Ball Speed Discussion
I noticed something last night. On Wednesdays they have those scoring systems where it tells you your approximate ball speed. I realize they aren't very accurate...and yes, you can talk about ball speed at the release versus at the pins, etc...
...but what I noticed was, of the players...5 people per team...the speeds looked like this:
Lead bowlers: 11-14mph and 9mph
2nd bowlers: 7.5mph and 10.5mph
3rd bowlers: 7.5mph and 7-10.5mph
4th bowlers: 10-13mph and 9.5-14.5mph
Anchors: 9-13mph and 16-17.75mph
And that's what I noticed...my speed (in bold)...well above everyone elses. When I hit the pocket...the pins tend to really get a lot of action...but I have a greater tendency than the rest to miss right and leave washouts or multi-pin left side leaves.
Now...I PERSONALLY don't feel like I'm throwing it very hard. I also don't feel like I'm very fast on the approach and getting a ton of speed from my legs. And my speed is DOWN from when I started and it was in the 19-19.75 range. But all through my development, I've had people tell me "you don't need any more speed...you have enough". Lots of coaches have tried to "slow me down" on that approach in an attempt to actually let the ball and lane have more time to interact. Last night, more than one person on the other team asked me if I was throwing a 10lb spare ball because they claimed it was being "fired" so fast....to which they were amazed to find out I was throwing 16lbs.
Currently, I'm working on actually speeding up my feet...but it's not to get more ball speed...it's an attempt by my coach to correct my crazy big first step, my tendency to pause during the approach, and to get me to have a bigger final step and lower final step...as well as to get me to slide rather than plant at the line.
So, what is your ball speed? What are your thoughts on ideal ball speed? Can you change your ball speeds to match up with lane conditions? Is my speed too high?
Watching the pros, they seem to be around 19mph...but it seems that is mostly generated by their feet/legs and they use ALL of the approach...AND they have a rev rate that can still get the ball to move a great deal at that speed. But most non-pros I see trying to throw at that speed (including myself circa 2013)...it does NOT look good.
In Bag: (: .) Motiv Trident Odyssey; (: .) Hammer Scorpion Sting; (: .) Brunswick Endeavor; (: .) Radical Outer Limits Pearl; (: .) Ebonite Maxim
USBC#: 8259-59071; USBC Sanctioned Average = 186; Lifetime Average = 171;
Ball Speed: 14.4mph; Rev. Rate: 240rpm || High Game (sanc.) = 300 (268); High Series (sanc.) = 725 (720); Clean Games: 181
Smokey this is not 'Nam', this is bowling. There are rules. Proud two-time winner of a bowlingboards.com weekly ball give-away!
I'm 16.5 mph, generally, at the deck. My normal house doesn't have a monitor, so I don't see it all the time. I think speed is relative - as long as it matches up to your revs, you can throw a solid shot. If you're Sean Rash or Belmo and have 600 revs, you can throw it 21 mph and hook it right in. Most of us aren't :P
According to house monitors, I'm around 15-16mph most of the time. I think I'm around a decent range, but more would be better if I could remain accurate while increasing speed. I can easily slow down my speed. Speeding up? I can't really do that unless I'm spare shooting.
I have the opposite problem my speed is stuck between 11.5 and 12.5 at the pins. Kind of embarrassing when your 11 year old daughter throws the ball faster than I do. Wife has more ball speed than I do too.I know my PSO tries to get beginner bowlers (mostly younger men) to get thier ball speed between 13-16 mph to give it a chance to move. Usually to the guys who try to throw it through the pins.
Last edited by Amyers; 07-02-2015 at 09:36 PM.
I am a proud member of Bowlingboards.com bowling forums and ball contest winner
Current arsenal
900 Global Badger Claw - Radical Ridiculous Pearl - Spare Ball Ebonite T Zone
I am also working on my feet. I have the same tendency to pause as I drop the ball. This with NOT using my left arm to open my shoulders causes pulled shots. I hope you are able to make corrections.Originally Posted by Aslan
Yeah Chuck, the problem is that early on I tended to run and jump as I approached the foul line. So coaches worked on getting me to move closer to the foul line and slow down. That worked…but I developed a tendency to pause after the 1st and/or 3rd step (of 4). We're now trying to get rid of that pause and make the approach smoother because I'm having severe timing issues….believed to be related to that pause/start/stop. And in the process…hoping to develop a few other "good tendencies" like shortening a long/akward 1st step, learning to slide, and being lower at the foul line.
The problem is, as my steps get smaller and more fluid…and my approach longer (to compensate for a longer, sliding last step)…it's increasing my ball speed and I just don't have the revs/release to get it back.
Don't forget that mutant first crossover step.
1st, you lifted your right foot up to about mid shin on your left leg,
your heel of your right foot moved about 5-6 boards left of your left foot,
while the toes on your right foot were pointed at about 45 degrees right of straight.
While that foot was in the air, it looked like you had a broken leg.
Depending on what ball I am throwing my speed ranges from 12.65 to 13.23. Dull balls are usually closer to the 12.6 side of things as they slow down quicker than a shiny ball
Still love the game but had to quit because of my left leg amptation
High game 299 x 5 High sanctioned series 805 (1989)
We're currently trying to fix that. But it's not easy. It's just something I've always, always done...and when I try to mess with it too much...my timing goes to ****. But...I HAVE been working on it. Next time you see me bowl I think you'll notice that it's gone or at LEAST it's not nearly as severe.
I'd post an update video...but my laptop is virtually full in terms of memory and that damn video editing takes up so much space.
Back stuff up onto Data DVD's, Thats 4.7 gig per DVD of free space.
Now if it really is that your memory is full (not disk space) then you need more memory (it's cheap) or to kill off some unused services.
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