I finally got videos of myself bowling. There are a lot of problems and I know I need to get a coach. Things like not leaning forward, keeping my balance, follow through, and my friend even mentioned about my hand position on the release, etc...



Finally Google Video works!

Not sure why the last one doesn't work...

i'm not too good in correcting problems myself sometimes, but i can tell you that, if your balance were correct at the line, you would be able to stand at the foul line in the same position as the point at which you released the ball, without the arm being in the same position of course. falling off to the side as you are will throw your armswing off a bit as well, which results in the ball going out to the right as it is in the videos above.

YOu get into a good finish position and then just step out of it. You really need to keep that position with your trail leg (fantastic) and knee bend (also fantastic). Just make sure that when you take that second to last step that you are setting yourself up to finish. That's it. Don't leave that position. When you practice, don't even think about arm and release and targetting, just work on staying in that position. All that other stuff can come later, but you really have so much good stuff going for you right up to that step off that I'd get that balance down first. One of the reasons you step off out of that great position is because you slide leg is not centered under your "center of gravity". You need to slide that leg in the middle of your body, more in front of our second to last step rather then still keeping it parallel. One way to do this is to practice the One Step Drill and/or when doing your approach, keep your feet slow enough so that you can keep your balance. You'll speed up later, but at first I would encourage you to slow down just for the purpose of getting that feeling of balance at the line. And keep that balance arm out there, use it for balance, it will also help you stop stepping off.

One step drill can be seen at

Go to about 2:04 min., though you might enjoy the rest of the video too.

I would work on this first and worry about your release and such yet. You already have a good leg up on the above and I don't think it will take you long to get it. Once you get it, that alone will gain you accuracy and leverage.

If you watched the ladies open this weekend, you will have noticed the knee bend, trail leg finish position.

Erin

Lots of good advice above. Here is my .02 worth...

Starting Position:
Good starting position. I would like to see the ball a little less in front of your body and more square with your right shoulder. This could help create a more consistent and better aligned swing plane.

First step:
This is where I see the start of what I believe is likely most of the issues you believe you are having. The ball is getting into the swing a little behind in time, a side view works better for this, but I would estimate its about 1/2 step behind. Therefore, you are considered to be late with your timing. If I were to have a coaching session with you, I would start with this first step and see how it impacts the falling off at the finish, and hand position at release. After you became more comfortable with this, we would move on to things later in the approach as needed.

Second step:
I don't see any real issues here. Hand is in a good position, and your direction of approach is good. Just late...

Third step:
This step is a good indicator to your timing being late. At the third step, we would want to see the ball at the top of the back swing. If you are able to play back frame by frame, you will see the ball continues to increase in height after the third step is weighted.

Fourth Step/Finish:
There are many good things happening here. Your balance looks good (up to the fall off), your trailing leg/foot is low to the ground and being lead with your toe. But again, I believe you are too late with the ball. In today's modern game, late is "in", but this means the ball at release should just be behind the slide foot as it stops moving forward. It appears in your case, your slide foot has stopped just as the ball passes your waist line. Getting the ball started sooner will get the release in better time, and will likely make it stronger.

Next practice:
Try and get the ball started earlier than currently. Don't think about anything else, falling off, hand position etc... Those things will improve with better timing, and they are very difficult to change with poor timing. Don't be afraid to over exaggerate at first, then back it off a little. And take some more video to compare to see if you are indeed earlier and what impacts it is having!

I agree with Erin, your ending position is great. I'd say find comfortable medium in terms of your balance so that you won't step off. No worries, it take one practice outing or four weeks, test me it's taken me four weeks to find comfortable medium. I really like the fliudity of your swing as well. I only see two things that are problematic. The first is that your timing is off. You are starting a bit too late in your pushaway, which causes problems down the line like the stepping off. Definately try to start the ball a little earlier, you should see the difference. Second, it looks like your swing plane is a little off, and by that I mean you are wrapping your arm behind your back in an attempt to try an correct for something. I have the same problem sometimes. It may be a little uncomfortable, but try lining your ball and your swing up with your target line. ANd imagine if you will, that your line doesn't begin when you lay the ball down but instead the ball starts traveling on your target line when you start or your approach.

Definately, practice the one-step drills. They'll help tremendously. They helped me a bunch and still are.

I would agree with what has been said so far. One thing that may help you is a pair of right handed bowling shoes that have a grip sole on the right foot. If your right foot slips, then that leaves you unbalanced to the right which forces your slide left.

We can go over the rest when I see you on Saturday.

Thank you all for the replies. I will try some of the adjustments tomorrow in league since we just started and it will be interesting to see how I progress with regular practices on the weekends.

Just don't try to do all of the changes at once, it could be disasterous.

I am just planning to move my arm next to my body in the starting position and to have my slide step aim more towards the center of the body instead of straight forward.

The thing is that at one point or another, I did those things to correct myself but it always felt awkward because it was a bunch of problems linked together and not one step will solve all of it. Now that I am able to get some videos as well as coaching and motivation from leagues, it shouldn't be a problem.

Thanks again!