win a ball from Bowling.com
« previous next »
Pages: [1]

Author Topic: A few things I realized while practicing today...  (Read 3161 times)

Easy10pins

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 918
A few things I realized while practicing today...
« on: February 12, 2005, 08:03:12 AM »
1.  The oil pattern for league nights has been changed.  Now I used to run the lane condition machine but had no idea of the settings other than what I was told to program.  The ogre that lives in the back of the center told me the new patters is extended further down the lane and blocked.  So the normal house shot no longer applies.  

2.  I changed the mark I throw at.  I no longer look down the lane but at the dots on the foul line.  It may sound weird but provided that I get my ball over the dot I am looking at, I stay consistent.  Funny, my speed is up to 16.5 mph, comfortably and on target.

3.  I am still having chicken wing issues.  Sorry no video today.  Even when my timing is on point, I still have the tendancy to pull the ball behind my back or bend my elbow.  I may just have to work with it since there are absolutely NO coaches here on the island.

4.  The wife was kind to me for Valentine's Day.  I already had ordered the Absolute and Classic but she also found me a Rhino Pro Teal and got me an Impulse.  So with these new balls I may go to another pro shop and/or locate the 1 PBA certified pro shop here on the island.  Perhaps the PSG can help me.

Enjoy your weekend.
--------------------
Solid 7 Pin??  299 Game??!! WTF  
Logged

 

a_ak57

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10584
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2005, 04:08:33 PM »
Wow, can i borrow your wife? hehe

So, you aim basically where your feet are?  Man, i'd fall over if i tried that.
--------------------
- Andy
Logged

Easy10pins

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 918
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #2 on: February 12, 2005, 04:18:17 PM »
quote:
Wow, can i borrow your wife? hehe

So, you aim basically where your feet are?  Man, i'd fall over if i tried that.


I used to fall over looking at my mark down the lane.  
--------------------
Solid 7 Pin??  299 Game??!! WTF  
Logged

a_ak57

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10584
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2005, 04:24:57 PM »
Wait now which dots are we talking about?  The ones about 10 feet down the lane, a bit before the arrows, or the ones actually at the foul line?

I aim at the dots about 10 feet down the lane.
--------------------
- Andy


Edited on 2/12/2005 5:21 PM
Logged

a_ak57

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10584
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2005, 04:31:32 PM »
The only other dots we have are actually on the approach a couple inches before the foul line, so I dont' think i can really do that.
--------------------
- Andy
Logged

J_L_B

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1182
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2005, 05:47:19 PM »
Using the dots at the foul line is not uncommon. Many Pros like Wayne Webb, Tish Johnson use this method with obvious success. I use it as well and as long as you can visualize your ball going down the lane along its desired path, it works just fine.

I've found that by using this method the game becomes much more of a "feel" kind of game with less emphasis on being dead perfect accurate and more emphasis on being fluid and trusting your instincts. When I set up I look down the lane and my desired breakpoint then draw an imaginary line back down the lane through the arrows and to the foul line and that's where I look. My follow through goes down that path to the break point.

It simplifies the game to the point where I feel I  don't have to hit an exact mark, but instead I'm aiming for a certain break point.  When I try to hit a mark on the lane, which I can do, I feel more like I am trying to fit the ball into a small part of the lane and that causes my swing to tighten up which causes less rotations and less carry in the long run.
Logged

a_ak57

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10584
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2005, 06:25:28 PM »
But if my only point of aiming is basically at my foot, how does that control where my breakpoint is and where the ball goes when i release it?  If i'm trying to swing it out, won't i have to aim at something else besides the dot, because the dot near my foot, because technically, i can throw it anywhere from the dot??  Just like how you can throw it to the left and right, from your body, which is where the dot is.  Wouldn't i still need another reference point?

To show what i mean, i made a picture.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v326/a_ak57/dotaiming.jpg

See what i mean about, wouldn't you need another point of reference still?  BTW, the blue thing is the foot, the red line is the ball path.
--------------------
- Andy


Edited on 2/12/2005 7:26 PM
Logged

Easy10pins

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 918
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2005, 06:31:40 PM »
quote:
But if my only point of aiming is basically at my foot, how does that control where my breakpoint is and where the ball goes when i release it?  If i'm trying to swing it out, won't i have to aim at something else besides the dot, because the dot near my foot, because technically, i can throw it anywhere from the dot??  Just like how you can throw it to the left and right, from your body, which is where the dot is.  Wouldn't i still need another reference point?


Not necessarily.  I know where the ball has to go and how it will break once it gets to that point.  I look at the dot in order to get the ball to where it needs to be.  I play the lanes and ball reaction because I don't have the revs to overcome the lane conditions.
--------------------
Solid 7 Pin??  299 Game??!! WTF  
Logged

a_ak57

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10584
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #8 on: February 12, 2005, 06:33:19 PM »
See my edited pic.  What i'm saying is, how can you aim strictly based on dots, like people do for arrows?  With the foot dots, you need to know another point of reference, like your breakpoint.
--------------------
- Andy
Logged

a_ak57

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10584
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #9 on: February 12, 2005, 06:34:57 PM »
So wait, are you talking about breakpoint aiming?  That is what i do except i don't look at my feet.  I thought you guys meant that you aim only at the dot, you know, how people aim only at the arrows and not the breakpoint.

Actually, i really just aim for my line, but the closest thing i look at is the dots 10 feet out.
--------------------
- Andy


Edited on 2/12/2005 7:32 PM
Logged

J_L_B

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1182
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #10 on: February 12, 2005, 07:43:17 PM »
In addition to using the foul line dots I really pay attention to how my feet, shoulders and hips are positioned. Open my shoulders up and my swing is inside out, close my shoulders and I can play parallel to the lane while still using the foul line as my focal point.  

So if I were playing directly down 5 or 10 my feet would be together which causes my hips and shoulders to be square to the lane. I would look at either 5 or 10 at the foul line because my goal is to have a parallel ball path in relation to the lane.

Likewise if I am playing 5th arrow out to 10 at the breakpoint then my left foot is slightly in front of my right foot causing my hips and shoulders to open up to the right. My target at the foul line is based on a straight line from 10 board at the break point to the foul line usually 32 or so (my left foot would be sliding between 35-40). Hope this helps.
--------------------
Jon Brandon
Columbia Regional Staff
2003 PBA West Region Rookie of the Year
"You win some, you lose most"
Logged

Easy10pins

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 918
Re: A few things I realized while practicing today...
« Reply #11 on: February 12, 2005, 08:34:27 PM »
I also point my right foot towards the dot I am aiming at.  I know my ball has to travel over the dot to get to where it will break to the pocket.  So far it has worked.  I may try it again tomorrow to make sure it's not just a fluke.
--------------------
Solid 7 Pin??  299 Game??!! WTF  
Logged
Pages: [1]
« previous next »