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Author Topic: Lateral thumb pitch  (Read 2437 times)

tdub36tjt

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Lateral thumb pitch
« on: November 26, 2008, 05:26:53 AM »
I usually hearthe terms under and away from the palm when it comes to lateral pitch. My driller says right and left. Am I correct in that for a right hander that away from the palm is left lateral pitch?
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the pooh

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Re: Lateral thumb pitch
« Reply #1 on: November 26, 2008, 02:03:42 PM »
Yes!
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the pooh
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the pooh

tdub36tjt

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Re: Lateral thumb pitch
« Reply #2 on: November 26, 2008, 05:47:31 PM »
Ok thanks that what I thought. Now to add to this, I am thinking of adding left lateral pitch to my thumb because that is what my friend has and I come out of his ball much cleaner than I do my own. We both have the Vise IT and I just put my slug in his ball and I get out of the ball much cleaner and it seems to roll better. Looking at the roll to me it seems more end over end than my typical roll as it reads the midlanes much better and ends up still having backend. Is this typically what left lateral would do?
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JohnP

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Re: Lateral thumb pitch
« Reply #3 on: November 26, 2008, 06:51:00 PM »
The proper lateral to use depends on the thumb's hinge angle and, to a lesser degree, stiffness.  If your lateral is to the right from ideal it is more difficult to release it without turning the ball.  In fact if you move it far enough to the right from ideal the bowler will hang in the thumb if he doesn't turn it.  Moving left from ideal makes it easier to stay behind the ball and also easier to release the thumb.  From your description I think the pitch in your equipment is to the right of your ideal lateral.  --  JohnP
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tdub36tjt

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Re: Lateral thumb pitch
« Reply #4 on: November 26, 2008, 08:35:55 PM »
ok thats what I figured. I have always thrown his equipment really welloutside of his thumb hole being bigger than mine so I thought there might be a problem. I have thrown weaker balls of his and made them look stronger than stuff that is supposed to be much stronger. I think I will just go to his lateral thumb pitch on my next ball. Is that what you would recommend John or is there a standard I should look at to determine where to go with the pitch?
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JohnP

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Re: Lateral thumb pitch
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2008, 09:26:06 AM »
If you have a good fitter/driller he will be able to give you a good starting point for your lateral.  If he has a Jayhawk-type adjustable fitting ball he can let you feel the changes in it.  Some fitters use the "Coke bottle test", others have you pick up a pencil and look at where the thumb is in relation to the fingers.  I like to manipulate the thumb, kind of like using a joystick on a computer game.  From looking at the ease of bending it toward the pinkie finger I get a good idea of where to start.  IMO if you're going to err it's better to err toward the left than toward the right (for a right hander).  --  JohnP
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tdub36tjt

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Re: Lateral thumb pitch
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2008, 11:45:40 AM »
Ok thanks for all the help John. I am hoping I can regain some consistency in m realease and I think this might be the key.
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LuckyLefty

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Re: Lateral thumb pitch
« Reply #7 on: November 27, 2008, 11:56:19 AM »
You have found...."THE KEY"

REgards,

Luckylefty
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Open the door...see what's possible...and just walk right on through...that's how easy success feels..
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JessN16

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Re: Lateral thumb pitch
« Reply #8 on: November 27, 2008, 06:39:05 PM »
I'll just add that lateral is the single most "feel-able" adjustment for me. I can bowl with spans several fractions of an inch apart, but if my lateral isn't set up correctly in the thumb, I get hand pain and have problems at release.

To illustrate, I bought one of Jeff Carter's old balls he was selling here once. His span is only 1/16 shorter than mine, but his thumb lateral is about 1/8-3/16 further right. Our thumb sizes are very similar (I had to add just a couple of pieces of tape to get it snug), but when I took it out to throw it, if I didn't make sure to come around the ball, I was hanging up so badly that I came close to hurting myself. All it took was to change to a thumb slug with my lateral in it and all my problems went away.

Jess
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