“Rolling” the ball knocks down more pins than “throwing” the ball. Envision sitting on the floor and rolling a ball to a small child. Bowling balls are made to react to the lanes, rolling the ball allows the ball to do the work as it was made to do
Timing. Think of timing in a 4 step approach. The hand and the foot on the same side as the ball are the synchronizing gears that should mesh (move together) early in the approach. The ball should move with the foot (right foot for a right handed bowler). As you take your 1st step the ball moves (your push away) with that step. The ball should follow the foot back behind the body on the 2nd step. This allows the ball to clear the hip on its backward motion. This is where many bowlers are confused. Many bowlers do not have the ball follow the ball side foot back behind them. They will keep the ball in front of the body too long (push away on the 2nd step) and as the ball goes back, the foot on the same side as the ball is already in its forward motion.
In a 5 step approach the ball does not move on the 1st step.
Hold your position at the line until the ball leaves the pin deck.
This does not mean that you should look like the Statue of Liberty, but that all of your body is still after you have delivered the ball, EXCEPT your bowling arm. It is swinging back and forth and will eventually stop without your help
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Spring is here and we all look forward to getting out and watching a few ball games, hitting the greens, and enjoying the warm weather. We are coming to a close of the bowling league season and some of us might have had a great year, while others struggled. There are many reasons why bowlers struggle these days. It could be the equipment doesn’t fit right anymore, you had trouble finding your shot, the lane conditions changed, or you just weren’t mentally in the sport this year. That brings me to our next tip of the week: The mental game.
Yogi Berra said it best with one of his most famous quotes about the sport of baseball: “Baseball is 90% mental — the other half is physical.” This is so true. This is also the case with the sport of bowling.
Bowlers encounter mental tests on a consistent basis. The focus of making that great shot, trying to block out conversations behind you about the basketball game, or the opposing team saying things to get in your head. Let’s not forget about all those announcements over the Bowling center’s sound system. So how do you go and battle all these variables? I will touch on some of the best tips that have helped me over the years and I still use to this day. Maybe some of these will work for you maybe they won’t but you know what, you will never know unless you try.
Some of the top coaches in the world use visualization. See it. Do it. Your mind can be a wonderful tool or one that will always get in your way. We have to train ourselves on how to use the tools we have and make the best work possible with them. I use visualization every time (well almost every time) I step on the approach. I will explain how I use this technique and hopefully it works for you as well.
When I pick up the bowling ball from the ball rack I see myself throwing a great shot. I take every little thing into account. From how I look at the foul line to how I see my bowling ball roll down the lanes, to the final result of the ball entering the pocket. I see and I do it!!
Other techniques that you can use are those preset messages in your head before you roll the ball. This is another technique that I religiously use on every shot. Now these might work for you or you may need to come up with your own set, this is an example of how I do it. I say these 3 things before I roll the bowling ball. Nice knee bend, good follow through, watch my ball roll over my target. Then I’m off like the horses in the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby.
The last tip I learned from my Father, who isn’t a bowler but has a great sense of how to look at this Sport. He always told me that your main focus when you step up for your first shot in any given frame is to knock all ten pins down. If you don’t succeed, then your only focus on the next shot is to pick up what you left. Pretty simple, right?
So remember, Stay focused. Create a pre shot routine and stick with it, and always focus at the task at hand and not what should have or could have been. You can’t change it; you can only excel from it.
