sprocket
10-04-2018, 08:11 PM
So, I have been debating whether to continue to bowl no thumb because after a two year absence from bowling, my no thumb delivery...uh..sucked. My timing was off, ball speed was down and the ball was bouncing onto the lane. Today I made a major timing discovery.
I have very little backswing. Because of that, it's very easy for timing to get early. Because of the short swing, the ball is ready to be released, but the feet aren't ready yet. So the ball ends up being "carried" through part of the delivery. And it's heavy. But then, once the slide finally occurs, the swing has no momentum. The ball has been carried, not swung. So now, the ball has to basically be slung onto the lane, which is indicative of LATE timing. I'm ready at the line but the ball is late because there is no swing to propel it.
So an easy mistake to try to correct this is to have faster feet. But then it's like racing to the line and everything happens in a blur. I can't feel my release. It happens to fast. My balance is poor.
But there is a much better correction to make! I basically need to "lose" a step during the middle of the approach. I think the swing should start in the usual place, second step of a five step approach for me, but there needs to be two very short steps in the middle. Effectively, those two short steps take the same length of time as one normal step. So it's like "losing" a step in the middle. By doing this, I don't carry the ball. The ball isn't hanging there wating for my feet to catch up.
My timing trick is to count "one, two" on my first two steps, then immediately prepare for release. The next two steps are therefore very short and my slide and release position feel very relaxed and balanced. The ball doesn't feel heavy. I can feel my release. The ball hits the lane smoothly. My ball speed is higher even though it feels like it takes so much less effort.
I'm excited to bowl league tomorrow night! I hope it feels as good tomorrow as it did today!
I have very little backswing. Because of that, it's very easy for timing to get early. Because of the short swing, the ball is ready to be released, but the feet aren't ready yet. So the ball ends up being "carried" through part of the delivery. And it's heavy. But then, once the slide finally occurs, the swing has no momentum. The ball has been carried, not swung. So now, the ball has to basically be slung onto the lane, which is indicative of LATE timing. I'm ready at the line but the ball is late because there is no swing to propel it.
So an easy mistake to try to correct this is to have faster feet. But then it's like racing to the line and everything happens in a blur. I can't feel my release. It happens to fast. My balance is poor.
But there is a much better correction to make! I basically need to "lose" a step during the middle of the approach. I think the swing should start in the usual place, second step of a five step approach for me, but there needs to be two very short steps in the middle. Effectively, those two short steps take the same length of time as one normal step. So it's like "losing" a step in the middle. By doing this, I don't carry the ball. The ball isn't hanging there wating for my feet to catch up.
My timing trick is to count "one, two" on my first two steps, then immediately prepare for release. The next two steps are therefore very short and my slide and release position feel very relaxed and balanced. The ball doesn't feel heavy. I can feel my release. The ball hits the lane smoothly. My ball speed is higher even though it feels like it takes so much less effort.
I'm excited to bowl league tomorrow night! I hope it feels as good tomorrow as it did today!