A video I shot last week.

[Eternal Bowler]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afZkhIJYHD4

I'd love your input on my form/approach/etc. I chose a "diagonal video" for this. This is mostly for critique purposes, but it can also be your enjoyment of my video editing skills and music choices.

Also, feel free to check out THIS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rczmRG7KkOU) video to see how I improved over the so many months I had bowled up until June of this year. This video as of now is mostly reserved for your enjoyment. (I promise, I wasn't trying to put out a plug for my channel or anything, heheheheheh. :p)

I do notice some really weird things with my approach though. I'm sure you can make a guess as to what those are.

I've been told my form looks good for not having bowled regularly for that long. Agree? Disagree?

[Aslan]

I think ya look great!!

Wait...how old are you? Freshman in 2011...doing math...*$&^ Dang you Chris Hansen!! I'm onto your tricks! You won't trick me again!! :cool:

[Eternal Bowler]

"Is he an undercover cop?" I am sixteen and...nah, I'm not an undercover cop. Or am I? :rolleyes:

Whooooa, thread derail. :p

NEW VID NEW VID NEW VID! It's from the same exact practice session that day. I hope anyone watching will notice my somewhat weaker shot(s).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulz-5TS1F1o

Whaddya think?

[Zaxmazr]

"Is he an undercover cop?" I am sixteen and...nah, I'm not an undercover cop. Or am I? :rolleyes:

Whooooa, thread derail. :p

NEW VID NEW VID NEW VID! It's from the same exact practice session that day. I hope anyone watching will notice my somewhat weaker shot(s).


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulz-5TS1F1o

Whaddya think?

That's the same board I play. Looks like your 'yanking' it left too much.

[Terrier]

I'm not claiming to be an expert here, but I can share some of the advice I've received on my own form. :) Overall your form looks good, though.

It looks like your wrist is breaking as you start your backswing. You start your swing by holding the ball with your forearm parallel to the ground, which puts stress on the forearm before you even move the ball. Instead, try standing on the approach relaxed, holding the ball closer to your body, and then begin your swing with a pushaway that keeps your hand under the ball. Norm Duke harps on this a lot if you watch his videos. Allowing the wrist to bend backwards prevents acceleration through the armswing and also takes away a lot of potential for revs on the ball.

Also, you could bend your knees a bit earlier. It seems that your slide step is when you get lower to the lane. Your knees should already be bent on the second to last step, so you can push off the right foot into your slide. Once you begin your forward armswing, try not to change your height from the floor much.

That said, you have a nice follow through and balance at the foul line. That's definitely a big plus. hth

[dnhoffman]

A more crouched and balanced starting stance might help you out. Your form does look very good though.

[noeymc]

you need to get lower would to see you add a slide also your time is a little late i congrat you u waiting on the ball over all good few things

i wouldnt worrie about your wrist right now your young for all we know your ball may be a tad to heavy for you the wrist thing will come

timing
slide
knee bend

work on these things if u need help working on them please feel free to send me a massage or respond here

[Eternal Bowler]

I do/did see that I have too little knee bend going into the slide and REALLY dive down. That was one of the oddities of my approach!

My hand position/rev rate isn't a whole lot of concern for me, considering I haven't enough experience/skill to start focusing on that.

Actually, I don't plant, but I used to up until I'd been bowling for about 6 months. Unless you mean that my slide needs to be longer??

As for the timing bit...I've had lots of remarks about having late timing...well, on forums, that is. In real life, I've been told that my timing is decent. I'm not sure what to believe, haha. :p

I actually DID try too hard to keep the ball in play during one or two shots, hence my "yanking" the ball.

Overall, I find your critiques very useful!

[JaMau24]

How much does the ball weigh? The way your wrist breaks starting your down swing makes me believe it's too heavy. If the balls you are throwing weigh more than 14 pounds, I'd go down to 14. I wouldn't go below 14 though. If it is 14 pounds, I'd suggest getting your strength up in that wrist and arm.

The form is there but you don't look like you're getting a lot of hand in the ball and not getting a lot of revs, which isn't really a terrible thing if you just play the down-and-in shot. However, being that you're young and still learning, I would suggest learning how to get more revs on the ball, which can done by various hand/wrist positions and during the swing. A coach would be very helpful in teaching you how to do that, but if you can't afford that, I'd suggest watching youtube videos from some of the greats teaching how that is done, or watching slow-mo releases from the pros on youtube.

Another thing, before you push the ball away and you are in your set stance, put the weight of the ball in your left hand, and have your right hand in the holes with your right hand being on the side of the ball instead of under it. Then when you push away, rotate the ball with your left hand as your pushing so your hand then comes under it. Norm Duke has videos on youtube demonstrating this as well.

Lastly, if you ever do build your strength up, and build your revs up, then I'd suggest picking the speed up a little as well, but that kind of goes hand-in-hand with building up your strength.

I'm a skinny guy as well, and throw my 16 lb ball at about 21-22 MPH and people just don't know where I get the strength from by looking at me lol. We bowl very differently though, and a lot of my speed comes from my fast approach.


Good luck.

[Zaxmazr]

I'm a skinny guy as well, and throw my 16 lb ball at about 21-22 MPH and people just don't know where I get the strength from by looking at me lol.

Woah that's pretty quick!

[Eternal Bowler]

Unfortunately, and this might come as some kind of unpleasant surprise, both my strike ball and my [undrilled] spare ball weigh 12 pounds. You now all know my weakness (pun partially intended).

On the plus side, it's better than last year when I was throwing 10 pounds (and conventional-grip)...needless to say, I couldn't carry to save my life; I've gained some weight since last spring and also some strength, so I've managed to throw my 12-pounder (fingertip) with the same speed/revs as my 10-pounder...maybe with slightly increased speed/revs.

I've tried balancing the weight of the ball in my left hand before. I might do that again.

[noeymc]

no one here is making fun of u and like the dudesaid 14 is a good weight to be at

[JaMau24]

Unfortunately, and this might come as some kind of unpleasant surprise, both my strike ball and my [undrilled] spare ball weigh 12 pounds. You now all know my weakness (pun partially intended).

On the plus side, it's better than last year when I was throwing 10 pounds (and conventional-grip)...needless to say, I couldn't carry to save my life; I've gained some weight since last spring and also some strength, so I've managed to throw my 12-pounder (fingertip) with the same speed/revs as my 10-pounder...maybe with slightly increased speed/revs.

I've tried balancing the weight of the ball in my left hand before. I might do that again.

Hmm. Well if you think you are up to it, I'd think about getting a 14 pound ball. Reason being is, you probably notice a lot with your 12 pound ball that you'll leave 5 pins and 5-7 splits and maybe some 8-10 splits that are all pocket hits. The reason is, the ball is too light and the pin(s) can actually move a 12 pounder with ease, and you don't get any drive through the pocket. I think if you learn the proper arm swing with a 14 lb pound ball (which is the minimum that the ball isn't moved a lot by the pins), it'll improve your game greatly, as you'll notice the pin carry will increase greatly. It's not as if you'll have a lot of work to do to perfect your arm swing either, because it's not bad as it is. There are just certain things you can do to make the swing more effortless and allow you to throw heavier balls with more revs and speed.

Kameron Doyle was/is a young kid at around your age that is skinny as well but learned to throw the heavier equipment exceptionally well.

Again, consult with your/a coach and watch videos to learn a more easy arm swing.

[Terrier]

Another reason to move up to a 14lb ball is that manufacturers use the same core in their 14-16lb balls for a given model. Generally, they use a "generic" core for 12-13lb balls, though some of Storm's higher end gear look like exceptions to this trend. Just be aware that most balls <14lbs do not have the same core as what's listed in the product description.

About your starting arm position, imagine that the ball is 14+ lbs. It might help you realize why it's not a good idea to hold the ball out away from your body -- it's hard on the forearm and biceps to hold it like that for long. And if you were to try that bending back of the wrist with a heavier ball, you'd be gripping it too hard to avoid dropping it. It's better to fix that backward bent wrist now before it becomes a bad habit, because you're going to get a heavier ball at some point.

[JaMau24]

Another reason to move up to a 14lb ball is that manufacturers use the same core in their 14-16lb balls for a given model. Generally, they use a "generic" core for 12-13lb balls, though some of Storm's higher end gear look like exceptions to this trend. Just be aware that most balls <14lbs do not have the same core as what's listed in the product description.

Great point that I forgot to mention.

[Zaxmazr]

When I was buying my new ball, the guy said that "14 is the new 15" in terms of popularity with league players.