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3 articles on spares from BTM. Article 2, part 1

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How to throw it straight. by Jim King

Okay. You have decided that you want to be a GBOT (Great Bowler Of Today). You have made the commitment to learn a release that will make the ball go straight on any condition. You go to the lanes to practice and your "kill shot" still hooks. What happened? Why won't it go straight? You ask ?What can I do to kill it more?? Lets back up and analyze the entire situation.
Of course, the easiest way to learn how to throw it straight is to seek a professional instructor. An objective pair of eyes is very helpful. But I am writing this under the assumption that you will try to learn this on your own. So, let us proceed.

Are you going to try and use your strike ball? If so, the release must result in a purely end over end roll. With a reactive or particle ball on a dry lane, there is no room for error in the hand action. Any side roll or spin at all will result in an enormous amount of hook on a dry lane. I have seen a few GBOTS who can do this, but most use a spare ball of plastic or rubber. With a plastic or rubber ball, there is room for error in the hand action.

Now, as to how to affect that end over end release and make it go straight. First, you must untrain your hand and unlearn or reteach yourself how not to hook it. The easiest way to learn this is to put your spare ball and your other equipment in the bag and proceed to the nearest rack of house balls. Try to find one that is the same weight and same size or slightly larger fingers and thumbhole. Don't worry about the span if you can?t find one that is close. Plastic or rubber will do. Now go to the foul line and make yourself comfortable. You will be there for a while. Remember, we are unlearning our hook release, so we don't want to do anything associated with that release, like a stance, pushaway, approach or power step. We want to isolate your hand action as much as possible and this is the easiest way to do that. Just take one step and deliver the ball onto the lane and do not, I repeat, do not lift, turn, spin, horse, crank, yank or torque that house ball. Just get it off your hand safely, just like you did the first several times you went bowling. You will feel stupid and embarrassed standing at the line doing this. Don't worry. It will be worth it if you can become a GBOT. Practice rolling this hunk of rubber or plastic, which might be older than you are, with a palm-forward, thumb out release. If you can make it roll over the thumb and finger holes, then you are doing it right. Those bumping sounds as it goes down the lane are positive reinforcement. Any track parallel and near the grip will work. One mental swing thought that might help you is to lead with your little finger. We aren't using targets yet, but visualize your little finger as a pointer toward your target when you get one. Try to do this before the lanes have been dressed or after a late league when the lanes are at their driest. If the oil is fresh, then throw it in the driest part of the lane, except to check where the ball is tracking by occasionally rolling it in the oil. Remember, we are trying to achieve a shot that will go straight, even on dry lanes. If you have picked up a ball with no distinguishing characteristics, place a piece of white tape just above the finger holes. This will help you monitor the rotation as it rolls down the lane. When you have successfully rolled it end over end 25-30 times, then try it with your spare ball from the foul line. If you still are having trouble getting a clean release, you might now be able to tell how to tweak your grip layout in order to get a cleaner exit. Ask your ball driller to help you here. If you regress into somewhat of a hook release, go back to the house ball and train some more.

Important note: Do not settle for a grip that inhibits an end over end release just because you don't want to take the time and trouble to get the ball plugged and redrilled. If you do, then you have not made that commitment we talked about.

Lets talk about drilling. There are two schools of thought on how to have this spare ball drilled. The conventional theory is to drill it just like your strike ball so that the feel is the same. If you are throwing your normal release at spares, this theory sounds logical. But we are not using our normal release, so an alternate drilling might be necessary. If your finger and thumbs pitches are such that you can release it end over end, then there's no need to redrill. But many bowlers have pitches on their thumb to encourage side roll, so end over end is practically impossible. My own thumb pitch would not allow a clean end over end release, so I searched for an alternative I decided to try more reverse(1/2" instead of 1/4") and less away(0 instead of 1/8"). This worked. It allowed me to have a cleaner release. I drop a few, but those dropped shots still go straight and get the job done. Straight is straight, remember? I also now use a 7/16" bridge to give me a wider leverage base. This makes it easier for me to stay behind it and come straight up the back without any side roll. The span on one of your fingers may need to be adjusted so that you get equal pressure with both fingers. I use more away (1/2" instead of 1/8" on the fingers) again allowing for a cleaner exit. This grip allowed me to roll the ball straight and I began to get curious about GBOTS spare ball grips. I began to ask them when bowling next to them or crossing with them in tournaments and I was surprised by the fact that very few used the exact same grip for their spare ball. If you think about it, what is wrong with having a different grip for your spare shots? If you are using a different release, why is it so imperative to have the same feel? After a few years of experience "killing it", I've come to the conclusion that the same grip as my strike ball would encourage the same release, which is what we are trying to "unlearn". I would suggest to you that if the grip on your strike ball will not allow you to achieve an end over end roll that you try a different grip. Don't be afraid to experiment. You might come up with another solution of your own.

Now, back to the lanes. So now you have successfully rolled a straight shot with your spare ball 25-30 times. Ok, lets try it with the approach. Again, just roll it in the driest part of the lane. We are not ready for targets yet. Lets try to get used to that same straight ball release with our old hook ball approach. If you are easily bored, this could be difficult. Just take heart that with every successful end over end delivery, you are one step closer toward untraining your hand action and one step closer to being a GBOT.
Don't forget to take breaks periodically to avoid getting tired. Also, each time you come back from a break view it as an opportunity to test your progress and test your muscle memory. When you have successfully rolled it straight with your spare ball 25-30 consecutive times: STOP. Don't bowl any more that day. You must rest up for combining your newfound hand action with looking at a target and actually making a spare. When you return to practice again, test your muscle memory first by seeing if you can roll at least ten end over end shots. If not, then go back to the foul line until you get it back. Once you are confident that you can execute this shot, try shooting a 10 pin. Use your old target if you played no hook before. If not, then you will have to find a new target. Hopefully, you will be doing this on dry lanes again. If not, be sure and use the tape on your spare ball so you can check the rotation. If there is oil in the middle, the lane may not point out a misdelivered shot like a dry lane would. Do not throw strike balls at all during this exercise. Try some 7 pin shots. You will definitely have to find a new target for this one. I recommend the 3rd arrow from the left for both lefthanders and right handers. This is the part of the lane where you can usually find some oil, even on a tournament shot that has broken down. You want to use this part of the lane in case you accidentally squeeze one under the pressure of live competition. It might cover up your mistake.
Now that you are comfortable with your newfound release, try intermingling it with your hook release. Throw a strike ball, then throw a 10 pin. Throw a strike ball, then throw a 7 pin. Throw two strike balls, then throw a 10 pin, etc. Don?t worry about what spares you might actually be leaving, you are just testing your muscle memory. You might be striking on every full rack. Just mix in the kill shots so that your hand and body can get used to the changes. Try to follow up this practice with another using basically the same drills. This time, however, try to add adjustments for other spares such as the 4, 4-7 (no, they are not the same), 6, 6-10 (they are not the same either), 2-4-5 (for righties), 2-4-7 (for lefties), and washouts. Use full racks. This will help your concentration.

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Updated 08-13-2009 at 09:23 PM by Graaille

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