Is Change Necessary?

I welcome a recent anonymous comment to an earlier posting "Don't try this at home." Referring to two-handed bowling and its success by Jason Belmonte and some of the bowlers in Bolivia.
The comment seemed to question my ability to change.
My answer is: Why change?
Is change necessary?
Since, mainly because of my age and stiffness in my back, I probably won't try two-handed bowling does that mean that I object to change?
To answer that, let me state that two weeks ago I bowled another 300 game followed four games later by a 290 game in a nine game tournament. Did I use a two-handed delivery? NO!
Did I, therefore, use the same delivery that I've been using for the past 20 years? NO!
Granted, my changes have been within the realm of single-handed deliveries, but the styles have changed from low-ball stance to mid-ball stance to high-ball stance back to mid-ball stance, with and without wrist support, four-step, five-step and multi-step (eight or more) deliveries to name a few. I've bowled 300 games and 800 series is just about every style of bowling that I've tried.
I will reiterate, that I personally will be very cautious if I ever do attempt a two handed delivery not because of being afraid to try something new, but cautious of my physical well being. I will never --- I repeat, never, advise someone not to try a new way to bowl. As I stated in that original Bowling Time: Don't try this at home, if you try the two-handed delivery, start slow -- at the line then progress into the actual walking delivery.
The two-handed success of the Bolivia bowling team stems partly from the fact that they are teaching two-handed bowling to the beginning kids and and progressing that into teen and young adult bowling.
Is two-handed bowling for everyone?
Is one-handed bowling for everyone?
Is change necessary?
You be the judge. You come up with your own answer. To be narrow minded means that there is only one answer to each of these questions.
Have a great day and enjoy.

Read your USBC magazines!

The USBC magazines offers many bowling tips. One of the more helpful recent articles was "Don't twist your wrist!"
There seems to be a misconception by many beginning bowlers (plus some higher average bowlers) that in order to get your ball to curve or hook, you have to twist or flip your wrist at release so that your hand comes up the side of the ball.
If you watch most of the professionals, you will find that just the opposite is true --- their hands usually come up behind the ball and only slightly off center. This gives their ball a rolling rotation rather than a "twisting" rotation. This rolling rotation is easier to duplicate delivery after delivery which adds to their consistency.
Keep your delivery as simple as possible --- any additional movement with your wrist at the point of delivery will compound any other problems you might have.
How do you overcome a twisty wrist? Ask a USBC certified coach to help --- they are trained and have the experience to help you solve your bowling problems.
Have a great year on the lanes.

Are you ready for a change?

Talk about changes! It's been a while since I've posted. Reason being (as stated many times before) is my location on the Oregon Coast is less than desirable for acquiring bowlers to coach. Again, as stated in the past, my bowling students have been the inspiration for a majority of my articles.
Starting with this posting, I will avoid adding national bowling news and PBA news ... this info can be obtained at bowl.com and pba.com.
I will concentrate on bowling tips. Some will be too simple and some will be for the higher average bowler. By "too simple" I mean that it is at times the very small, seemingly insignificant segment of your game that can make the most profound impact on your game.
Anyway, here's the new Bowling Time.
Enjoy!

Summer has begun!
This is the time of year when many bowlers decide to take time out from bowling.
Their plans are to resume bowling in the Fall with the new Winter leagues. Of course, they also plan to resume any instructions come next winter.
If this is your plan, think again.
Perhaps the worst time to take lesson is while you are concerned with being competitive in a winter league.
NOW! the beginning of summer is the time to act!
Summer leagues are usually more casual, less competitive (and therefore more fun). Summer is the time to contact that certified coach and make any necessary improvements to your game. Summer is the time to work out any kinks in your approach. Work on your timing. Work on your spare conversions. Work on any changes that increase the probability to make you a better bowler.
Summer is the time to become that bowler that you know is hidden inside your mind.
Be bold! Don't be afraid to try something different. Maybe a five step approach ... a different hand position ... a new grip ... a new target area ... a new ball speed.

Get Help and Practice

January 1, 2007

Please send your comments/questions.

Happy New Year!

Time for those infamous New Year’s resolutions.

For serious bowlers two items should be placed at the top of the list.

1. Constructive practice.

2. Professional help.

I continue to see bowlers, including too many high average bowlers, who stress the value of scoring while "practicing." I usually reply that a 279 in practice has never won a tournament, however, a missed 10 pin has lost too many tournaments.

I don’t recall the bowler’s name, but a prior PWBA member once stated how she practiced the 10 pin. She set a number ... let’s say 20 ... and would practice shooting at the 10 pin (or 10 pin position) until she made 20 in a row. If she missed one, she would start over. Practice didn’t end until she reached the 20 in a row goal.

Rolling over your target could be another practice session. You might place two towels 10 inches apart at the arrows (Contact the desk person for permission to do this.). You goal might be to roll the ball though the opening 20 times in a row.

That’s constructive practice.

I have also heard bowlers say they don’t like to practice alone. Actually, when you are working on a portion of your game such as 10 pins, practicing alone is really best. You don’t need the distraction of being with another bowler.

On to professional help. While there are some very knowledgeable proficient bowlers out there, many don’t have the training to convert that knowledge into usable suggestions. Have you heard "helpful" bowlers telling their teammate to "hit their target." While that bowler’s problem may very well be "hitting their target" there is usually an underlying reason why they are not "hitting their target." First of all, league play is no the time to start coaching a player.

(I will admit that at times a teammate can point out minor flaws in another’s approach.)

Professional help is one of the only ways to find and correct a major problem and there are many trained professionals out there.

Practice and consult with a professional and have a great bowling year.

Pet peeves? How about this one?

It’s official! The last dumb bowling news release from USBC of 2006.

You may be seeing notices embedded in the foul-line area at your bowling center stating the danger of walking past that line. Seems that people don’t or can’t read the big signs that say crossing that line can be hazardous to your physical well being.

The problem appears to be serious enough that USBC has approved the application or embedding of the notice. USBC will also dictate acceptable wording for this optional foul-line notice.

Seems to me that USBC should focus on getting credibility back into the sport of bowling and let the bowling proprietors do the worrying about foul-line safety. After all, it would be the center’s concern if something should happen to their customer.

One disclaimer: USBC has made some strides to regain some sense to escalating bowling scores by not allowing some unsupervised/unopposed honor scores.

99.9 % Guarantee

December 1 , 2006

Please send your comments/questions.

99.9 % Guarantee!

While coaching a bowler last week, a well intentioned other bowler came into the center — watched a few minutes then decided to add two-cents worth. While I am normally irritated when people butt into a coaching session, this bower actually had real words of wisdom. His comment amounted to: "Do what your coach is telling you, but don’t expect to see immediate improvement. Your scores will more than likely go down; however, if you if continue with the coaching, your scores will eventually be much better."

That "more than likely go down" is my 99.9 % guarantee. When there is a change, minor or major, the first result is almost always a reduction in scoring ability. When that change becomes imbedded into your muscle (and mental) memory, the scores will almost always begin to go up.

(Disclaimer: I use the words "almost always" very often not to be cynical, but to be a realist. On very rare occasions changes do not become automatic — I stress "very rare" — and a bowler’s average will not improve.)

SUBJECT TO CHANGE

September 15 , 2006

Movie quote: Winners are simply willing to do what losers won’t.

SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Here we go again, talking about changes to make us bowl better.

Well, yes and no. Changes? Yes. Changes in bowling style? Not necessarily. (Style change is not really today’s topic.)

While reading the current issue of US Youth Bowler I noticed an article by USBC Junior Team USA Head Coach Rod Ross entitled Start the New Season Right.

That article brought back recent memories of me having to inform parents that their child’s "new" ball (just got it last year!) may have to be redrilled or replaced due to the child’s growth spurt.

While Ross’s article was pointed at junior bowlers, I have found that the same holds true for adult and especially senior bowlers.

We change!

Our bodies change almost daily ... granted not usually as much as a younger bowler, but we do physically change as we age.

I suggest that a young, growing bowler have their spans and hole sizes checked at least twice a year. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the ball must be redrilled twice a year, but it could.

Senior bowlers should have their spans and grips checked at least once a year ... especially if they have developed arthritic joints in their fingers.

Ross’s article also brought back memories of telling a senior bowler that they should adjust the weight of their ball (Oh! No! I’ve always thrown a 16 pound bowling ball!) Or the pitch of the holes or the span.

Yes, as our aching joints swell, the pitch of our finger and thumb holes must change to make bowling as comfortable as possible.

The ball might not be the only thing that needs changing. Have you ever noticed that senior bowler who ends up three feet in front of the foul-line?

Why? Because they begin their approach from the point that they started 40 years ago. And, instead of a "spring" in their step, it more like a "dragging autumn" step.

Changes to our bodies not only occur in the very young and the older bowlers, they (changes) occur in anyone, any age who has gained or lost weight.

Changes to the body can also occur because of an injury to .... to just about anything ... hand, arm, shoulder, legs, back etc. Any thing that can cause a disturbance to the range-of-motion of any extremity calls for some change in bowling style or bowling equipment.

Don’t be vain ... if called for, a 14 pound ball will knock down as many pins as a 16 pounder. And standing four feet closer to the foul-line might actually get your ball out onto the lanes (and the lane oil) rather than landing (in the dry area) two feet in front of the foul-line.

Putting a renewed spring into your game may be as simple as moving closer to the foul-line and redrilling your ball.

Enjoy the new bowling season.

ANKLE-BONE'S CONNECTED TO THE LEG-BONE

September 1 , 2006

Movie quote: Winners are simply willing to do what losers won’t.

The ankle-bone’s connected to the leg-bone, the leg-bone’s connected to the thigh-bone ...

I’m not sure of the exact words of the old gospel song, but the message is that each bone relies on the other to stay together. The song relates this skeletal reference to religion; however, being a bowling coach I’m relating it to bowling and my age-old premise that the basic goal in bowling is to have everything in your body flowing toward the target in a smooth and natural manner.

Anytime a part of your body goes in a different direction (IE: the foot turning to the right at release ... the shoulder pushing to the left at release ... the arm [ball] push up on the first step ... this list can go on forever) the rest of your body is affected.

As your body is affected so is the probability of your ball going in the desired direction.

Yes, I realize that when the ball is in its back-swing, it is not going toward the target ... but it IS traveling in a PLANE that is related to the target (or at least it should be traveling in that plane).

The idea, is that YOU (as a unit) are traveling to your target.

The more "in line" you, your arm, the ball, your body is within this plane to your target the more likely the arm-swing will travel to the target and therefore, the ball.

In the last Bowling Time I mentioned the importance first step and the timing of the push-a-way with that first step.

I take back everything (almost) about the importance of that first step ... if that first step/push doesn’t go toward your target then the probability of the ball going to the target is slim.

Here comes "VISUALIZATION."

You, the bowler, must visualize a path or plane that starts from your shoulder (including your arm/ball). To be most efficient, this path should go in a straight line to your target.

Your visualization comes in by you "seeing" the shoulder/arm/ball traveling down this path.

Any deviation (a twist, push or step left or right) will move the body (and therefore the ball) out of your path. Remember if the shoulder goes to the right, that shoulder is connected to the arm-bone ... the arm-bone is connected to the wrist-bone ... shoulder goes right, the ball will eventually go right.

Okay, here’s my disclaimer. There are (a few) very good bowlers on the PBA circuit that defy this law of physics. I must emphasize "a few." The vast majority of the current great bowlers do travel in a straight line to their intended target.

My "ankle-bone’s connected to the leg-bone" theory of bowling is closely related to the KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) theory and the "a straight line is the closest distance between two points" theory.

The more things move outside of your path to the target the more complicated it becomes to get the ball back on line.