How to teach a free arm swing?

[swingset]

My wife is brand new to the game, never threw a ball in her life until age 44. She up and decided to start, and wanted me to show her how to bowl. I'm actually a pretty good teacher for fundamentals, have showed a lot of people how to bowl and they've all thrived and went on to bowl really well. I know the popular method is a USBC coach, but there aren't many around us and my wife isn't into that kind of thing at all...just not something she'd want to do (hard to explain, but let's just say that I'm gonna be the one to guide her).

I got her a Storm Polar Ice 8lb urethane to start on, and the weight is great for her. She's got a solid 4-step approach - timing is great, always releases at the ankle. Her balance is good, foot and opposite hand go out and she keeps her head right above the ball on release. To see her roll a successful ball, you'd think she had the game nailed. Even her release looks good...stays behind the ball and comes out clean.

Where she's really having trouble is a free "back and through" arm swing. She's bringing it back to the outside, or at release jerking it across her body. It either goes straight down the lane or just slams into the gutter...no in between. I tell her to relax her shoulder and let the ball come back as freely as possible and bring it straight up through after release. She'll correct sometimes and she's great, then bang right back to hurling it left or right, badly. She is frustrated because she says she can't perceive the difference between a good swing and a bad one. I kind of get that, sometimes I can't feel a bad back swing but can see the results. I've told her that it's a matter a clean pushaway and letting the ball drop freely and not imparting movement on it.

The question is, how to get her muscle memory to train the correct swing? Is there a good drill that can help establish that muscle memory?

[billf]

Sure is a drill
Have her stand in the finish position. Swing the arm back and forth in the swing slot. I usually have beginners start without the ball then when they start to feel the correct swing slot, add the ball. This can be done in front of a mirror also. Once your wife can see the correct slot in the mirror, with you watching to ensure proper form, then she can practice it without your help. Five minutes a day and a free arm swing with a correct swing slot will soon follow.

[striker12]

billf is saing the same way i was showed but my coach took my my fingers made me lock them as if they where in a ball and pulled my arm back slowly to see how much flexability i had and it was not that much but it inproved more i did drills.

but then while my arm was back he had me close my eyes and just relax my arm and think i dont have a arm and he let my arm go and he told me to open my eyes and my arms was swinging freely, but when it came to with the ball i kinda droped the ball a few times untill i got the feel with the ball in my hand, and the drills he ahd me do where 1 steps and no steps, the other was get down on 1 leg and just swing the ball and let it coem out of my hand on its own dont rev it he sead u will learn that when u get the hang of releasing the ball first.

thing with doing it on 1 knee u can do it in your own house too cause you let the ball come out of your hand and u dont want to throw it too hard or it will go threw a wall ik cause i did it, but u do it down a hall any size cause its just a realease drill helps with working on your timing but set up alot of pills at the end of the hall and tape some too the door cause the ball will roll up them.

thats how i was touch cause evryday after bowling my coach will take me and get a lane on and tell me things i did wrong and worked on them with me and he did this every week he told me it should take about the rest of the season till i get all of it intacted but i was able to learn all of it in half the time and he has a good fealing about how im imporving and how far i can get his words.

[swingset]

Thanks, will try these!

[nev]

My 2 Bobs worth

Firstly as a coach IMO you need to get her to a coach for a number of reasons
Nothing worse then little Johnny coming up and saying I cannot get the corner pins or cannot get the ball in the pocket only to learn he was taught by his father unqualified and thinking he was right
People have Accreditations for a reason

Having said that I digress

I can guaranty 90% of you wife erratic swing is caused by the weight of the ball
Unless she is a 10lb Midget
An 8lb ball is far to light for a 44yo
She would be muscling or throwing the ball to get it down the lane
A good coach would suggest ball weight by height and build of the person

At the end of the day its the momentum of the body (the approach) and the weight of the ball that gets it to the other end
Muscling the ball creates all sorts of problems with timing and swing.

I'm personally not a fan of head over the ball on release
This causes a drop shoulder and Dick Ritger proved a drop shoulder to be the main cause of erratic swing

I teach the shoulders square to the pins and square to the floor
Almost Imposable I know but gets them out of the dropped shoulder scenario

I would get her with a heaver ball (heaver she can handle the better)

Get her to kneel on the approach
Right knee down (Assuming she is a right hander )
Left foot in front of left knee making sure the left knee is at 90 degrees
Left forearm across left leg body leaning forward

Place the ball beside her and explain the ball is sitting on a clock face
12 O'Clock is straight down the lane and 6 O'Clock is Back toward the ball return

She should have the fingers in the ball at 4 and 5 O'Clock

Then basically lift with the shoulder and put the straight arm back and let it swing making sure the wrist is straight
Then pull it back and when the ball pases the right knee instruct them to relax (straighten) the thumb and the ball should fall off
Then 2 more swings for balance and to check straight arm swing
I tell the kids to answer the phone after they release the ball(bring the hand up to the ear)


After accomplishing that get her to do it standing up
balancing on her left leg with knee bent and the right foot planted behind the left one where ever comfortable
Left arm extended out for balance
Remember shoulders straight

That should help

[swingset]

Firstly as a coach IMO you need to get her to a coach for a number of reasons

That's not happening...and it's not my decision. The one coach that's close to us is abrasive (and from what I've seen of his students, not that impressive) and my wife does not like him, at all. She'll give up bowling before doing that. I'd kind of prefer a good coach do this, believe me but you have to work with the tools at hand, and I'm her man. I've got her timing and release about as picture perfect as I could imagine, so I'm not doing a terrible job so far. I'm very patient and positive with her, trying to see the mechanics and work on one thing at a time.

I can guaranty 90% of you wife erratic swing is caused by the weight of the ball
Unless she is a 10lb Midget
An 8lb ball is far to light for a 44yo
She would be muscling or throwing the ball to get it down the lane

She's 4'11" and 96lbs, not much bigger than a child. I had a 10 and 12 we started with for her, old spares I had laying around and drilled them up for her but she struggled with the 12, even at address it was too much. The 10 was a little better but bothers her wrist after a few games....and the swing wasn't any more consistent with it.

On the rest of your tips, I'll pay attention to her mechanics a bit more next time out - she's bowling with her hand behind the ball and at the 4'oclock position, isn't breaking her wrist at all. I don't think her release could be any better for a new bowler. She's not dropping her shoulder much at all for having her head over the ball but I'll try to get her more square and see if that helps. As I said, her form through delivery and release is quite good, fundamentally. She's worked hard on that in the hallway getting it down and she seems comfortable with it.

We had her in the finished position doing a free swing and releasing that way...and she's able to do that pretty well. The arm swings freely and comes off straight, but when she does it in approach the backswing just goes to hell and starts too far in or out. Her follow through tends to be textbook, except when that backswing goes off axis.

It may be just a repetition issue, I understand, but she's frustrated because she seems unable to correct it mentally (or doesn't think she can)....although I have assured her that the arm swing plagues all bowlers in the same way to some degree. Perhaps we just need a lot more free-swing drills and beat that into her muscle memory a bit.

I appreciate the help and we'll keep trying.

[J Anderson]

My 2 Bobs worth

Firstly as a coach IMO you need to get her to a coach for a number of reasons
Nothing worse then little Johnny coming up and saying I cannot get the corner pins or cannot get the ball in the pocket only to learn he was taught by his father unqualified and thinking he was right
People have Accreditations for a reason

I'm personally not a fan of head over the ball on release
This causes a drop shoulder and Dick Ritger proved a drop shoulder to be the main cause of erratic swing

I teach the shoulders square to the pins and square to the floor
Almost Imposable I know but gets them out of the dropped shoulder scenario

Get her to kneel on the approach
Right knee down (Assuming she is a right hander )
Left foot in front of left knee making sure the left knee is at 90 degrees
Left forearm across left leg body leaning forward

Place the ball beside her and explain the ball is sitting on a clock face
12 O'Clock is straight down the lane and 6 O'Clock is Back toward the ball return

She should have the fingers in the ball at 4 and 5 O'Clock

Then basically lift with the shoulder and put the straight arm back and let it swing making sure the wrist is straight
Then pull it back and when the ball pases the right knee instruct them to relax (straighten) the thumb and the ball should fall off
Then 2 more swings for balance and to check straight arm swing
I tell the kids to answer the phone after they release the ball(bring the hand up to the ear)

Coaching a relative can be stressful.

What Ritger proved was that if you start with shoulders level and let them drop during the approach the swing becomes erratic. Current USBC coaching material suggests starting with the shoulders relaxed and therefore letting the ball side drop slightly, and maintaining this relative position throughout.

Shoulders should be perpendicular to the initial path of the ball. For a beginner, this will most likely be parallel to the foul line. As they gain more hook, or learn to go cross lane for corner pin spares, they will need to slightly angle their bodies at the start of the approach.

Great description of the release drill. If you search the internet for "Dick Ritger, Feelings of bowling" you may be able to find a video of this being demonstrated.

[swingset]

Coaching a relative can be stressful.

We do well in that regard, we're a family of competitive shooters and I've instructed all my family on that (I'm an NRA instructor). They're pretty used to being coached, and I think that's why she's happy to have me teach her but I'm also quick to tell her that I have limitations in that regard so all I can do is what I know (hence my question here). I don't get emotional with her, I try to keep it light and fun and I think the only frustration I feel is her frustration at not being consistent.

I'm going to work on the release drill with her and try to get her shoulders more square and see if that helps. She's taking my instructions and executing them, so far, so I think we're going to be good once she dials in this part of the game.

[billf]

I personally am a big believer in Joe Slowinski. Here's his resume;

http://bowlingknowledge.info/images/...ach_resume.pdf

Here's his article on swing angle and WHY YOU SHOULD DROP THE SHOULDER. Your choice but this man's results speak for themselves.

http://bowlingknowledge.info/images/...inskimay12.pdf

[swingset]

So drop the shoulder, and never drop the shoulder. The coaches agree.

I love a consensus.