Author Topic: How would you practice?? (Read 3014 times)

Rock77 · « **on:** May 03, 2003, 08:57:45 PM »

Lets say I was going to take the summer season off with the intent on practicing to perfect the aspects of my game. With there being so many different aspects one needs to practice and get better at in order to become the best bowler they could be, what aspects would you rank as the most important? I know alot of you guys are gonna say, practice whatever areas you are weakest in. Lets say that all aspects are about equal. No major strong points or weak points. If I was going to practice a differnt aspect of my game on a weekly basis or until I felt it was time to move on to the next part, how would you rank each in order of most important to least important?? Would spare shooting be #1, would targeting, release, approach?? I would like to hear some opinions and what reasoning you have behind ranking the aspects where you would put them. Lets start by trying to do a top 5, feel free to list more!!

HamPster · « **Reply #1 on:** May 04, 2003, 12:22:58 PM »

Spare shooting is always important. I'd say you have to start working on the most common occurences. If you leave a lot of 10's, make sure you can pick them all up. If you bowl on a deeper shot more than a down and in shot, work on the deeper shot first. That's if everything is equal. For me, my top five would be

1) Release - My hand is dumb, and because of pinching nerves and a rapidly changing thumb, I have generally looser thumb holes and a fair amount of reverse and left pitch. That doesn't go together well.

2) Approach - I have a tendency to get fast with my feet to create more leverage, but that creates sliding problems on sometimes touchy approaches.

3) Ball speed - Rotation isn't a problem, speed sometimes is on shorter patterns with softer backends, also matching it with the rotation.

4) Wrist strength - Pretty self explainitory, I'm sure most people could always use more strength.

5) Flip a quarter - Spares are fine, targeting is fine, hitting spots is fine, but you have to spend some time on each of them every time you go out just to keep the feel fresh.
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CoachJim · « **Reply #2 on:** May 04, 2003, 01:08:38 PM »

You should seek out a competant coach, someone who can spend the time neccessary to help improve your game the right way. By that I mean, you could change some aspect of your game and it feels like you are doing one thing, but you are really doing something totaly different. Having a set of experienced eyes will greatly eliminate any set backs and keep you progressing forward. I recommend Dr. Jeff Briggs http://webpages.charter.net/bowlfit/(my coach) or someone like a Ron Clifton (one of my other coaches) from Ron C's tips from this site http://www.bowl4fun.com/.

luv2C10falll · « **Reply #3 on:** May 04, 2003, 02:17:32 PM »

1.Timing of foot speed & arm swing
2 Paralell arm swing to target
3.Steady body position from stance to foul line
4.Differant hand positions
5.Targeting one board at a time

I personally work on one of these a week at a time,differant one each week
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QUIT MAKING EXCUSES, AN LEARN HOW TO ADJUST!!

bowlin gr8 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 04, 2003, 02:45:21 PM »

I hafta agree with Peri. The Finishing Position is often overlooked but it is the point where everything else comes together. If you are not solid here, it will adversely effect your game. You should have a good balanced finishing position as Peri stated where you can maintain your balance for at least a couple of seconds after the ball is released. No hopping around or bringing your non-sliding foot forward to catch your balance.

Finishing position:
Sliding foot pointed toward target or line.
Knee bent slightly.
Hips square to target or line.
Waist slightly bent.
Non-bowling arm extended out for balance.
Bowling arm at release should have been extended out to target or line.
Shoulders square to target or line.
Non-bowling leg extended back and slightly to the side with front of foot touching approach for balance.
Eyes (head) facing target or line.

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Who says bowling isn't a blood sport?

Girlscout · « **Reply #5 on:** May 04, 2003, 03:59:38 PM »

A free unmuscled arm swing, Bill Taylor has convinced me
that gravity is your friend. GS

Rock77 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 05, 2003, 04:39:43 AM »

I would love to pursue a coach but they are hard to come by in my area. I dont really have the money or time to go visit a coach like Jeff Briggs or Ron Clifton. I am in Southeastern Mass. and coaches around here are rare. If there are any other ways to pursue a good coach, please let me know.

NevadaBowl · « **Reply #7 on:** May 05, 2003, 07:58:21 AM »

Spare shooting should be the first priority, as has been mentioned a lot in this thread already.

Practicing all different lines is a good idea, usually done by taking different balls that don't match up with the lanes. It makes you have to create the line yourself.

Footwork is another thing to ensure is very sound, make sure it is right so your balance and leverage will be pure all the time.

And the one I have to constantly watch for in my own game (along with the above) is keep my release constant throughout the swing, in other words, don't force it. Most of my recent slumps are traced to this little thing, trying to help the 'hit' on my ball. The modern balls don't need a lot of help.

CoachJim · « **Reply #8 on:** May 05, 2003, 08:12:54 PM »

Rock, Dr. Jeff is going to be in flushing New York on the 27th of july. You can go to his website http://webpages.charter.net/bowlfit/ to find out the details.

Buzzhead · « **Reply #9 on:** May 05, 2003, 08:43:22 PM »

1. Hitting your target.
2. Balance at line.
3. Proper hand position for said condition.
4. Consistant speed.
5. Spare Shooting (single pins on both sides)

this is my list the way I think I need to work on things...

Girlscout · « **Reply #10 on:** May 05, 2003, 09:02:18 PM »

Starting to wonder about differences in how a pair of lanes
play. I usually will practice on only one lane, but now'I'm
thinking its better to use two and play them separately,lane 1 and lane
2 and see what if any difference there is.I tend to play them alike
because I am not aware enough of a difference. If there is a 2 to 3 board
difference in a strike line, and you are not realizing it, stringing strikes
is not going to be easy. On an easy condition with 6 boards of area it's not
going to matter as much. By practicing on 2 lanes it should help you be more
aware of why you are striking on one and not the other. GS

mumzie · « **Reply #11 on:** May 05, 2003, 09:16:27 PM »

My normal practice session goes like this:
8 or 10 shots to line up, loosen up.
a game or two of low ball - 20 being the perfect score.
Or I will do a spare drill - shoot the 10 till I get it, then the 6, then the 3, then the head pin, then the 2, then the 4, then the 7. Perfect score - 7 (one try each)

After the spare drill, the lane becomes 35-40 feet long for a while, when I work on targeting a shot I don't normally play - 5th arrow, twig, whatever I feel like. Sometimes I get real energetic, and play around with lining up in front of the ball return.
While I'm doing the above, or after, I play around with hand positions/releases/follow through changes.

Then, and only then, I bowl a game or two for score. When I'm doing that, I ALWAYS shoot my spares.

And - when I'm practicing, I make sure I stay hydrated - I only drink WATER.
Then I dry off, and go home and take a shower.
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One advantage of bowling over golf
is that you seldom lose the ball.

Author Topic: How would you practice?? (Read 3014 times)

Rock77

How would you practice??

HamPster

Re: How would you practice??

CoachJim

Re: How would you practice??

luv2C10falll

Re: How would you practice??

bowlin gr8

Re: How would you practice??

Girlscout

Re: How would you practice??

Rock77

Re: How would you practice??

NevadaBowl

Re: How would you practice??

CoachJim

Re: How would you practice??

Buzzhead

Re: How would you practice??

Girlscout

Re: How would you practice??

mumzie

Re: How would you practice??