Update since video critique

[Phonetek]

Well I bowled 5 games last night and 5 today. Since I got all the feedback on my video from this site and a couple other sources I started working on a couple things. I have about 6 things I need to work on but I decided to concentrate on two for starters. One was in my setup. I'm holding it slightly lower but not much and I am supporting the ball weight with my left hand which I didn't at all before. I feel like I have a nice smooth push away now because of it. It's more rounded and fluid instead of sharp and stiff. It also helped my back swing feel more natural and not forced. I didn't feel as though I was muscling it.

The second thing I worked on was bending more, getting lower and knee continuation. I noticed a huge difference. I am able to get lower than I thought and I was able to post my shot easier. I didn't feel like I was hobbling around at the line. I seen my mark better and longer. I also noticed since I am lower that I'm not boinking the ball to the dots causing a double bounce. I barely heard it hit the lane so I feel like I was getting out a little sooner. My scores didn't suffer at all, I bowled very well. According to Pinpal for the 10 games I averaged a nice even triple deuce 222 so I can't complain.

I still have much to work on but I'm going to just concentrate on these two things for a few more practice sessions then move on to the others. Just starting with these two things, since one was at the beginning of my approach and the other is at the end it seemed to help fix the ones in between. I'll know for sure when I get some more video. I didn't have the ipad with me to record either time

[boatman37]

Sounds great! I need to work on getting lower too. My friend was here yesterday (we have always been on the same team since I graduated from high school up until I quit and now back on the same team again). Anyway, I was trying to bend at the waist more but gave up on it. He said I looked 'messed up' when I did that and said my ball looked better when I 'dropped' it.

And I know what you mean about your backswing. I practiced Friday and after my 5th game I started holding the ball up near my cheat when I start instead of near my hip. My backswing feels more natural and I don't feel like I am muscling it anymore. I'm also more consistent about hitting my mark but my ball speed is inconsistent now. Hopefully after a few more games and more muscle memory that works itself out.

[Phonetek]

Sounds great! I need to work on getting lower too. My friend was here yesterday (we have always been on the same team since I graduated from high school up until I quit and now back on the same team again). Anyway, I was trying to bend at the waist more but gave up on it. He said I looked 'messed up' when I did that and said my ball looked better when I 'dropped' it.

And I know what you mean about your backswing. I practiced Friday and after my 5th game I started holding the ball up near my cheat when I start instead of near my hip. My backswing feels more natural and I don't feel like I am muscling it anymore. I'm also more consistent about hitting my mark but my ball speed is inconsistent now. Hopefully after a few more games and more muscle memory that works itself out.

I did try one other thing but only three times. It was said that my first step is suppose to go in front of my left foot, like walking on a balance beam. Mine isn't. It's just a tiny little step. I tried it and wow did it feel un-natural. I just felt my body tilt to the right and it threw me all out of whack, my timing was all messed up and I almost tripped myself. All 3 times I did it the same thing happened. I was too embarrassed to keep trying because my co-workers were watching. They asked me if I was drinking the "Blue Lemonade" again.

I thought when it was mentioned it would be nothing to fix it. Boy was I wrong. I'm gonna have to dedicate several sessions and work on just that. I may wanna bring a gym mat to put at the foul line for when I fall on my face.

[Amyers]

Do you use a 4 or 5 step approach?

[Amyers]

Sounds great! I need to work on getting lower too. My friend was here yesterday (we have always been on the same team since I graduated from high school up until I quit and now back on the same team again). Anyway, I was trying to bend at the waist more but gave up on it. He said I looked 'messed up' when I did that and said my ball looked better when I 'dropped' it.

And I know what you mean about your backswing. I practiced Friday and after my 5th game I started holding the ball up near my cheat when I start instead of near my hip. My backswing feels more natural and I don't feel like I am muscling it anymore. I'm also more consistent about hitting my mark but my ball speed is inconsistent now. Hopefully after a few more games and more muscle memory that works itself out.

Be careful with trying to get lower try to add additional knee bend rather than overly bending at the waste.

[boatman37]

Be careful with trying to get lower try to add additional knee bend rather than overly bending at the waste.

Yep. That's exactly what I was doing, bending at the waist. Need to try to get that knee bend in there. Definitely need to work on that.

[djp1080]

I did try one other thing but only three times. It was said that my first step is suppose to go in front of my left foot, like walking on a balance beam. Mine isn't. It's just a tiny little step. I tried it and wow did it feel un-natural. I just felt my body tilt to the right and it threw me all out of whack, my timing was all messed up and I almost tripped myself. All 3 times I did it the same thing happened. I was too embarrassed to keep trying because my co-workers were watching. They asked me if I was drinking the "Blue Lemonade" again.

I thought when it was mentioned it would be nothing to fix it. Boy was I wrong. I'm gonna have to dedicate several sessions and work on just that. I may wanna bring a gym mat to put at the foul line for when I fall on my face.
As you may recall I've gotten some very good coaching to fix lots of things I was doing once I came back to this sport.
Never once did the coach mention the crossover step like you were trying out.
I've tried several times on my own to use it and it sounds like you experienced what I found. I tend to keep my feet going in a straight line right to the foul line. My knees are bent, my spine is a bit forward from the beginning and stays there and my bowling shoulder is dropped down. When trying the crossover, I felt that my target was moving on me and didn't like that feeling at all. I think that a tight rope walk up to the foul line might be easier to do without getting the target to move.
I'm happy that with any changes that your scores aren't dropping. Nice going! Glad your swing is smooth. Wonder if your speed has dropped down any... Good luck!

[Phonetek]

As you may recall I've gotten some very good coaching to fix lots of things I was doing once I came back to this sport.
Never once did the coach mention the crossover step like you were trying out.
I've tried several times on my own to use it and it sounds like you experienced what I found. I tend to keep my feet going in a straight line right to the foul line. My knees are bent, my spine is a bit forward from the beginning and stays there and my bowling shoulder is dropped down. When trying the crossover, I felt that my target was moving on me and didn't like that feeling at all. I think that a tight rope walk up to the foul line might be easier to do without getting the target to move.
I'm happy that with any changes that your scores aren't dropping. Nice going! Glad your swing is smooth. Wonder if your speed has dropped down any... Good luck!

The crossover step was mentioned to me online by a coach but not here. I'm honestly not clear on just why it's important to be honest, there was no elaboration on it. It was just stated that needed to do it after he seen my video. I'm not a drifter, my left foot ends up in line with where I start so maybe someone here can explain the purpose of the crossover step. I'm still willing to try to do it but as I said AFTER I feel the new fixes become natural and I don't have to think about them. I only wanna work on a couple things at a time. Doing too much at once is a sure recipe for disaster.

I'm glad you mentioned the speed. It wouldn't say it dropped per say, it's still at 19 MPH but it's staying under 20 MPH. No more 20-22. So yeah maybe just a tad, however it is much more consistent throw by throw. Instead of being 18 - high 20 it's right around 19 every time within a .5 variance + or -. Consistency to me is an improvement. Since it's not getting launched on the lane double bouncing and being placed it's getting more back end since it's getting more of a chance to roll earlier because it's got more lane to roll on. That's going to help in the future when I do try the new release. New release won't work landing at the dots. Yeah, I'm gonna try I've made up my mind. Probably a month or so away though. One note, my speed is still higher on cross alley spares but I think that's normal isn't it because it's more direct?

[Amyers]

The crossover step was mentioned to me online by a coach but not here. I'm honestly not clear on just why it's important to be honest, there was no elaboration on it. It was just stated that needed to do it after he seen my video. I'm not a drifter, my left foot ends up in line with where I start so maybe someone here can explain the purpose of the crossover step. I'm still willing to try to do it but as I said AFTER I feel the new fixes become natural and I don't have to think about them. I only wanna work on a couple things at a time. Doing too much at once is a sure recipe for disaster.

I'm glad you mentioned the speed. It wouldn't say it dropped per say, it's still at 19 MPH but it's staying under 20 MPH. No more 20-22. So yeah maybe just a tad, however it is much more consistent throw by throw. Instead of being 18 - high 20 it's right around 19 every time within a .5 variance + or -. Consistency to me is an improvement. Since it's not getting launched on the lane double bouncing and being placed it's getting more back end since it's getting more of a chance to roll earlier because it's got more lane to roll on. That's going to help in the future when I do try the new release. New release won't work landing at the dots. Yeah, I'm gonna try I've made up my mind. Probably a month or so away though. One note, my speed is still higher on cross alley spares but I think that's normal isn't it because it's more direct?

The cross over is considered important to get the leg out of the way so the ball can pass underneath your head instead to trying to wrap it around the leg. If your using a 4 step approach I can see why this would be important on a 5 step approach not so much on the initial step but it should be on the 3rd step. I think cross over confuses a lot of bowlers it's not a cross over but as Mo Pinel expressed to me it's more of a balance beam step. The steps shouldn't cross over but be in front of each other. The cross over is on the final step coming in for the slide.

it is normal to throw higher speed across lane. Couple of factors usually more oil so the ball skids more and hopefully your using a plastic ball so less friction leads to higher speed

[J Anderson]

The crossover step was mentioned to me online by a coach but not here. I'm honestly not clear on just why it's important to be honest, there was no elaboration on it. It was just stated that needed to do it after he seen my video. I'm not a drifter, my left foot ends up in line with where I start so maybe someone here can explain the purpose of the crossover step. I'm still willing to try to do it but as I said AFTER I feel the new fixes become natural and I don't have to think about them. I only wanna work on a couple things at a time. Doing too much at once is a sure recipe for disaster.

I'm glad you mentioned the speed. It wouldn't say it dropped per say, it's still at 19 MPH but it's staying under 20 MPH. No more 20-22. So yeah maybe just a tad, however it is much more consistent throw by throw. Instead of being 18 - high 20 it's right around 19 every time within a .5 variance + or -. Consistency to me is an improvement. Since it's not getting launched on the lane double bouncing and being placed it's getting more back end since it's getting more of a chance to roll earlier because it's got more lane to roll on. That's going to help in the future when I do try the new release. New release won't work landing at the dots. Yeah, I'm gonna try I've made up my mind. Probably a month or so away though. One note, my speed is still higher on cross alley spares but I think that's normal isn't it because it's more direct?

The purpose of the "cross-over" step is to get the ball side hip and leg out of the way of the swing path. USBC coaching materials imply that every bowler needs a cross-over step. In fact there are some excellent bowlers, like Carolyn Dorin-Ballard who do not use a cross-over step.

On a cross alley spare the ball stays in the oil longer and if given an end over end roll is not going to be slowed as much by the friction as if it were given a lot of axis rotation.

[Phonetek]

The purpose of the "cross-over" step is to get the ball side hip and leg out of the way of the swing path. USBC coaching materials imply that every bowler needs a cross-over step. In fact there are some excellent bowlers, like Carolyn Dorin-Ballard who do not use a cross-over step.

On a cross alley spare the ball stays in the oil longer and if given an end over end roll is not going to be slowed as much by the friction as if it were given a lot of axis rotation.

Since I don't whack my leg or hip with the ball, hand or arm like ever, would this be something that I need to do then? Looking at the video I seem to naturally tilt my hip and leg out of the way already.

[JasonNJ]

Since I don't whack my leg or hip with the ball, hand or arm like ever, would this be something that I need to do then? Looking at the video I seem to naturally tilt my hip and leg out of the way already.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I haven't looked at your video but if your hip and leg is not causing swing issues, then I would say don't worry about it. There are plenty of good bowlers who don't use a cross over step.

[boatman37]

I seem to drift slightly right mid-way through my approach but end up at about the same place I started so seem to have a drunk mans approach...lol. Never noticed it until I video'd myself. No crossover her but I have a 4 step approach. My first step is straight (left foot) 2nd step is a few inches to the right from where it should be. My 3rd step is offset too then my last step crosses over in front of my left foot to slide. It's in the same line as where I start. Not sure why I drift

[Phonetek]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I haven't looked at your video but if your hip and leg is not causing swing issues, then I would say don't worry about it. There are plenty of good bowlers who don't use a cross over step.


Here is the link to the video if your interested
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Vessw0IQak&feature=youtu.be

[Phonetek]

I bowled 3 games after hours last night and man did I do horrible! I struggled to shoot 170's all three games. I couldn't stay balanced at the line and I couldn't get my ball to do anything, it was hitting the pocket like a marshmallow. 10 pin 10 pin 10 pin 7 pin 4 pin and I missed a bunch of them. I tried 3 different lines and nothing worked. I couldn't buy a solid strike, just slop and brooklyns. After the 3rd game which I shouldn't have even started I closed up shop. Worst I've bowled since I came back. Glad it was just me and one of the cleaning crew in the building, it was embarrassing.

I was just out of sync and had a bad night, it happens. I was tired and not feeling well though so I wasn't 100% into it. I just like to bowl when it's so quiet in the place you could hear a mouse fart, it's not like that often. I think I need to re-evaluate my ball speed though, it's becoming more of a handicap than advantage. I'll just put last night behind me and do better next time.