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

[Perrin]

if your thumb hole is loose enough that you consisitently drop it you need a smaller thumb hole.... ussually easiest to handle with tape but if you are using more the 3-4 pieces you should consider having it drilled smaller(or using one of the other thumb aids like Magic Carpet)

[Mike White]

It's hard to "fix" when you've left it 11 times in 9485 shots (0.12%). So I need to take 833 shots in order to leave a 1-pin. And just making it ONCE more...I'd be up to 58%!!

Only other leave I've left exactly 11 times in 9485 shots??? The 6-9. I'm 72% on that one though.

What I REALLY need to fix is leaving the 1-2-8. Left that 132 times and am only 53% at picking it up. Thats a hard leave for a right hander. Lately I've been trying to throw a back-up ball at it with not much luck.

For a larger sample size, include all strike shots. And consider how many times you left the 1 pin, plus others if any as a miss.

Hitting the head pin on your first shot should require the same skill as picking up a lone 5 pin.

I don't keep my stats, but the % of time I miss the head pin, is just about 0%.

You need to achieve high accuracy before even considering increasing striking power.

Accuracy requires consistency.

Picking up the 1-2-8 is just a matter of hitting high on the head pin for a right hander.

But to do that, you need to move your feet a board or two right, then hit your mark again.

It's hard to be accurate if you don't put your feet in the same place (trouble with the dots), and don't hit your mark regularly.

A 1 board error at 15 feet, becomes a 4 board error at 60 feet.

Unless the guiding oil pattern reduces the error.

[Mike White]

if your thumb hole is loose enough that you consisitently drop it you need a smaller thumb hole.... ussually easiest to handle with tape but if you are using more the 3-4 pieces you should consider having it drilled smaller(or using one of the other thumb aids like Magic Carpet)

His thumb hole size isn't the problem.

His hand is on top of the ball during the back swing.

That requires him to support the weight of the ball mostly with his thumb, and a little with his fingers.

For most people that means bend your thumb, to get friction on both the back and front of the thumb hole.

He wanted his thumb hole tighter on his spare ball, so I drilled it just a bit smaller, and he couldn't get out of the ball until he had it opened up.

[Mike White]

Lion MAN,,,, are you SURE that's not your EKG, or EGG??? I showed it to a doctor I work out with, and he said, Dial 911, and ask for Bowling HELP, like NOW!

Thats the EKG of his team mates when they need Aslan to mark.

Aslan's brain is too busy micro-managing every little body movement to include heart rate.

Personally I think he practices wrong. And I've told him so.

It's hard to get everything working right when your trying to think about everything.

The key is to practice one thing, and concentrate on that one thing only.

You are trying to build muscle memory one piece at a time.

And don't care about the score.

Once you have muscle memory in that one piece, move on to something else.

Take a football team as an example, practice isn't just a game that doesn't count.

You practice one play over and over until you get it right, then move on.

In an actual game, when you need that play, it will be there.

[Mike White]

1 pin only 54%?? That should be fixed stat!!

That is like improving your ability to pick up the greek church.

Even if you made it 100%, how much would your average change considering how rare you leave it?

Now the % of leaving the head pin alone, or with others, is something he really needs to work on.

As he learns to pick it up, he's also learning to not leave it in the first place.

[Aslan]

His thumb hole size isn't the problem.

His hand is on top of the ball during the back swing.

That requires him to support the weight of the ball mostly with his thumb, and a little with his fingers.

Yes...similar to...





Nearly every high level bowler keeps their hand on top the ball during the backswing. I think what you're getting at is where the hand is at the release. I have a tendency to break my wrist backwards...which can cause you to drop the ball and lose any ability to get good revs. Some people stay under the ball, almost cradling it...like a thumbless bowler. The "correct" release is somewhere in between. But even YOU have your hand on top of the ball in the backswing...I have video of it.

You're more of a "cradler" in that your hand stays a little bit "under" the ball as you begin to release it. If you watch ZDawg's footage...also very much a "cradler"...and has a very short backswing. Looking at footage of Mudpuppy, Rob, and Iceman...more on top/side of the ball at the release point.

For most people that means bend your thumb, to get friction on both the back and front of the thumb hole.

Virtually everyone will tell you not to grip with your thumb. That it should be a snug thumbhole/suction that keeps the ball from falling off your hand.

[vdubtx]

It's hard to "fix"

No it's not hard to "fix". You shoot at and just to the right of that darn pin to start every single frame. It is like someone missing the 5 pin for a spare conversion. Some of my team mates on Thursdays miss it regularly.

[J Anderson]

1 pin only 54%?? That should be fixed stat!!

The trouble with leaving the head pin is, that as Aslan said, to make it you just need to throw a strike shot. Well your first ball missed the pocket. How are you going to throw the ball with confidence when you've just missed (for whatever reason) the shot you have to make the spare?

[Mike White]

Yes...similar to...





Nearly every high level bowler keeps their hand on top the ball during the backswing. I think what you're getting at is where the hand is at the release. I have a tendency to break my wrist backwards...which can cause you to drop the ball and lose any ability to get good revs. Some people stay under the ball, almost cradling it...like a thumbless bowler. The "correct" release is somewhere in between. But even YOU have your hand on top of the ball in the backswing...I have video of it.

You're more of a "cradler" in that your hand stays a little bit "under" the ball as you begin to release it. If you watch ZDawg's footage...also very much a "cradler"...and has a very short backswing. Looking at footage of Mudpuppy, Rob, and Iceman...more on top/side of the ball at the release point.


Virtually everyone will tell you not to grip with your thumb. That it should be a snug thumbhole/suction that keeps the ball from falling off your hand.

Yeah you can pick one frame so it appears to prove your point, but if you showed the video, you would see during most of the arm swing, the center of the ball is closer to the shoulders than the fingers are.

When the center of the ball is further from the shoulder than the fingers, you are on top of the ball.

Picture the ball at the bottom of the swing. If your fingers are above the equator, you are on top of the ball.

If you maintain that position through the whole swing, it will look different at the top of the back swing.

As for tight thumb holes, maybe that is why so many people have problems getting their thumb out of the ball, and struggle to throw revs.

[Aslan]

Hitting the head pin on your first shot should require the same skill as picking up a lone 5 pin.

I don't keep my stats, but the % of time I miss the head pin, is just about 0%.

Uhhhhh....I don't want to argue semantics...but that "zero"....I mean, based on this classic bowling coverage from one of the greatest bowling tournaments in memory...well, yeah...I'm calculating about 36% of the time you miss the headpin???

I'm not sayin....I'm just sayin.