Blog Comments

  1. billf's Avatar
    This week was fun. I worked with two of the girls (13 & 15) on improving their stance and finish positions. They both throw good looking balls but lack the desired consistency. The younger one looks kind of funny when she sets up. She bends at the waist but not at all in the knees so her butt sticks way out. They both average in the 140s. The older one just wants to be able to bowl varsity at least one year while in school.
    I also had a good conversation with a young boy named Blaine. He is your typical stubborn 11 year old. He has done the whole bowling camp and seminars route and still isn't very good. It's because he doesn't use what he's learned. One day it will all click for him. He is a real small kid and said he likes bowling because he can't get run over.
    The bumper league was the usual. I did work with a 9 year old after on a one step approach. She is old enough and big enough to be able to release correctly and not just fling the ball. What was strange this weekend was seeing how many of the kids have parents or grandparents who bowl in leagues but have no clue how to show their kids, not that the kids would listen anyway.
  2. billf's Avatar
    This week was fairly calm. Being homecoming tonight the teens all went out partying last night. Most were a little late and the girls all came with wet hair. The scores showed it too. I was once again getting on the captain's, high school team players, to play different lines. To be effective they need to learn how to control their rev rate and speed to be able to attack patterns from different angles. Nobody's 'A' game will work every match and it's hard to go to you're 'B' game if you don't have one. One of the sixth graders asked if I could show him what I meant when league was done. So I held a mini-clinic on how I practice targeting. I explained that I don't care about scores during practice. Then I started with a very aggressive ball to use for game one. I started playing straight up the one board. Then the five. Then swing from ten to five and so on all the way to a lay down at the 40. Then I went to a medium oil ball and did the same thing for the second game. For the third game I went with urethane and really shocked them by doing the same thing. They expected that ball to react well right of the twenty but not to the left of it and react it did. I explained each shot the whole time to the kids that stayed to watch and learn. What my intended lay down, target and break point were, what speed I was trying for and how I was going to manipulate the axis rotation and rev rate to achieve the desired result. I bowled great too. It came at a good time. I know practice scores don't matter but it does help to get the kids to listen. I also didn't miss a spare attempt and used the strike ball to go straight as needed to pick them up.
    Next week the bumper league bowls after this league. Yes, I am coaching that one too and hope it's just as much fun.