Aslan's Weekly/Monthly Chris Barnes/Joe Slowinski Statistics Nerd Thread: Part I

[Aslan]

No...you guys are right.

Sunday, Mike helped and added some targets to hit...but I just couldn't hit them. My new approach/timing is so OFF/AWFUL that I can't hit within 1 board of the target. And on sport shots you don't get 3-7 boards of miss room.

I am seeing primarily THREE issues:

1) TIMING: My coach was trying to correct my early timing by making it later. Well, now I have LATE timing and thats causing WAY more problems than the early timing. The ball is still in my backswing when I get to the line. And I've tried to alter my footwork to "delay" me getting to the foul line...which has resulted in an akward sort of stoppage after my first step. I don't know how people can bowl with late timing...it's just awful.

2) MUSCLE MEMORY: Like you guys are saying...I've lost all semblance of a "rhythm". My body wants to throw the way it's used to and I'm "messing with it". And just as I start to develop a consistent approach...I have to change it again because it's still off.

3) The new approach/delivery is more upright in an attempt to keep me from bending over the foul line and theoretically to allow me to get more revs and a better release. HOWEVER...to truly master a more upright delivery...you MUST GET LOW...REALLY LOW. And being a taller guy...with a questionable 40-year old knee...I'm struggling to get low enough. And UPRIGHT WITHOUT LOW = a shot that is much, much further away from the target when released = less accuracy. Cliff notes version...I'm back to lofting it because the ball is at hip level because I don't have enough forward spine tilt nor knee bend. So now I'm releasing it like "old me" but without the "hitting up" on the ball...because I've learned to stay more behind it. So that leads to a very high, flat shot...no movement...and + 1 to +8 boards away from my target.

I posted some scores. Two things (from a positive) that have been working are:

1) Getting low. I MUST train myself to get low as long as the knee holds out. If I get low enough that the ball is quiet when it hits the lane surface...I make a good shot. If I "toss" the ball and it thuds onto the lane = BAD shot.

2) Even though it's somewhat impossible...I MUST relax. I've found that as I get tired...I bowl BETTER. As Barry Asher would say, "my shoulders quiet down". Once I stop TRYING to bowl...and just let the ball naturally complete it's pendulum and smoothly come off my hand...I make decent shots. I don't over/under rotate. I don't hit up on the ball. I don't "grasp" the ball.

I have a couple practices and 3 league nights between now and my next lesson. No more sport league for a few weeks due to a college class I need to take on the weekend. Hopefully I can either figure things out before the next lesson or worst case the next lesson we can start over...because whatever I'm doing now....it's made me a 140-150 average bowler which is down from the 160-170 average bowler I was before.

[mc_runner]

Keep at it Aslan. Whenever you change something up you'll go down before you see the gains as you have to re-learn everything. It'll come back and when it does click... it'll feel great and the scores will be there too. It just takes some willpower to get through the downturn!