It feels like I'm wasting time trying to improve

[BowlerGuy1500]

I've invested in this sport for over 10 years now, it's insanely frustrating. I don't like how I release the ball, I turn it early pretty frequently and in recent days my accuracy has been sucking. I keep missing it off my hand, my roll and rev rate sucks, and spare shooting also sucks half of the time.

I've had the worst coaches on this face of the planet "teach" me how to bowl when I was young, basically with the doctrine: "If it hooks, you're doing it right."

Years in, I never developed a modern release, which now I'd really like.. maybe like a Thomas Larsen, somewhere in that range.

I've finally gotten a really good coach, who I've been working with for a couple of years now. I'm frustrated though, all this time put into this sport and I'm not satisfied with how I'm releasing it, and everything else sucks too.

Sometimes it really feels like I'm wasting time when I go out to practice. I can never seem to get anything working better than it already was. It's insanely frustrating...


Do you guys have any advice? Thanks so much for reading.

[boatman37]

For me I started league bowling at 12 (7th grade) in about 1981. Other than a couple of years sitting out here and there I bowled in leagues until 2002 when I tore tendons in my elbow. I quit bowling and threw all my stuff in the dumpster. Had a 193 average when I quit and was one of the highest averages in my league. Started back again in 2018 and saw these massive hooks and said 'I gotta do that'. Spent a couple of years trying it and realized most of our highest average bowlers aren't the massive hooking, high revving bowlers. Our highest league bowler is 229 and while he has some revs he pretty much goes right up the 15 board maybe out to the 10 board. In fact, of our top 10 averages only maybe 1 or 2 'look' like PBA pros with their release and hook. I decided to relax and go with what felt most comfortable for me and my average is coming back up. I started this season using my 'big' release but I was inconsistent and missed tons of spares. The last few weeks I went back to what feels better and my spare shooting is finally coming back.

So my advice, unless you are looking to go on the PBA Tour just go with what feels comfortable. Me trying to get around the ball, changing my axis rotation, etc, was just messing with my mechanics and hurting my game.

Others may disagree but that has been my experience.

[J Anderson]

I've invested in this sport for over 10 years now, it's insanely frustrating. I don't like how I release the ball, I turn it early pretty frequently and in recent days my accuracy has been sucking. I keep missing it off my hand, my roll and rev rate sucks, and spare shooting also sucks half of the time.

I've had the worst coaches on this face of the planet "teach" me how to bowl when I was young, basically with the doctrine: "If it hooks, you're doing it right."

Years in, I never developed a modern release, which now I'd really like.. maybe like a Thomas Larsen, somewhere in that range.

I've finally gotten a really good coach, who I've been working with for a couple of years now. I'm frustrated though, all this time put into this sport and I'm not satisfied with how I'm releasing it, and everything else sucks too.

Sometimes it really feels like I'm wasting time when I go out to practice. I can never seem to get anything working better than it already was. It's insanely frustrating...


Do you guys have any advice? Thanks so much for reading.

Don’t have any advice, just questions. You say you’ve been working with a “really good coach” for a couple of years. I have to assume that you have made some progress or you wouldn’t call him ( or is it her? ) a good coach.

So question one: What is (are) your goal(s)? Is it to compete in PBA regionals? To be among the top bowlers on the house shot at your local center? Is it just to average over a certain number?

2: How are you measuring your progress?

3: How often to you work with your coach?

4: Do you take notes?

5: Does your coach give you drills to practice? Has he given you things that can be practiced without going to a bowling center?

6: how often do you practice?


Okay, I lied. I do have a little piece of advice. Have your fit checked. Even as adults our hands change, the general recommendation is to check your fit every two years. If your ball doesn’t fit right it will be very hard to release it consistently.

[boatman37]

Another question...is your coach a certified coach or just a good bowler you know? I know I have asked for help and tried to mimic what some of our top bowlers do and it just made me worse. Which goes back to why I said I started just being me and doing what feels best for me

[BowlerGuy1500]

I appreciate all the replies.

@J Anderson
1. Just for fun, as of now. I'd just like to be better, so many of the guys at my bowling center I've seen there for many, many years. It's frustrating to see me never getting to that point.
2. Based on what I see/feel. I've been going through a slump the past few times I've been bowling. Feels like I can't throw it where I want to and I keep missing it half the time. Release sucks.
3. Usually once a week.
4. I do take notes of the things he told me to focus on for that given day.
5. Not generally, it's usually the things he tells me to focus on when I come in to practice.
6. I usually bowl 2-3 times a week, about 2 hour sessions.

I just recently got these balls drilled, and they don't feel too bad I don't think. But I'll keep that in mind.

This is him: https://www.bowlingfans.com/tips/tom.shtml#:~:text=Meet%20Tom%20Blasco,Tom%20hardly %20needs%20an%20introduction

[J Anderson]

I appreciate all the replies.

@J Anderson
1. Just for fun, as of now. I'd just like to be better, so many of the guys at my bowling center I've seen there for many, many years. It's frustrating to see me never getting to that point.
2. Based on what I see/feel. I've been going through a slump the past few times I've been bowling. Feels like I can't throw it where I want to and I keep missing it half the time. Release sucks.
3. Usually once a week.
4. I do take notes of the things he told me to focus on for that given day.
5. Not generally, it's usually the things he tells me to focus on when I come in to practice.
6. I usually bowl 2-3 times a week, about 2 hour sessions.

I just recently got these balls drilled, and they don't feel too bad I don't think. But I'll keep that in mind.

This is him: https://www.bowlingfans.com/tips/tom.shtml#:~:text=Meet%20Tom%20Blasco,Tom%20hardly %20needs%20an%20introduction
I think you need a goal that’s less fuzzy, preferably something that can be measured. If you use one of those bowling apps it’s pretty easy to keep track of things like your average score, strike percentage, percentage of ten pins made, etc. Either pick something yourself or talk to your coach about what would be good specific goals for you to set. While you’re talking to him, ask about things you could work on off the lanes. Where I live it gets really expensive to bowl hours worth of practice games a week.

One more question, when you say you bowl 2-3 times a week for about two hours at a time, how much of that is actually practice without paying attention to the score?

And one last thought, when you make a major change, like trying to throw a modern release, the norm is that you will feel like you’re getting worse instead of better.

[BowlerGuy1500]

I really appreciate the feedback John.

And that's a great question. Too frequently I get too interested in the score, and not enough about the practice itself. I've acknowledged it, but it still gets to me, because I want it now. I definitely need to let it go and keep on trying to swing it free and easy and let it come down, I muscle it too much, probably because of the frustration and trying to overanalyze.

[J Anderson]

I really appreciate the feedback John.

And that's a great question. Too frequently I get too interested in the score, and not enough about the practice itself. I've acknowledged it, but it still gets to me, because I want it now. I definitely need to let it go and keep on trying to swing it free and easy and let it come down, I muscle it too much, probably because of the frustration and trying to overanalyze.

You’re welcome BowlerGuy1500. It’s really hard to figure out if you’re improving without having something you can measure other than scores. Back in the dark ages, if a center had the right type of pinsetters, you could ‘shadow’ bowl, i.e. bowl without any pins for less than than regular bowling. There are still at least some of those pinsetters but I doubt if many centers still allow people to practice that way.

[classygranny]

I really appreciate the feedback John.

And that's a great question. Too frequently I get too interested in the score, and not enough about the practice itself. I've acknowledged it, but it still gets to me, because I want it now. I definitely need to let it go and keep on trying to swing it free and easy and let it come down, I muscle it too much, probably because of the frustration and trying to overanalyze.

Interesting that you indicate the too much muscle. Just a thought, some of the PSOs are going to a more relaxed span. Mine did as I had tendonitis elbow surgery and he indicated it might relieve some pressure on the elbow. Actually, for me it was the opposite. I squeezed the ball so bad, I muscled every shot and my elbow was in so much pain after 3 games. I went to a different PSO and discussed the issue...ended up going back to the "old school" span and I don't grip or squeeze the ball and tend to be able to relax the hand and arm much better. What works for one, may not work for another. Might discuss the issue with your coach. And your frustrations....he can't help fix what he doesn't know is wrong!

[RobLV1]

I know it's been mentioned before, but if you've been working with a "really good coach" for two years and you're not happy with your improvement, I would really question whether this coach is right for you.

Also, I didn't see an answer to the question about your coach's qualifications. I've seen more bowlers messed up by bad coaching than I care to remember.

[J Anderson]

I know it's been mentioned before, but if you've been working with a "really good coach" for two years and you're not happy with your improvement, I would really question whether this coach is right for you.

Also, I didn't see an answer to the question about your coach's qualifications. I've seen more bowlers messed up by bad coaching than I care to remember.

Bowlerguy put a link in one of his posts for his coach’s credentials. It mentions the coach being on Bowlers Journal’s list of the top 100 coaches.

[Ryster]

I have a family member who has been to a few different USBC certified "coaches" for lessons. Some charged by the 1/2 hour, some were on staff at the local bowling center and offered coaching for free. Their average went down each time...and has not come back up to where it was before they ever started going to "coaches" to begin with. They wanted to go to a coach to get even better, but that backfired horribly. Now they are on the verge of quitting the sport altogether. They are experiencing the same issues of practicing with no sense of purpose or feeling of growth in their game, being miserable at leagues, fellow bowlers making comments about "what happened to your game? you used to be so consistent?" and generally just feeling like they no longer know how to bowl at the level they once did.

My personal opinion is that any good coach will work with you to improve within your own personal style (let's face it, everyone bowls a little bit differently.) If a coach wants you to start over again from scratch, that is not an effective coach. A coach should watch you bowl to establish a baseline, and then tweak things within your current game/style to help you improve. I also don't think it should take years to see improvement. 6-8 months perhaps, but two years with no personal sense of accomplishment is a huge problem. If you like your current coach, and feel as though the time spent with them has been beneficial, then explain to them your immediate goals (modern release, for example) and focus on one thing at a time. Trying to tweak too many things simultaneously will just be detrimental.

[RobLV1]

Bowlerguy put a link in one of his posts for his coach’s credentials. It mentions the coach being on Bowlers Journal’s list of the top 100 coaches.

As I said before, I wonder whether or not the coach is right for him. He's not necessarily "bad," just not the right fit. Some coaches can make a connection with a certain bowler and some can't. The goal is to find the right fit.

[BowlerGuy1500]

He's actually on this top 100 list, certified silver coach. http://www.bowlersjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/Top-Coaches-2015.pdf




Undoubtedly he's the best coach I've ever worked with. At times, it feels like progression is very slow. But today when I went to practice, everything felt better overall, which is interesting. I shaved off a little bit of the callus on my bowling thumb and interestingly enough that seemed to have quite an impact on my release quality...practice overall today felt smoother than previous ones.

@RobV1
But yeah, what you said is spot-on. In the early years, where I developed my early turn habits, I had the worst coaches on this face of the planet teach me, or "help me improve." They were all about correcting things to bowl better that day, rather than improving actual mechanics. You can just see where that's gonna go, a one-way ticket to nowhereville.

[Aslan]

I think JAnderson hit the nail on the head.

What do you want? Communicate that to your coach. Develop a plan to get there.

Your plan is going to have phases. Short term, mid term, Long term, and "dream goals". They are gonna look something like this:

Short term:
- Find qualified coach
- Work on fundamentals

Mid-Term:
- Improve spare shooting %
- Improve strike %
- Raise average

Long Term:
- Join scratch league
- Join challenge/sport pattern leagues
- Enter a non-PBA tournament each month

"Dream Goals":
- Obtain PBA Card
- Enter Regional PBA50 Tournaments

See, these are "measurable" goals. REAL goals. Things you can work towards. Not just "feelings". If you miss them, your coach should be able to work with you on why you're missing them and develop a plan to fix it. Fixing those measurable goals...will include fixing those other things...like release, timing, approach, repeatability, balance, ball selection, etc... As you accomplish those lower goals and middle goals and work toward those higher goals...you'll HAVE to figure out the release to get there.