release problem

[tracy]

all of a sudden i have been having a bad release problem. instead of following through and letting the ball do the job , i have been coming up on the ball and my hand is ending up behind my neck (or back). it seems as though i'm trying to crank the ball( i'm not a cranker) instead of letting the ball do the work. do you think i'm losing the trust in my ball or some bad habit creeping in? my average (182) has been steadily dropping (175)because of this. also the inside of my thumb is starting to get sore . i also noticed that when i release the ball my thumb is pointing almost straight down. what the ??

[mrbill]

If you have the time read back on my posts from last year.
I have had the same problem as you for the most part and this is what I did or did not do.
One of my at the time problems and to this day was working on my release. I read and listened to everything I could get my hands on about the subject, it got better then it got worse then better again then worse again, back and forth till one day after hrs and weeks and months of practice, It was me, it was my body and mind needing all that practise and reading and learning and putting it all together. Now I know what to do and my body knows aswell.
This is what I tell my self right befor I throw the ball, " Just use your fingers and flick at the follow through"
What ever I aim at with my fingers, thats what the ball will hit. And the index finger can be pointed at the pocket when you get better.
But the thing that works out all your problems by far is Practice Practice Practice Practice Practice Practice!
Now with the thumb thing, i'm still working on it, tape works but its a pain in the butt. Now I just ordered a thumb strap from bowling.com we will see............
I hope this helps tracy... Good Luck
P.S. I just wanted to say that I also in the past tryed to crank the ball and I'm a Power Stroker.
I Bowl with my sons and they love to crank the ball and always say "dad you shouild put more revs on the ball it looks k00ler" I avg in the mid 180's but still was hurting my thumb and was inconsistant.
Now I tell them you stick to cranking and I will do my thing by striking more then you hehe. They don't bug me any more....

[bowl1820]

all of a sudden i have been having a bad release problem. instead of following through and letting the ball do the job , i have been coming up on the ball and my hand is ending up behind my neck (or back). it seems as though i'm trying to crank the ball( i'm not a cranker) instead of letting the ball do the work. do you think i'm losing the trust in my ball or some bad habit creeping in? my average (182) has been steadily dropping (175)because of this. also the inside of my thumb is starting to get sore . i also noticed that when i release the ball my thumb is pointing almost straight down. what the ??

Well my two cents.
I think at some point in the past, your ball quit reacting they way you wanted, so you put a little hand into it. then as time went by you put a little more hand then a little more so on and so on.

Now you've got to the point were you're really trying to force the ball and it has threw off your swing and release (bad habit creeping in). with your thumb point down , it means your coming over the top of the ball.

I'd try giving your ball a little more surface texture, then when you bowl relax and concentrate on stroking the ball with nice easy swing and follow through.

[J Anderson]

all of a sudden i have been having a bad release problem. instead of following through and letting the ball do the job , i have been coming up on the ball and my hand is ending up behind my neck (or back). it seems as though i'm trying to crank the ball( i'm not a cranker) instead of letting the ball do the work. do you think i'm losing the trust in my ball or some bad habit creeping in? my average (182) has been steadily dropping (175)because of this. also the inside of my thumb is starting to get sore . i also noticed that when i release the ball my thumb is pointing almost straight down. what the ??

Having your follow-though wind up behind your back doesn't necessarily mean that you are turning into a cranker. Strokers like both Walter Ray Williams and Steve Jaros have or have had follow-throughs that wind up behind the back. However since this is a change for you, you must be doing something different. The best thing would be to have some one who knows how you used to bowl watch you for a few frames, and see if they can spot the change. I suspect that you are trying (probably subconsciously) to force the shot, either to stay on target or to get more ball speed. As soon as your hand starts to rotate in your release that extra muscle just whips your hand around the ball. Good luck fixing thisbecause the only pain in bowling should be mental. Like from the pocket 7-10 or a ringing 10 pin when you need a strike to win.

[tracy]

thank you for the replys. i think they ALL hit the nail on the head and are so true to the way i have been bowling.

[J Anderson]

The big trick, now that you know what you're doing wrong, is to be able to focus on doing it right. One my major flaws is getting so focused on not doing something wrong that I either can't stop doing it, or I overcompensate and do the complete yet equally wrong opposite action.