Expert: - 2/25/2008

Question
Hi, I was wondering if you could tell me how I can get my friend to stop throwing a back-up ball. She is very inconsistent.  I will be next years captain for my high school bowling team, and having most of our starters leaving, I would like to fix up my team.  If you could help, it would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
The predisposition for a woman/girl to throw a back-up is physical. When a ball must be squeezed, to hold onto it, the elbow in a woman tends to turn, with the crease of the elbow facing forward.   

Address the fit first. Grip may be short, ball may be light, holes may be too big or too small. All these things can contribute to her turning it the way she does. How long has she been bowling? Her own ball or a house ball?

With a correctly fitting ball, support the ball with the off hand (left if she's right handed), keep the ball in front of her shoulder/arm pit at set-up, with the thumb pointed towards the ceiling. As she moves forward, dropping the ball into her swing, keep the thumb up and let the ball roll off, rather than feeling like the ball must be released. The ball should let go of you.

Incorporate the above into her approach by practicing a minimum of 30 times without a miss. One backed up ball and have her start again. You are working to: unlearn muscle memory, create new muscle memory and change her own bodies predisposition to rotate the arm.

By holding the ball with the thumb up, you allow the bone of her arm to help support the ball, not soft tissue. Her arm is stronger in this position, especially if tucked back under the shoulder at set-up.

Good luck with the changes. Your friend will need to build a new targeting system, so now's the time to get started. Thanks for the question. Good bowling.