Recent technique videos for noeymc

[Aslan]

Okay...let the embarrassment begin!

Set-up: This is a video of an old school stroker approach. True senior citizen league, low mph, low rev rate. So it's NOT very exciting.
Backstory:
1) Yes, it's cosmic bowling...and I HATE that...but I guess all day on holidays is cosmic bowling. Sorry.
2) This is the first attempt. My mother is the camera-person and hopefully during the next round she'll be better about moving to the side to see the ball hit the pins.
3) I am NOT photogenic...so small children or fragile elderly people should leave the viewing area.
4) I had the videos done in the 5th and 10th frames...over a few games where I shot a 116-126-212. I wasn't getting much reaction from the ball...so I had to move a little towards the middle and it took me the first couple games to get it all figured out.

Any help/advice/critique/etc... is appreciated. I'll add my self critique below each link...although I don't know what I'm talking about so keep that in mind.

Approach 1: http://youtu.be/V5WKEtiqe9k
I noticed my balance arm wasn't out.

Approach 2: http://youtu.be/JA4pZURJFx0
unbalanced, missed right

Missed Spare: http://youtu.be/RmlyOuQzYR0
Balance arm not out, missed my mark

Thumb stuck: http://youtu.be/6bsRfraqf2Q
My thumb got stuck in the ball...the only negative to switching to fingertip grip...this occasionally (1-3 times per series) happens.

Approach 3: http://youtu.be/mN0SiDXmjZI
Picked my balance leg/foot up.

Approach 3/Picking up the 6-10 spare: http://youtu.be/BtXsTI_7IyY
Didn't appear to use my balance arm.

Approach 4: http://youtu.be/jXqBhPcBDMk
Again, didn't keep my balance arm out.

Approach 5: http://youtu.be/q_g_-8o2n-s
I just missed my mark. I thought if I stood there and tried to curve my body that it would "nudge" the bowl over...didn't work.

Approach 5/Picking up the 1-2 spare: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewdq5sgEVKU
One of the silliest looking approaches as my balance arm wasn't out, I picked up my balance leg, and was completely unbalanced as I stood there like a drunk ballerina.

Approach 6- left the 7 pin: http://youtu.be/sqoyeTm1VQU
Seems like my balance arm is too far down.

Approach 6/Picking up the 7: http://youtu.be/M-i_OIUf_Hs
Again, balance arm seems nowhere to be found.

Approach 7/STRIKE!: http://youtu.be/yAe-YjudSKU
Picked my dang foot up...but it was the first of 5 straight strikes...so I'm not complaining. : )

Thanks!

[J Anderson]

You didn't look like you drank too many beers before donning your tutu

Seriously the balance at the line doesn't look horrible. Your balance arm does get up and out, I'm not sure if it drops down too fast. I really don't think about what my left arm and right leg are doing. I just figure they'll do what ever they have to to keep me from falling over like a dead tree.

It does look like you're lofting the ball way down lane. The ball should touch down anywhere from 6" to 2' past the foul line. the exception is when the heads have little or no oil left on them.

[Aslan]

It does look like you're lofting the ball way down lane. The ball should touch down anywhere from 6" to 2' past the foul line. the exception is when the heads have little or no oil left on them.

See...I agree with that! But my coach/instructor is fairly adament that I need to throw it "out". I think he's trying to get my follow-through extended rather than me set the ball down and do some half-way follow through. But yeah, while I do hit the pins better "tossing" it...I do lose a lot of momentum and ultimately pin carry.

[vdubtx]

Lofting I have learned is good for when the heads dry up as J Anderson explains. I have incorporated lofting to my game this past summer but I only do so when I see my ball reacting in a way indicative of dry heads. Lofting it just enough to get a bit more skid before the ball gets into it's roll.

[Hampe]

Hard to tell with the lighting, but I would say the most glaring thing is you need to bend your knee more on your slide leg.

[MICHAEL]

Mom like approach 7!! lol Hey,,, Mom's are GREAT, you got to love them!! Well Lion of the lanes, you are on your way!! It will be fun look back on this in a year or so! Not bad.....

[Aslan]

Hard to tell with the lighting, but I would say the most glaring thing is you need to bend your knee more on your slide leg.

Another area where my coach is working a little in the opposite way. I used to have a pronounced slide and knee bend...but it also tended to make me bend over/forward at the foul line. So my instruction has been...shorten the approach...stand up straighter...loft the ball. Very unconventional compared to what I'm used to.

I'm gonna practice tonight after work...and after seeing the video and hearing the comments...gonna spend a little more time focusing on keeping my balance arm out, not lofting the ball as much, and bending that sliding knee a little more! Thanks!

[Hampe]

Well if that's what your coach is working with you on.....maybe better to just listen to him. It sounds very unconventional to me as well though...I don't recall seing to many good players standing that tall/straight at the line.

But it's important to remember there's no one perfect way to play. For me, bending the knee helps with my slide, balance, and aim (being in line head over the ball). If I were coaching someone that's what I'd teach them.....but I'm not a coach, so....

[Aslan]

It's hard to argue with the guy...he just walks up to the foul line and chucks the ball out there...gets a strike. No balance arm, no sweeping balance leg, no slide, virtually no back swing. But it friggin WORKS!

[classygranny]

Do you mind me asking what certificate level or level of coaching this coach has?

Seems to me, that if he felt your knee bend caused you to bend at the waist, he would work on the bending forward, that sometimes is fast timing (my issue). I can't get to the videos again, but some things that cause fast timing can be starting the ball too late in the swing, too fast on the feet, or too long of a first step. I can't recall if I saw any of these first time through and now I can't go back and review.

I still standby the fact that you need knee bend, good timing, and some loft (previously noted) - you want to bowl the best you can and have as consistent of an approach as you can; not like another person or coach. Own your own game. If it feels wrong - don't do it! It will be harder to correct...try a few things on your own and see what feels good and works, then work from there. Tell your coach you are not comfortable with no knee bend (boy, is that knee gonna start hurting soon) and see what he suggests.