Just looking for opinions/advice...

[BowlerGuy1500]

Hey! So today I went bowling to practice a little bit by myself, then shortly after I finished, I went down a few lanes to practice with my high school bowling team.


With all that being said, I want to say that I have been getting lessons from a qualified coach, I'm here only for opinions or advice (from multiple perspectives if possible?) on why this might be happening.


So, for my practice games, the second game I bowled I shot a 278 I believe, it was a pretty solid game I thought to myself. More recently I've been working on more efficient release/roll, and throughout this game I really felt a lot of power on the ball, I had my hand cupped through out the release, and for the most part I think I was pretty soft with my releases, and the ball definitely had a lot of power on it.


When high school practice came around though, I'm not quite sure what changed. I've been having this thing where often times the ball just feels like it's coming off my hand too early (it drops on the floor) and I can't get much hook/power on it. It was a bit of a downgrade from practicing alone, my spares weren't great and I just couldn't fire the ball accurately anywhere I wanted it to go. I felt like on a few shots the ball slipped off my hand a bit earlier than I would have liked...


This same scenario has also been happening during matchplay, and I just can't figure it out. I was releasing the ball pretty well I'd say when I shot that game alone. I really don't know what it might be, if I could be doing something physically wrong (body alignment or maybe something like that could be affecting it??) I really don't know. Any opinions or advice on this subject would be highly appreciated, I just really wondered what you guys might think of this scenario.


Thanks for reading!

[GrumpyCatFace]

I’d say your timing is probably off when you tense up. I’ve had the same issue for a while now.

Once I get into a pressure situation, I don’t move the same way - I stiffen up.

Try to find what you may be doing differently - walking speed, pushaway, even the angle of your back in your stance.

[J Anderson]

Hey! So today I went bowling to practice a little bit by myself, then shortly after I finished, I went down a few lanes to practice with my high school bowling team.


With all that being said, I want to say that I have been getting lessons from a qualified coach, I'm here only for opinions or advice (from multiple perspectives if possible?) on why this might be happening.


So, for my practice games, the second game I bowled I shot a 278 I believe, it was a pretty solid game I thought to myself. More recently I've been working on more efficient release/roll, and throughout this game I really felt a lot of power on the ball, I had my hand cupped through out the release, and for the most part I think I was pretty soft with my releases, and the ball definitely had a lot of power on it.


When high school practice came around though, I'm not quite sure what changed. I've been having this thing where often times the ball just feels like it's coming off my hand too early (it drops on the floor) and I can't get much hook/power on it. It was a bit of a downgrade from practicing alone, my spares weren't great and I just couldn't fire the ball accurately anywhere I wanted it to go. I felt like on a few shots the ball slipped off my hand a bit earlier than I would have liked...


This same scenario has also been happening during matchplay, and I just can't figure it out. I was releasing the ball pretty well I'd say when I shot that game alone. I really don't know what it might be, if I could be doing something physically wrong (body alignment or maybe something like that could be affecting it??) I really don't know. Any opinions or advice on this subject would be highly appreciated, I just really wondered what you guys might think of this scenario.


Thanks for reading!

First of all, your coach is going to have a much easier time figuring out what's happening than we are.

Practicing alone is different from practicing with others, and both are different from actual competition. When bowling alone, it's easy to get into a rhythm, and repeat shots. Even if you are ignoring the score, as you should be in practice, you will still sense that your technique is right.
Switching from alone to team practice, just the fact that now you're having to wait for a couple other bowlers instead of being able to throw every time your ball comes back can throw things off. Throw in psychological factors like comparing your self to your team mates, and getting distracted while you wait and it can be a train wreak.

Another possibility is that your thumb may shrink after two or three games and you need to add a piece of tape. Or maybe the thumb hole is too big to begin with and your hand is getting tired after three or four games.

[fordman1]

Tape sounds like a good idea. What did the coach say?

[BowlerGuy1500]

Thanks for the input, guys! I appreciate all the feedback. I'll definitely consider these things when I go to a match today.

[Aslan]

Make sure you're not gripping the ball tighter or raising up out of your stance at the end. It sounds like maybe you're trying too hard when the pressure is there...and in bowling, when we "try" harder...we usually get less results.

I'm the opposite. I'll throw 120-140 games off on some lane...then league starts...and I'm throwing 165-235. I need that structure and time between shots and time to reset. And, I need to know that it "matters".