more square to the pins. But, as you bowled more, you opened up more. The first real open up was on the 3 pin spare, and it continued. You picked up a little speed then too which helped it. That went for a few balls then reverted when you seemed to slow down again. speed control is critical.