Expert: - 4/3/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hello- I appear to be in a horrendous slump....I believe the onset is related to my attempt find out why I was rolling over the thumb hole on a consistent basis....At one point I felt that I found the problem and it seemed that I got my swing back but now I am completely lost....The biggest problem I have now is that I feel great and my swing is smooth at the start of a set or practice session, but then slowly I lose my swing, start to muscle the ball and just cannot put anything together...I am a higher average bowler that usually has a very sound grip on his mental game and am almost always depended upon to "be there" in the clutch and usually am with out any problems...I will be attempting all of the usual methods to try and pull out of this except high quality coaching is not to be found in my area so I will most likely be sending a video to a respected coach that can hopefully help me find the problem.....just not sure who yet...do you have any other suggestions.  Thank you

ANSWER: Art,
Check out mybowlingcoach.com and my300club.com. Talk to your ball driller.

Does your thumb shrink as you bowl? If you feel like you're gripping more as you play, the ball may feel like you're losing it and would lead to grabbing it. I'd do a minor grip adjustment, or be very willing to add tape almost every game.

Running up on the thumb is usually related to a late delivery. Sometimes fit issues cause gripping. Gripping the ball necessitates letting it go, often late, often with some loft and up hit.  

Thanks for the questions. Good luck.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi-  Thanks for the quick reply....I have been a previous member of Mybowlingcoach and have been thinking of joining again and sending them a video for analysis...I have also talked with Joe Slowinski at kegel who offered to do a video analysis also...just not sure who I will use yet. at the moment i am leaning toward mybowlingcoach..I'll try the other site also..must be fairly new haven't heard of it....no shrinking but recently it has been swelling and I believe that is directly related to the muscling i fall into halfway through the set....before we made the thumb pitch changes i was having the slipping feeling of the ball falling off of my thumb...since then my grip has felt good, no slipping...i have just started with a new driller and he assumed I was happy although we have changed a couple of finger pitches that have helped...previously buddies has done all my drilling and I have been fairly satisfied, but having someone close is desired so i am travelling 100 miles south...we just talked yesterday about checking my fit so we will probably do that soon...i have a history of being late and have been working very hard to correct it and have had some success...the pitch changes and the practice have reduced it to about 25% of the time...is it possible that because i have made so many changes so quickly that I have confused my muscle memory?? one other thing...sorry...i currently throw 16lb equipment and have for many years. My goal is to be a pro some day and knowing that most pros use 16lb's I have not changed.....but the thought of moving down to 15 has been on my mind allot lately...here is why...i throw 15 as my spare and since i have made that change my spare conversion percentage has increased 5-10% and my swing is much freer...another tendency i have is to muscle the ball on my downswing and dropping to 15 will probably correct that...previously i was a 100% muscled bowler....bad habits die real hard!!!

ANSWER: Art,
Send me your fit. Have your driller check your equipment. You may be dealing with a variety of different (minor) fit issues. Check spans and pitches on your current arsenal, as well as hole (grip) sizes.

Swelling typically reflects some squeezing. Try to keep the hole snug when you begin. By controlling where you place the ball and the length and timing of your first step, will help your approach timing. If you get faster, you need to pull the ball to help get back into time.

The multitude of changes that you've undergone will mess you up. Do you practice regularly? What do you work on? Try to restrict work on just one aspect of what you practice. Concentrating on multiple things before you unlearn what you were doing and create a repeatable muscle memory, can cause chaos.

FYI, just a few pros throw 16lb equipment. Tommy Jones switched from 16 to 15 and messed up his swing. He's going back, from what I've heard.

Many of my customers have changed for the better when lifestyle, age and the amount of bowling they do started to effect their consistency. The ball weight must compliment what you can and want to do with your ball. If the weight tires you out, the fatigue could cause some of what's going on. Light weight training may help. The lighter ball (spare ball) may be messing you up too. Changing weights, sometimes every other shot (for spares) will mess with your timing, swing, and stamina.  

Thanks for the questions. Keep at it.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My new spare ball fit is 4 1/4 both fingers, 1/8 left lat in middle, 5/8 right lat in ring and 0 pitches in Thumb. All other are 4 1/4 3/8 left lat in middle, 3/8 right lat in ring and 0 thumb...my thumb was recently changed from 1/8 left lat and 1/4 reverse.  My game plan right now is practice this weekend with my new spare and get the feel then make my decision concerning the move in weight, then when I'm ready i will have my driller check my fit in his eyes go from there. One thing I am very happy with from all of the changes is that my thumb fit is beautiful and I currently use no tape....another change I have been working on is making my first step short...this has worked great to fix my timing I just struggle with where I should put my first step at times(4 step)....yes I practice quite often and am very diligent to have a game plan and work on each thing separately..I read allot of bowling instructions books and web content and am always trying new drills that might help...but I do think I have not been giving each change enough time and now I'm a little twisted up....so I'm going to back up and slow down a bit and get confident with each change before I move on to the next...chaos is a real good word for how I feel right now...I bowl in quite allot of tournaments, and yes I do exercise regularly...but I have been experiencing fatigue issues this year..and have spent the last year or so trying to improve my rotation...I have been very successful and have increased my rev rate quite a bit but have been very inconsistent this year.....probably my biggest problem I have always had is that I over analyze everything instead of just letting it happen..thank you very much for your input you have given allot to chew on.

Answer
Art,
What do you mean struggle where to put your first step?

After setup, your first step is straight down the lane/approach. A lot of bowlers drift into their intended target line because of errant setup or balance issues.

I've attached a fit sheet of what you shared. Can you add the missing things? Pitches, grips? style? sizes?

Sounds like you've got a plan. Good luck. Let me know how you progress.