(previously posted tips from coach Ron)

Just When You Think Your Spare Game Is Good, Keep Practicing

Bowlers don’t mean to be lazy (for the most part), but we certainly can act that way sometimes when it comes to the health of our bowling game. Maybe complacency is a more accurate word. In this case, I am referring to spares. Just when we think we have our spare system worked out and are making many of our spares, we back off the practice and expect it all to still happen wonderfully. If you have done this, you have inevitably experienced what then follows - your spare game tanks when you need it most. There are some things in our sport that ALWAYS need your attention and respect. At the top of that list is spare shooting. Great strike bowling balls will come and go, your physical game will keep developing and evolving, new lane patterns will keep emerging - but one thing that has always remained constant, and will continue to remain constant, is a solid, high percentage, great spare shooting game. How you go about your spares is a matter of personal preference, but regardless of your system and strategy, do yourself the biggest favor you will ever do in your bowling game and keep practicing spares more than you think you need to. Asking a bowler to spend half of a practice session on their spares on a regular basis is not over-doing it. Over-doing it will never come back to haunt you like under-doing it most certainly will.

One Trick Ponies Are Only Good On One Track

There is no other sport in the world where the playing field changes as much as in bowling. Not only are the oil patterns available seemingly endless, but each of those patterns transition differently every time and with every shot thrown. No matter how good a bowler’s game is, if that bowler only has the one game, winning frequently will be virtually impossible. Bowlers can make themselves a legitimate threat in every competition with some basic versatility. Physical game versatility consists of five components - two primary tools and three secondary tools. The two primary versatility tools are speed and hand rotation. These are the primary ones because of how much variance it can give your ball motion with the exact same bowling ball. The three secondary versatility tools are loft, tilt, and rpms. These can make a big difference in ball motion, but generally the effects are less in most situations than with speed and hand rotation. Once your fundamental game is consistent, talk with your coach about adding these tools to your game. You will be very thankful you did.

Silky Smooth Swing Simply Succeeds

In bowling, we talk endlessly about, and work a lot on, our swings. There are so many variables to a good swing that sometimes we forget one of the most important phrases in sports and in life - less is more. There are numerous examples of good swings in our sport, but not all of those swings work smarter and not harder. A smooth, free-flowing swing from the top of the backswing down to release will ‘fix’ many of the symptoms you may be experiencing - things such as grab at the release, inaccuracy, imbalance, inconsistent ball speed, and on and on. Many times these symptoms can be caused by a downswing that is pulled and forced. The length and direction of the swing might be great, but if the swing is forced down, it is hard to keep bad things from happening. The first part of making a downswing smoother is to correct any factors that may be causing it - incorrect ball fit, timing liability, an intent to increase ball speed by primarily using the arm to create it, etc. Once you address the cause, then you can focus on the conscious and productive thought of making the entire motion smoother from the top of the backswing down to the release. It takes some work and some patience, but the results are more than worth the effort.

Timing Is More Than Just Your Physical Game

When we hear the word ‘timing’ in bowling, we all think about the relationship between the bowling arm and the footwork. But there is another timing that is critically important, too - the timing of when you make a significant change to your game. We need to be aware of practice time, and how much of it we have, prior to the next major competition. Making a physical change to your bowling game takes time and many repetitions before it is ready to be trusted with consistency in competition. Everyone is different and learns at different rates, but virtually no one is ready to put a physical game change into competition without practicing it for several days first. To some bowlers a major competition is league night, and to others it might be a tournament. Regardless of the bowler’s definition of ‘major’, that practice time required to make a change natural and consistent needs to be respected and valued. Remember, a change may take some time to get comfortable, but once you have it, you have it. It doesn’t need to be a race to get it done. Rather, it needs to be done with diligence, patience, and determination. From that comes changes that will last.

Have You Kept Up With Your Bowling Insurance Premiums?

Hopefully I don’t have to convince you that spares are still the most important part of our game. Ok, good. Whew! But how are you attacking those spares? With wild abandon or with some quality bowling insurance? The great thing is that this insurance won’t cost you an arm and a leg - just a little investment in money and plenty of practice time. Bowling insurance for spares involves investing in a polyester bowling ball, or a plastic ball as it is most commonly known. This ball very effectively takes the lane out of play so that your spare attempts go totally straight in virtually every situation. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of spare shooting versus using a strike ball that creates more friction with the lane, and therefore, unpredictable hook given all the lane conditions and transitions. If you want to double your bowling insurance, that premium will only cost you some practice time. This practice would involve throwing that plastic ball with zero to little axis (hand) rotation. Any ball thrown with zero rotation can’t possibly hook, so throwing a plastic ball with zero rotation doubly guarantees your spare attempts will go totally straight and exactly where you throw them. And in those few situations where your hand turns a little at release, no worries, you threw a plastic ball, so all is good. Talk to your insurance agents - your pro shop professional and your coach - about getting your own bowling insurance. It will most certainly pay off.

Check These Boxes For Speed

For those of you who have implemented more speed in your game - whether as a new every day speed or as an adjustment when the lanes call for it - congratulations! You are certainly on your way to better pin carry. As you are practicing this great bowling skill, make sure you can check three boxes to ensure you are doing it properly and efficiently. The first box is feel. Simply put, do you physically feel faster when you try to move your body faster to increase ball speed? This is important because some bowlers first learning faster speed use their bowling arm more than their body to increase ball speed, and this is completely inefficient and non-repeatable. Be sure to use your whole body, and just let your arm ‘go along for the ride’. The second box is visual. From your viewpoint at the foul line after release, did the ball look faster going down the lane? It needs to be obvious. If you aren’t sure, move your body faster on the next shot. The third box is accountability. Since you moved back on the approach 12-14 inches in your stance - you should have in order to be able to move your body properly fast enough - did you finish farther away from the foul line than usual? Hopefully not. Be sure to check that you finished with your slide foot the same distance from the foul line that you normally do. This lets you know that your body moved quickly enough to make you take naturally longer steps to make up that distance that you moved back in your stance. This checklist will help make sure you are creating more speed properly so that you can see the great benefits of increased pin carry.

Golden Nuggets To Take To The Bowling Bank

To start off 2021, I want to do a series with my ‘Latest Tips’ that will focus on simple ideas and reminders that can help your game sooner rather than later. I will hit two quick thoughts in each installment so that you have time to incorporate those in your game before adding any new ones. Every once in awhile go back and review some of the older ones to make sure you are still doing them. Let’s get going…

1. Make every shot count. In this case, I am not referring to competition. I am talking practice. We are all guilty of just going through the motions sometimes in our trainings. Maybe we reset a spare or just half-heartedly shoot at it because striking is more exciting, right? Wrong. We rapid-fire our shots in practice without going through our pre-shot routine because it doesn’t really matter in practice, right? Wrong. All of these little details matter, and they matter big! Every practice session should have a goal, and every shot within that practice should have purpose. If every shot has purpose, and if you think through every shot and what you want to achieve, your practice times could be cut in half. And then you could practice twice as much. Just imagine how good you could get…
2. Make time for your eyes. When bowlers do practice, usually they are working on things such as timing, swing, footwork, balance, etc. One of the most critical items in every bowler’s game that usually gets overlooked (pun intended) is the eye targeting. Eye targeting is simply what your eyes are, or are not, doing from stance until your ball rolls over your intended visual target. Many bowlers have some eye movement in that time span that they are not aware of, and this could be a big source of accuracy consistency. Be sure to work on the physical skill of keeping your eyes fixed on your target for your entire approach until your ball rolls over it. Not only will this help you to be more accurate, but more importantly, it makes your misses smaller and still capable of good results.

Golden Nuggets To Take To The Bowling Bank
(Part 2)

3. Practice with discipline. In this case, discipline is referring to working on only one thing at a time. It is very common, and very easy, to think that after 10-15 minutes of working on something, it is an engrained part of our game. This is simply not the case. New skills and movements need more sustained repetition before they can happen consistently without you thinking about them. A 45-60 minute practice session of working on only one thing might become monotonous and boring, but the payoff will be quicker and well worth it. So, take your to do list and work on one item at a time until you can get the several hundreds of repetitions needed to make it natural.
4. Reduce the insanity in bowling. We all know the definition of insanity - doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different result. By this definition, all bowlers are insane to some degree. This is portrayed mostly in how bowlers are reluctant to adjust when the pins are screaming at them to do so. The actual pocket in bowling is misunderstood - when you hit it, you are going to carry A LOT, and when you don’t hit it, pins are likely to stand. This is not bad luck - it is exactly what you deserved on that particular shot. It is not a signal that you necessarily need to throw the ball better, but rather a signal that it is time to adjust NOW. This can be a move, a ball change, both, or something different entirely (change of speed, release, loft, etc.). The bottom line is that when you hit what you thought was the pocket and a pin is left standing, you didn’t actually hit the pocket and an adjustment of some kind is needed - now, not two or five frames from now.

Golden Nuggets To Take To The Bowling Bank
(Part 3)

5. Practice backwards in your trainings. Wait, what?? What I am referring to is your strike and spare shots. In almost all practices, bowlers bowl traditionally with their strike shot first, and then they shoot at whatever spares they leave. This sounds reasonable, but what if you have a practice in which you leave very few single pin spares, more specifically the corner pin spares? Then in a league session or tournament, you may not be prepared to confidently convert those spares. Try this in your next practice (because remember score doesn’t matter in practice) - on a full rack, shoot at a single pin spare, and then with whatever is left standing, throw your strike shot. In this way, you are guaranteed 50% spares shots and 50% strike shots. This will ensure you get the must needed spare practice that we all need and of which we don’t get enough.
6. Not only should bowling be fun, it shouldn’t hurt. Most of us have played other sports where a little bit of pain is tolerated and, at times, accepted. This is not the case in bowling. This is in reference mainly to the fit of the ball on your hand. Bowlers need to remember this important message, and they also need to remember that coaches and pro shop professionals are not mind readers. When something hurts anywhere on the body that cannot be explained through other means, it could be related to a ball fit that is no longer current. Outdated fits can cause pain in all parts of the body, not just in the hand, wrist, and arm. Once the pain is communicated, diagnoses and solutions can be implemented. So, please remember to discuss any pain or discomfort related to bowling in order to find a remedy and to increase even more the enjoyment of our great sport.

Golden Nuggets To Take To The Bowling Bank
(Part 4)

7. Sometimes not practicing is the best practice. I am as nutty about our sport as anyone, and it can be hard for me to step away at times, but I have learned it is necessary if I want to keep the passion and be effective. I know there are bowlers who would practice nine days a week if that were even possible, but over-practicing can be very detrimental - physically and mentally. It is perfectly ok to take a break from the lanes from time to time. You need to let your body recover from a tournament grind or just from several trainings in a row. You also need to give your mind and mental game a rest. Burnout is a real thing, and it is not pleasant. Just know that it is not only allowed, but it is critical that you give yourself enough breaks from the sport you love so that you will keep on loving it.
8. In competition, you are throwing it better than you think. Who is your biggest critic? You are, of course. That can be good in your trainings when you are striving for ‘perfection’ in developing a new skill. But it can hold you back in competition. Most bowlers are behind in making adjustments - changing angles, changing balls, changing speeds, etc. - because they are waiting to make better shots. Bowlers’ feel of their shots are exponentially bigger than the reality. So, they are not sure if the adjustment is needed yet because they ‘did not throw it well enough’. Actually, they thew it well enough. Certainly well enough to go ahead and make that adjustment. Bottom line - believe that with your trainings you have gotten better and that every shot you throw in competition is good enough so that you are focusing on nothing but ball reaction, and then you will make those needed adjustments exactly when you need to.

Golden Nuggets To Take To The Bowling Bank
(Part 5)

9. Take time to review your bowling tools. In this case, I am referring to your bowling equipment. We all know that new bowling balls seemingly are released on a weekly basis. It can be overwhelming. But, not every new bowling ball being released is best for every bowler’s bag. Just because your teammate or opponent shot their new highest series ever last Monday means that you should run out and buy that same bowling ball. Before you do that and possibly purchase a ball that does nothing to make your bowling bag better, review with your coach or pro shop operator what you currently have, and then what addition could actually make your bag better. It simply comes down to two considerations - coverstock and core numbers. Maybe you have all pearl coverstocks and need a solid, or maybe you have all strong coverstocks and need something weaker for when the lanes dry out. Also, many bowlers don’t have a variety of core numbers - RGs and Differentials. So, work with your coach or pro shop operator to see what all you currently have and what next ball would be the best for you and your game based on the criteria that truly matter, and not just because another bowler made it look good.
10. Don’t be mental… be very mental! The amazing thing about bowlers is that most freely admit they need help with their mental games in competition. As humans we are usually more likely to discuss a physical issue more than a mental issue, but as bowlers we tend to admit the weaknesses in that area, which is a big part of the solution. There is so much that goes into the mental game in bowling (and all sports), and knowing exactly what to work on can be the biggest challenge. The best advice is to keep it simple and personal to your needs. A great place to start is with the pre-shot routine. If you don’t currently have one, create one. Your pre-shot routine should be as unique as your bowling style because we are all different. A physical component can include a towel or shammy or grip sack, and mental components can include diaphragmatic breathing, positive self-talk, visualization of your target line, etc. The key is to make it something you like and to repeat it before EVERY shot. This routine will allow your mind and body to be as comfortable and as relaxed as possible before each and every shot. The next best place to work on your mental game is on the approach. Most bowlers admit to over-thinking, but how do we quiet down the mind and let the body take over? A fun and useful technique is playing music in your head. Most people enjoy music and can bring a song up in their head, and if they do this while on the approach, it has the positive effect of blocking other unproductive or negative thoughts from dominating your conscious mind. Try it, I am fairly sure you will like it and see the benefits of it.

There Is No Fun Without Fundamentals

As you practice and put in all the training time required to improve, you will start to notice in competition one or two things in your game that seem to keep you from having that great performance you want every time. These are your personal bowling tendencies. These tendencies will always be a part of your game and will usually creep in when you least want them to. One way to reduce that from happening is to make that one, or those two tendencies, a part of every practice. These are your core fundamentals, and they should never be taken for granted. Each time you practice take five or ten minutes to focus solely on those personal tendencies. There may be times you feel it is a waste of energy, but know that it is not. By reinforcing those skills so frequently, you considerably reduce the likelihood that they will rear their ugly heads in the middle of a tournament. Then you know your practice is truly paying off.

Don’t Forget Your Patience

I know you are itching to get back on the lanes. So am I! It has been over two months now that bowling has been shut down in most places. Many bowling centers are opening now or are making preparations to reopen soon. This post is about mental preparation for when that does happen. We all have seen how our normalcy in daily life has been altered due to this pandemic. We now need to be prepared for how bowling will be altered, at least temporarily. Everyone is so anxious to get back on the lanes, but it is vitally important to get mentally ready for the changes that await you when you go for the first time. These changes will vary state by state, and center by center, but changes will be present. Obvious ones. The best two things to take with you the first time you go to a bowling center are patience and an open mind. Your patience might be tested in several ways from waiting to get a lane when the center doesn't look that crowded, to understanding that everything that used to happen more quickly in the center now takes more tedious time. Many centers are going to go above and beyond the minimum mandated sanitary guidelines out of an abundance of caution for their customers and employees. We should be thankful for this. But the cost of that might slow things down that we always took for granted. As long as you are armed with patience, your first time back to your local bowling center will be less stressful. The other important virtue will be in having an open mind. Your bowling center will most likely look very different than the last time you were there. There will likely be partitions between lanes. There may be ropes or dividers of some fashion on the concourse to help maintain social distancing. How you interact with the control counter and employees will likely not be the same. Your visits to the restrooms and snack bar will have different protocols. And many more. Your excitement to return to bowling is great, and please do not lose that. Just add to that the awareness of extra patience and having an open mind to whatever you experience your first time back. However, the most important, bottom-line, crucial virtue to take to the bowling center with you is.... kindness. Things that surprise us or take us out of our norm can make us react in ways we normally would not. Please don't let that change what is more critical now than ever - kindness and compassion for our fellow bowlers. We have all gone through some rough times lately, and what will unite us back faster than ever is remembering that we all are truly in this together and that bowling is the best sport in the world for many reasons, not the least of which is strong social bonding and lasting friendships. So, be sure to smile and thank all of the bowling center employees for what they are doing. They will be doing their best under less than ideal conditions. Let's set a goal to make the reopening of bowling a low-stress, high-energy event! I look forward to seeing you all soon and giving you a long-distance high five or an elbow bump!

Better To Be Active Than Reactive

The statement, “we are in this together”, is used quite frequently in our world for various reasons and in numerous situations. It has never been more true than now. This global pandemic has literally affected every person on earth in some way or another. As bowlers, most of us are trying to stay sane during this time of bowling center mandated closures. Other than home drills, mental imagery, reading, and sharing ideas with others, it is vitally important that bowlers stay active until we can get back on the lanes. This means different things to different people. Some people like to run, while others like to bike. Being active in some way will go a long way when you return to the lane and start the bowling process again. If you don’t stay active now, your body will make you painfully aware of that when you resume bowling. Staying active now will reduce how much your body reacts negatively to you when you throw your bowling ball in the near future. What you do with your time now will determine how much you pick up where you left off.

Strike The Right Balance In Your Game

When we as coaches and bowlers discuss the physical game, and if you ask any bowler something they are concerned with in their own game, the topic of balance inevitably comes up. Although balance is important, it is important for a different reason than you might think. Here is something that may surprise you - when any bowler, including you (yes, you), falls off balance during a shot, they were actually in balance when they released the ball. All imbalance in a finish position occurs after the ball is off your hand. Why, then, is balance important at all in a bowler’s game? Look at balance as a piece of really good visual feedback. If a bowler is sticking the landing on every shot, it is very likely this is saying that what they are doing leading up to the finish is all pretty good, and therefore, the good balance is a positive symptom of that. On the other hand, if the bowler is falling off on every other shot, this is just feedback saying, “be sure to check out everything you are doing leading up to the finish because something is off.” Think about it this way… have you ever thrown a shot where you were off balance but it was still a great shot and struck? Of course you have. So, the imbalance cannot be the reason for a bad shot or every shot you are off balance would be bad. Use the imbalance as a negative symptom to let you better diagnose what is really going on with your game. Don’t try to fix the symptom (balance), but rather find the cause (timing, swing, etc.) and fix that. The balance will then get better.

Fit Times Two

We have already discussed the fit of the hand in your bowling ball and how crucial that is in a previous “Latest Tip”. Now we need to discuss the other fit in bowling - the ‘fit’ in ‘fitness’. I think we can all agree that bowling is a true sport, and if so, then we all agree that we are athletes. As athletes we need to make sure we are taking care of our bodies with proper stretching, cardiovascular activities, and strength training. There are many benefits and no downside. Besides the obvious benefit of quality of life outside of bowling, the first two that come to mind are tournament endurance and prevention of injuries. When you bowl all day in a tournament format, your endurance will be tested much more than a normal league night. If you are in better physical shape, you will be less likely to feel fatigue and get sloppy or make poor decisions. Bowling injuries are ones that have built up over a long period of time through something called micro trauma. Proper stretching before and after practice and competition can help to slow down, reduce, or even eliminate the micro trauma that might keep you out of the sport you love for a period of time. Before engaging in any fitness regimen, please consult your primary care doctor first.

If It Looks Good, Think Again

Have you ever wondered why you have trouble hitting your target arrow and breakpoint consistently? It probably comes down to your eyes. Most bowlers line up in the stance to what visually looks comfortable. Unfortunately, what looks comfortable in the stance most often doesn’t put them in the correct spot at the release point. Bowlers are generally forgetting two things when they line up for visual comfort - the approach in their field of vision and their drift. They can usually hit one of the two targets (at arrows or at breakpoint), but not both. Immediately the bowler’s mind goes to, “what am I doing wrong physically??” Nothing. Just move left or right on the approach to finish in a more correct spot at release. And get into a habit of looking down at your slide foot after you watch the ball leave the pin deck for verification. Only by doing this can you be sure that you are or are not in the correct spot. If you are not, you will be able to make the correct move the first time. If you forget to look, then your adjustment becomes more of a guess. Pay more attention to the valuable feedback your position at release can give you by taking a second to steal a glance before walking back off the lane.

Bowling Is Weird

Or, at least it should be. Actually all sports could qualify for this statement. When an athlete, a bowler in this case, makes a physical change to their game, it doesn’t make sense that it would feel great right away. Common words used to describe the initial feeling are weird, strange, and uncomfortable. That is because it is a change. It should feel that way at first because your brain and your body are in total disagreement about what is happening. After more repetitions, the brain and body start to get on the same page, and then the words to describe the feeling start to become more positive. One of the biggest mistakes a bowler can make in going through change is to not give it enough time to become the new normal. Think about how long you had previously done a particular movement in your approach. Therefore, it should make sense that a change to that movement is going to require time, repletion, and patience. One phrase to remember is, "If it were easy to make change in sports, everyone would be elite athletes."

Projection Can Be The Correction

In these Latest Tips, the importance of good eye targeting to accuracy has already been addressed. Accuracy involves many things other than the eyes, though. It also involves what the bowling arm is doing directionally at the moment of release. Although there are many factors before the release point that will affect where the arm is throughout the release, thinking of projecting the arm out to the target will help ensure that the intended launch angle of the ball is more consistent. In competition, under pressure and stress, bowlers have a tendency to ‘shut down’ at release and miss to the inside, or still hit their target but at a different angle which will change where the ball is down lane. Try imagining your arm is 15 feet long (roughly how far the target arrows are from the foul line), and at the release you are going to reach out and actually touch the target with the finger tips with which you release the ball. You will notice immediately that you complete your follow through with better extension and projection out to your visual target. The result will be much better accuracy at not only the target arrow but also at the breakpoint.

Are You Sure You Are Hitting the Pocket?

The ‘pocket’ is a common term in bowling. We use it to describe the vague area between the 1 and 2 pins for left-handers, and between and 1 and 3 pins for right-handers, that will yield the best chance for striking when the ball impacts here. But how big is the pocket really? Probably not as big as you might think. Bad carry on seemingly good pocket hits is not bad luck at all - it is actually not getting to the pocket, and the resultant pin or pins left standing is what is deserved. This doesn’t mean that the bowler physically threw it bad. It just means that the ball was not on board 17 1/2 when it hit the head pin. Any ball that does not reach this spot at head pin impact and results in a strike should be considered good luck. Believe it or not, there is far more good luck in our sport than bad. Sorry, no more excuses. For much more on this, check out Chapters 10-12 in the book, “Bowling Beyond the Basics”.

Technology Enhances Our Lives… How About Our Bowling?

Technology is a part of everyday life. And there are ways to use that technology to help you with your bowling game development. One great way is to use video when you practice. Hopefully you have a coach who has helped you figure out those two or three things you are working on in your physical game, and maybe you even have some video of it from that coach. When you are training on your own, set your phone or tablet up to take some current video to see if the progress is happening as you feel it is. Remember that feel and reality can be quite different when learning a new skill. Video will help you to put those two together more quickly and correctly. Another great use of technology in our sport is that of apps that track spare shooting. Without real data, you may not know exactly which spare or spares are keeping you from achieving that average you want, or from winning that elusive tournament title. A simple app can help you structure your practices so that you work more efficiently on those troublesome spares. Get more comfortable with using some technology when you bowl - it can really make your trainings much more productive.

Run, Forrest, Run

Hopefully by now you have decided that you want to get more pin carry from ball speed. But how will you get that extra ball speed? Hopefully not from just swinging your arm faster or by raising your backswing, or both. This will be inconsistent at best with minimal results. The most effective way, without changing your timing or mechanics, is to move your entire body faster from stance to release. Exaggeration works great in sports when trying to learn a new skill, and moving your body faster for more ball speed is no different. And in this case, you need to imagine you are running. Crazy thought, yes. Reality, no. But by thinking that you are running you will visibly move your entire body faster to the foul line and transfer that speed to the bowling ball. In this way, you don’t change the bowler you are - just the tempo of that good bowler.

Be Sure To Slow Down In The Correct Way

The most common piece of well-meaning advice in our sport is to slow down. Slow down what exactly? The intent of most people giving this advice is to slow down your footwork, but this will most often not fix anything. What it will do is slow down your ball speed, and slower ball speed equals less pin carry. It is safe to say that nobody wants that. What is good to slow down is your tempo in getting prepared for your next shot. If you mentally rush through your pre-shot routine and getting set up on the approach, your execution of that shot will probably not be of very high quality. Be sure to take a few moments to gather your thoughts before you begin your pre-shot routine so that you can go through the process smoothly and without haste. When athletes in any sport talk about their best performances ever, most will say that time seemed to slow down, and that they had all the time in the world to do whatever they wanted. The same holds true in our sport. We need to mentally slow down so that we can perform our best physical approach and throw our best possible shot.

Do You Really Want That Exact Bowling Ball?

We’ve all done it. We’ve all watched a good bowler throw the newest and greatest bowling ball and make it look like the one we have been waiting for our entire lives. And then what happens… we go out and purchase it for ourselves. Sometimes we make it look almost as good, but sometimes it’s a dud. At least for us it is a dud. For other bowlers, it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. The point is that every ball is not for every bowler. There are so many variables that need to go into a new bowling ball decision - your release variables as a player, the environment where you bowl, what you already have in your ball arsenal and how it would fit in, your ball weight, etc. The ball weight matters a lot because with different ball weights you get different RG numbers and different Diff values. If those numbers are foreign to you, I would recommend you have a discussion with your pro shop professional about how they apply to you for your personal release variables and for your ball weight. If you see a ball that looks great to you, before you buy it, talk it over and see if it really is the best choice for you or maybe a different one altogether.

Strike For Show, Spare For Dough

I have discussed spares in a previous Latest Tip, but spares can’t be talked about enough. The path to success in our sport is with the second shot of a frame. Everyone can strike - you’ve all done it many times. Not that impressive to be honest. But a bowler who can spare consistently with precision, knowledge, and purpose has my full attention. If you are in league or a tournament and striking a lot, you are not the only one. But who amongst you is going to make the majority of your spares? That is the bowler who is left standing at the end. Look at the top pros and their spare percentages. It is off the charts. They will all tell you how much spares matter. Do yourself and your game a favor - spend more time practicing spares in your trainings. Practice is not for score, so shoot a spare shot on your first ball, and then a strike shot on your second ball. That way you are guaranteed to get 50% spare shots and 50% strike shots. It will certainly pay off for you when you need it.

Work Smarter, Not Harder

If you are a passionate bowler, you probably work very hard on your game. Maybe too hard sometimes? Remember, balance is the key to many things, and in this case I am not referring to your balance at the foul line. Marathon practice sessions, or over-training, can be very detrimental to your progress. Although your intentions are great, your improvement and results may not be. Try to keep your practice sessions on the lanes to 60-90 minutes if you are by yourself. This is more than enough to accomplish the goal you set for that day, while at the same time not allowing you to bowl so much that you reach the point of diminishing returns. And bowling balance means more than just keeping your on-lane time in check. It also means working on the other important parts to being a complete bowler - mental game, equipment knowledge, physical fitness, and others. Take a close look at how much time you spend on all these parts of the game, and evening them out a little more will probably make your passion pay off quicker.

Give That Brain A Good Workout

In previous tips, we have talked about specific skills to start putting into your game (diaphragmatic breathing, visualization, pre-shot routine, music, etc.). But have you taken those skills to the lanes in your practices? Remember what controls your body and your muscles - your brain. You can work every day on your physical approach, but if you don’t develop some good mental game skills, that flawless physical game may become flawed in competition. Make it a point to devote at least one practice session per week to your mental game. Maybe in this case you actually keep score so you can simulate a competitive environment as closely as possible. It won’t be exact, but it is certainly better than nothing. Doing this consistently will allow your physical approach to stay more consistent when you need it most.

Less Is Definitely Better Than More

As bowlers, we are a couple of things (insert you own funny label here…). I was talking more about being over-thinkers. That is the one thing most bowlers would agree to call themselves while they are competing. And we all recognize it is not helpful to our cause. So, why do we do it? Probably because it gives us more of a sense of control, and we don’t have the discipline or means not to over-think. Your goal should be to find a non-bowling thought that relaxes you and that you can focus on while on the approach. This could be music in your head or any other thought that quiets your brain and lets your body do what it knows how to do. Or if you must think about bowling, allow yourself to have one ‘approach thought’, or the one thing you want to make sure you do every shot that league night or tournament. It could be smooth swing tempo, staying down at the line, keeping your eyes on your target, etc. Just make sure that whatever thought you use, it is simple so that you can think less, not more.

How Lucky Are You?

Well, if you are a bowler, more than you think. Besides the obvious of being a part of one of the greatest sports on Earth, you have a tremendous amount of the good stuff. Most bowlers would disagree with this statement, but the truth is that there is very little actual bad luck in bowling and a ton of good luck. The reason bowlers would disagree is that generally they remember all the ‘bad breaks’ they got during a given league night or tournament, and at the same time, were not aware of all the ‘good breaks’ they got. Bad carry is synonymous with bad luck in our sport. Bad carry is the bowler’s fault but also within the bowler’s control to fix it. I always tell bowlers that when they can’t carry, look in the mirror - it’s no one else’s fault but your own. Take responsibility and then take action! Move, change balls, or both. Stand on your head and throw the next shot. Just do something different! Or when you throw your next shot not having changed anything and you leave the same corner pin, welcome to the Club of Insanity - doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Keep Your Eyes On The Prize

 

I’m fairly certain that most of us have played other sports besides bowling. And in those other sports, there was most likely either a ball to make contact with or a target some distance away that you were aiming for with your specific sport’s ball. How many of those other sports would you consider ever taking your eye off the ball or the target? I am guessing none of them. Then why do we do it in bowling? I have seen it (pun intended) be a big problem that plagues a lot of bowlers. And sometimes they don’t even realize they take their eyes off their target. Whether you target the arrows or somewhere else on the lane, your eyes should be focused like laser beams on that intended target from stance to finish through release and follow through until your ball passes over said intended target. With a good physical game, this will be what mostly determines how accurate you will be. Without good eye targeting, you are bowling blind-folded.

Breathe, Just Breathe

 

It is amazing what a really good, simple breath can do to your mind and body. Many times as bowlers when we feel the pressure coming on, our heart rate and/or breathing quickens. Take a moment before going up to your pre-shot routine to take a couple of diaphragmatic breaths - inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. This athletic way of breathing quickly relaxes the body and can lower the pounding heart rate. Take a few more of these breaths during your pre-shot routine, and lastly, after your stance is set and you are ready to deliver the best shot of your life, take one last diaphragmatic breath, and start your approach motion on the exhale. You should feel the positive effects and the relaxation almost immediately. Breathe, just breathe…

Have You Scratched The Surface Of Your Game?

 

There are many keys to success in competition - physical game consistency, accuracy, adjustments, solid mental game, blah, blah, blah… The one key that is severely underused is changing the bowling ball surface. Altering the surface of a bowling ball changes the distance the ball travels before changing direction. Most people believe it is about making a ball hook more or less. It is actually about making a ball hook sooner or later. If you can control the distance of your bowling balls in competition, you have a chance to win. If you can’t, you don’t. Lower numbers make a ball hook sooner and higher numbers and polish make a ball hook later. One important rule to note here is that in USBC sanctioned leagues and competitions, any and all surface changes have to be completed before the first ball for score is thrown. There are to be no more surface alterations to any balls, including those that weren’t even thrown in practice, after the first ball for score is thrown. But in practice, have at it! Not enough bowlers and coaches take advantage of this rule and of this very important way to get matched up better to the lane environment that day.

Food For Thought

 

All bowlers have that one tendency in their games that if they don’t revisit every now and then in practice, it will come back to haunt them at the worst possible time. It is dangerous to think that timing or swing tendencies won’t ever come back. One way to lessen the chance of this happening to you is to create a “practice sandwich” in training. Here’s how to build this delicious treat… Have a goal for each and every practice you have. Goals could include playing new lines, working on new releases, making a timing or footwork change, etc. The goal is the meat of the sandwich. Your physical game tendency is the bread. Start your practice with 5-10 minutes of working on the bread. The bulk of the practice is the meat. And then finish the practice with 5-10 minutes of the bread again. You want to “sandwich” the goal for that day between two short sessions of working on your tendency so that it remains fresh and doesn’t get out of control in competition. Try it - it may be the best sandwich you ever have!

Join The Party!

Have you ever gone to your local bowling center on a weekend to practice only to find the lanes crawling with kids, noise, and presents? Your first thought was to exit so fast you would leave a trail of dust like the Roadrunner. Next time, stay. Think about how much you could challenge yourself in this environment. First of all, the lanes probably don’t have fresh oil, so you can learn to adapt and adjust to a difficult lane condition. And second, what better way to practice your mental game? And to make it even sweeter, ask to be put as close to the party as possible. If you can focus and make good shots through all of that zoo-like atmosphere, what could ever distract you during a real tournament? It is not very often you can challenge yourself during practice to be able to work on your mental game, so here is your chance. Don’t take the easy way out in practice - party it up! So to speak…

Stay In The Moment

How many times while bowling have you caught yourself 5 seconds into the future? Let me phrase that another way… How many times while bowling have you been thinking about the result before you even let go of the ball? Ahh, now you are nodding your head up and down. It is easy to get caught up in the score watching and thinking about what you need to get a particular score. Or thinking about striking or sparing before you even take the first step of your approach. Of course we want to strike or spare - that is the goal of bowling. But thinking about the result doesn’t put your mind where it needs to be to make those results even possible. Make sure you are staying committed to the process of throwing a good shot. If you do this, you give your desired result a much better chance of happening. Remember this phrase - Stay in the moment. Reminding yourself of this will keep your focus where your focus needs to be. The results are a culmination of all the things you do well in your process of delivering a good shot. So, why would you take your focus off that? Hopefully your head is nodding up and down again. Stay in the moment, stay in the moment, stay in the moment.

Let The Music Move You

Raise your hand if you have ever caught yourself thinking of too many thoughts on the approach… Wow, that is a lot of hands! Truth is we have all been guilty of that at one time or another. And how does that usually work out for us? Not good, not good. So, how do we stop doing that? Try something we all love and enjoy everyday - music. Think of a song in your head right now…. Hear it? Now, play that same song in your head while you are on the approach and all the way through release. This is a great way to quiet your conscious brain and let your trained body take over. Listening to music in your head while you are bowling prevents you from over-thinking, and wouldn’t we all like to do less of that! Treat this as a new skill and be sure to practice it in your trainings before using it in league or tournaments. And remember, Dancing With The Stars is not watching, so don’t get carried away!

Visualize Greatness

We all try to make it to the bowling center to practice as often as we should or can. But sometimes it just isn't possible. Life can get in the way. But you can still practice at home. Make sure you have seen a good video of yourself bowling from either the back or the side view. Watch this video over and over again. Then, when you are in a quiet place with no distractions, play your bowling movie in your head. By doing this you are building the neural pathways that build the brain/muscle memory we need to effectively repeat motions, and you are also building your confidence in your game. A good 10-15 minutes of visualization can be almost as effective as actually going to the bowling center to shoe up and practice. Visualization is effective before tournaments, to hone new skills you are working on in training, and to keep sharp during times of no practice due to injury or other commitments. Give it a try - it may be the best movie you ever watch.

Is Your Routine Routine Enough?

If we watch athletes in other sports, and many of those in bowling, there is a specific and unique pre-shot routine that occurs before every shot. You see it with basketball players at the free throw line. You see it with golfers before they hit their shots. Bowling should certainly be no exception. And hopefully all of you have some sort of pre-shot routine that you use, but do you use it every shot, every day? It is easy to compose your own mental and physical routine you are going to go through before a shot, but do you stick to that routine when you are angry, when you feel a pressure shot coming on, or when you get distracted? A good mental and physical pre-shot routine gets your mind and body ready to execute your best shot possible, so it certainly makes sense that you should go through this routine especially at times of anger, stress, or distraction. Spend some time refining your unique routine and practicing it in your trainings. Then be sure to let it help you by going through it routinely every single shot no matter what the situation is.

Go For The Goal!

Have you ever gone to your bowling center to practice and bowled three games for score? Of course you have. Every bowler has at some point. What did you learn? What did you improve? How did this make you a better bowler? Blunt questions, I know, but necessary ones. Other than inflating your ego because you bowled a great three game set, you probably got nothing out of your time. Make your practice time much more effective by setting goals for each training. Score keeping is not a necessary part of a good practice day. Working on specific skills to improve your game is. Choose one or two items in your game you are working on, and devote all of your time and attention that practice day to making them better. When you are focusing on one specific skill, evaluation of the shot should be based solely on that aspect. By doing this, you increase your general focus skills while also increasing your proficiency in that one item of your game. Let the score watching happen when it really counts - league night.

Wait On The Weight

It’s the laws of physics, not the laws of bowling. And as we all know, the laws of physics rule the world. The proper bowling ball weight is a big topic in our game. And usually, people tend to use a ball that is too heavy, thinking that it will knock down more pins. That would be true if it were thrown at the same speed as the previous lighter ball was, but normally this is not the case. Think about it - you are throwing a round object 60 feet to knock down almost 40 pounds of wood. That ball better have some speed! For youth and seniors, this is even more important. If you are debating between two different ball weights and you just can’t decide which one is better for you, go with the lighter choice. This will allow you to maintain good physical mechanics and give you the ability to throw it at a higher, more optimal speed to maximize pin action and carry.

Have A Game to Spare?

You probably don’t walk into leagues or tournaments thinking, “I sure hope I get a lot of spares today.” Well, you should. You are going to throw your fair share (or more hopefully) of strikes. But, what separates the winners from the losers usually comes down to spare conversions. Even in today’s game of higher rev rates, stronger bowling balls, and higher scores, this still rings true. If you look at the best players in the world, you will not find any poor spare shooters. It isn’t possible to be a consistent champion on challenging lane conditions without a solid spare game. Practicing spares is certainly not glamorous or fun, but it is definitely necessary to being a champion. Being good at any sport requires sacrifice and hard work that is usually not much fun, but just ask yourself one question.... “How much do I want this?”

The Fit Is It

The tools of any sport have a big impact on success or failure. It is not only about the athlete. And our main tool in bowling is our bowling ball. And the most important factor with the ball is how it fits your hand. The dynamics of the ball won’t much matter if you can’t repeat shots and throw it very well due to an improper fit or one that hasn’t been updated lately. However, with a really good fit, you can release the ball much more consistently and with minimal effort. This will, in turn, give your ball maximum reaction. An old but true saying is, “You can’t out bowl a bad fit, and I can’t out coach a bad fit.” Be sure to get your fit checked regularly by your pro shop professional to make sure it is always current for you and maximizing your athletic efforts.

Quality, Not Quantity

It is not a new phrase - I can’t take credit for it. But, it still carries a lot of truth. I certainly advocate practice on the lanes to improve the skills you are working to make better. However, doing a three hour practice marathon is not going to be as effective as you might think. Your body and brain are getting tired before you realize it, and then sloppiness takes over. I would much rather you practice three hours, but do one good hour three times a week. You will see much better results in your practices, and ultimately, in your leagues and tournaments. Plus it is usually easier to commit to an hour on a given day than it is to commit to three hours. So, do yourself and your game a favor and remember the old adage - Quality Truly Is More Important Than Quantity.

Your Opinion Counts

Whenever I work with teams, the most common problem I encounter is lack of communication. And the most common reason for this is a seemingly paralyzing fear of being wrong. Communicating the right information to your teammates is as simple as talking about what you see and about what you feel. How could you be wrong on those two things?? The best teams in any sport have open and constant communication with one another without judging or blaming each other when things don’t go well. Nothing is perfect, including good team communication. But without it, success is almost impossible. So, open your mouth and start spewing out that information to your teammates that you normally keep inside. You will soon see how productive it is and how much more fun it makes bowling.

Emotions Control Motion

How much time can you honestly say that you put into mental practice in your bowling game?

 

When you go to practice at your local center, you are most likely working on physical skills, spare shooting, lane play, etc. But what do you think controls the consistent motion of your body?

 

You got it - the brain. There are many facets of the mental game, and emotional control is a large part of it. Sometimes getting too excited about a performance can be more harmful than getting a little angry over a bad shot or a bad game.

 

The key is to keep all emotions, good and bad, to a controllable, minimum level. This will keep your mind calm to allow you to make better decisions, and it will give you the best chance at being more consistent with your physical game.

Slowing Down Is Not The Answer

One of the most common pieces of advice we hear in bowling is to “slow down.”  Unfortunately, even with the best intentions, this advice usually is not the best.  Slowing down not only doesn’t fix the issue, but more importantly, it reduces ball velocity, energy, and ultimately, pin carry.  Speed is the number one factor in pin carry in our game, so why would we want to reduce that?  I know I don’t!  Find another solution to what is troubling your approach other than slowing down and you will maintain the velocity your bowling ball needs to knock down all that wood, your scores will increase, and so will your enjoyment! 

Keep It Simplified

When working on changes in your game, it is very easy to get overwhelmed by having too many thoughts on the approach.  As much as possible, work on no more than two things in a single practice session, and ideally, on only one.  The more repetitions you put into one single thought and skill, the quicker it becomes more natural and automatic.  Combining skills too early typically leads to frustration and delayed improvement.  So, set a goal for your next practice session to get better at your timing, or your footwork, or your swing, or whatever is ailing your game.  If you focus on only one thing (with no regard to scoring), you will come out of that practice session better than when you went in.

Free Swing? Mostly...

I think we can all agree that a free bowling swing is good for everyone. However, it cannot be 100% completely free, and for those who try, they probably encounter a few problems. You are holding an object that weighs up to 16 pounds in your hand, so there will inherently be some tension. But the goal is to minimize that as much as possible. If the swing is made too free, the two most common issues become early timing because the swing is too fast for the feet, and a wrist that flops around and doesn’t stay firm during the swing and release.

 

The Foul Line is Your Friend

Or more correctly stated, the foul line area is your friend.  There is so much information available there that we consistently miss.  How often do you look down after a shot to see what board your slide foot is on?  Do you know how much lay down distance you have between your slide ankle and the bottom of the ball at release?  Without these two pieces of information, it is impossible to be sure that you are playing the line you think you are playing.  But, if you know this stuff, you can check to see if it matches up to the target and/or breakpoint you are trying to play.  Oftentimes, bowlers are off by a few boards and this can make for confusion and frustration.

 

Don’t Bench Your Benchmark

Every bowler should have a benchmark, or medium, ball in their arsenal that is used to ‘read’ the pattern in practice.  This is the ball that should always be used to start practice in any tournament, regardless of pattern.  This ball should be smooth and predictable, and one that works on a variety of lane conditions.  This ball will give you the best read as to what the lanes are doing that day.  Then you can ball up or down depending on what it tells you.  Starting with your most or least hooking ball can pin you in a corner, physically and mentally.

Maximize Your Area

There is no such thing as perfection, so stop trying for it.  The goal in your bowling should be to throw great shots.  And another goal should be to find the most area you can and use it!  Every lane pattern and lane surface has ‘area potential’.  It is your job as the bowler to find and maximize it.  You do this by making the right decisions on ball choice, angle, speed, release, etc.  If your opponent seems to have more area than you, don’t get angry - get even by doing the things he or she is doing better than you at that moment.