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Vdub receives 2 gold stars. My coach agrees. So "why" am I doing that? Because I'm trying to pick a target and hit it. During my lesson, one thing we worked on was picking out a target and focusing on it...but NOT trying to land the ball on it. The ball still might loft a bit if my target is further out...but it is "good loft" not "bad loft".Originally Posted by vdubtx
5 Gold stars!! And...a reputation bump! My coach said a nearly identical thing. It's the result of a miscommunication from my last lesson. We were trying to generate more revs and a better release without wearing the wrist brace...so my instructions were to start in the stance with my right hand more on the outside of the ball than under it. BUT...during my push away I was supposed to bring my hand underneath the ball before letting it swing...not keep it on the outside. And what was noticed when I didn't get under the ball in the downswing?? Mr. O got it right...my swing started going to the outside.
We also talked about getting lower (like dropping the shoulder). When I'm straighter...standing tall...I loft because quite plainly I'm too far from the lay down area. But as I get lower..."bad loft" goes away.
Well done new guy!
Gold star to mc_runner as well. As Rob has mentioned...as Barry Asher told me during some clinic time...I have to transition AWAY from thinking of bowling as a sport and start thinking of it more as a graceful performance. I had the same problem in golf. I played golf like I'd play softball...get your whole body into the swing and the harder you swing the farther it goes. Not so much. Same thing with bowling. I have to do one of the HARDEST things to tell a bowler to do..."RELAX". I have to let the swing happen...I can't "force" it...I can't panic and grab the ball. And thats a huge problem for me...even though it sounds easy enough...is to let that ball go through the swing cycle without helping it in any way.
Great posts by everyone else as well!! You all kinda were circling the same ideas. And thanks for the positive comments.
My lesson yesterday was TOUGH. We spent a LOT of time on just the pushaway. It seems like such a minor part of the whole process...but I was doing a couple things wrong:
1) Not getting my hand under the ball as it swung down.
2) Pulling my other hand away too quickly.
Not keeping my hand under (having it off to the side) made the ball go outside of the swing plane. Pulling my other hand away too soon caused the weight of the ball to shift too quickly to my right hand...which caused me to "grab" it for fear of dropping it.
We also worked on trying to stay lower...so I don't loft it...but also not trying to hit a mark as if I'm playing horseshoes...just look where you want it to go and let it go there...not LAND there.
And I got it drilled into my head over and over and over and over (just like I did when working with Rob)...that I need to relax...not think so much. It sounds like the simplest advice and easiest to conquer...but I can tell you...for me...it is like climbing a mountain. So much of that is just sub-conscious...I'm not starting my approach and thinking, "Okay...think about 12 things!! GO!!" It doesn't work like that. I'm trying to remember the 3 IMPORTANT things while trying to drown out the chorus of other voices inside my head offering me advice and reminding me of things. It's SUCH a problem for me...I actually tried bowling after smoking marijuana once just to see if it might "relax" me enough that I can "just bowl". And no, it didn't really work. I averaged 166 over the 3 games. The only difference was I found it hard to understand people talking to me, the lights seemed way brighter, and it sorta felt like the bowling alley was floating on a lake. Maybe I'll try it again tonight...but cut it off at 1/2 a joint rather than the 1.5 joints I tried then.
Well, league night tonight! Thanks for watching my video and commenting!! My coach says I should be averaging in the 180s; not the 160s. And I agree. But, I also gotta not get too frustrated. It's only been < a year and a half since I started bowling. In addition to relaxing my mind...I need to relax my expectations. Bolwing in the 160s should be "fun"...not the end of the world.
I am in the camp of sliding into the shot, not the plant and roll style. Later on you may want to change that too. You have a solid game for someone that only recently started bowling. Think of the positives and do not grade yourself so harshly based on "statistics".
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