June 22 practice

[billf]

John,that's actually not a bad idea. I haven't bowled left-handed since March or there abouts except for one shot Saturday with a friend's brand new First Blood. Even then I only had my right-handed shoes so I couldn't slide at all.

Many, many times I've bowled lefty and it's helped fix my righty game. Then again, I am a natural left-handed person.

[Tampabaybob]

Balance, you say ? What balance? I know you can show us something better than that. Bad S-10s or not, DUDE ! you are WAY off.
And if you're trying to show what the ball is doing, I'll go get my magnifying glass so I can see the ball reaction !!!! LOL

I'll take a bit of a different stand with you as far as drifting goes. IN A PERFECT WORLD (or maybe that of the PBA) yes, it would be great to have a near zero drift, or at least a + or - 2 - 4 boards. For "Joe Average", I don't try to control that as much. 'IF' you can 'easily' get them to tighten up their drift, without too much trouble, then I'd say, sure try to get them to cut it down. However, I say if it ain't broken, don't fix it. One of these days I'll have my daughter shoot a video of me, and if you want to se a drift, I'll show you a long drift. And to the right. What matters to me is consistency. If "the drifter" can maintain a consistent start and finish point, I say leave it alone. That's also assuming that the drift doesn't change his/her swing plane to the amount that it's messing that up. But "IF' they're able to get it down to a consistent drift, then I leave that alone and work on other things.
How much do I drift, you say? My normal starting point is the last dot on the left, finishing 3 boards left of center. Have averaged well over 200 since the late 70's, so I'd say my consistency isn't too bad. "IF" my living depended on "getting it right", then you'd see me at the lanes 24/7 and having a 3 board drift. "Get my drift Bill"?

[JPbowl]

I've watched your vid a few times now, here are some things i see.
Your footwork looks awkward, maybe because of that tiny second step.
A lot of head movement through out. (WRWJr?)
And balance at the foul line, i would stay down and stay back more (more knee bend and slide). the other 2 things probably factor in here as well with how you arrive at the foul line

[GeoLes]

I had a group lesson a couple of weeks ago and discovered to my chagrin that I lost my free swing. I was trying to emulate some things I see the pros doing and it ruined my game. It sent me "back to the drawing board". Now I focus on straight, natural swing without excessive back swing or shoulder turnout. (It seems I was bringing the shoulder back on the back swing, forcing me to bring the ball around my body on the way forward.)

Now I bowl for natural swing and look to simpy hit my mark, not caring about pin fall. Winter league is over, so it's time to overhaul the swing anyway, so let's go to work!!!!

[Tampabaybob]

I had a group lesson a couple of weeks ago and discovered to my chagrin that I lost my free swing. I was trying to emulate some things I see the pros doing and it ruined my game. It sent me "back to the drawing board". Now I focus on straight, natural swing without excessive back swing or shoulder turnout. (It seems I was bringing the shoulder back on the back swing, forcing me to bring the ball around my body on the way forward.)

Now I bowl for natural swing and look to simpy hit my mark, not caring about pin fall. Winter league is over, so it's time to overhaul the swing anyway, so let's go to work!!!!

It's ok to try to emulate some of the things the pros do, however you always need to be able to go back to YOUR style if the other doesn't work. Sounds to me like you were forcing your swing. Remember GRAVITY ? Use it to your advantage !!

[billf]

I've watched your vid a few times now, here are some things i see.
Your footwork looks awkward, maybe because of that tiny second step.
A lot of head movement through out. (WRWJr?)
And balance at the foul line, i would stay down and stay back more (more knee bend and slide). the other 2 things probably factor in here as well with how you arrive at the foul line

Thank you. I didn't notice the short second step. I get irritated trying to watch my footwork. With my knee problems my right foot doesn't point straight anymore and immediately distracts me. When I force my foot to point straight my knee swells up real quick and stays that way for about three or four days. That short step there is definitely why I'm not as close to the foul line as I usually am and could also be contributing to why I can't get enough/correct slide as I'm sure my other leg is trying to compensate for the difference throwing it all out of whack.

[Tampabaybob]

Bill, try one of those compression sleeves from "TommyCopper". One of the guys I bowl with bought one and was taking a ridiculous amount of motrin before he bowled, just to withstand the pain. He bought one of these and within a couple of weeks he said the pain was like 95% gone. They're not cheap, but I guess they do work. Just goole the name and you'll see it.

[classygranny]

Bill, try one of those compression sleeves from "TommyCopper". One of the guys I bowl with bought one and was taking a ridiculous amount of motrin before he bowled, just to withstand the pain. He bought one of these and within a couple of weeks he said the pain was like 95% gone. They're not cheap, but I guess they do work. Just goole the name and you'll see it.

I was having so much pain in my left elbow (non-bowling arm) that someone here suggested the compression sleeve. I ordered it immediately after researching it. I've had it about 2 weeks now and I have to say it really helps. I probably don't wear it enough, but I try and make sure I wear it when bowling and working a lot on the computer. I tend to pick my ball up and hold it with my left hand while waiting my turn. I also support it with my left hand and I feel less pain the next day. My elbow still hurts at times, just not so painful that I am unable to use it like before.

The website is TommieCopper.com - it will cost you about $30, but I figure that's better than all the pain killers/poison I would be putting in my body!

[billf]

I've needed a knee replacement since 1991. I'm use to the normal (?) pain and swelling. The orthopedist still wants me to try to wait for the replacement. He says due to me being active I have a good chance of wearing one out before I'm deceased. I don't take pain meds other than excedrin migraine when needed.
I have a compression sleeve for my knee and elbow. Works great on the elbow, bothers me on the knee when bowling.

Anyway, I've spent many hours the past few days correcting stuff. Concentrating on taking a full step the first two. Feels like I'm flying lol. I didn't like how my swing went so far beind my back. Seems like when it feels like it's way outside, it's actually straight back. Keeping my upper body further back has helped my center of gravity allowing a slightly better slide and less popping up. Kept moving my eye off the target but with all the other stuff I'm concentrating on, I'll take that trade off for now.

[billf]

Here's today's practice session. Sorry for the fat belly that kept making an appearance. I promise to never wear that shirt and shorts combo bowling again.