Ok, so a lot has changed in the realm of fit in the last couple decades, and I'm finding it harder and harder to fight the prevailing "wisdom" of the past. I wish I had access to my pro shop seminar to copy and paste an exerpt from it, but I don't, so I'll just talk this out. I've had a rather odd number of people recently challenging the currently accepted (and ultimately accurate) doctrines and principles behind fit. People who are fairly good bowlers are offering suggestions to fellow bowlers having release issues on their fit, but the opinions they're offering are wildly off base and damage my ability to help someone fix their issues. Now, suggesting a fit adjustment to correct a release problem is definitely good advice, it's the best place to start, and the easiest thing to correct, but what they're suggesting are all backwards, ancient "fixes."
The most popular one is to add reverse pitch to correct a late release or "sticking," because the wisdom of the past was always that "reverse pitch makes it easier to release the ball," when the reality is that reverse pitch only makes you grab or grip more throughout the entire swing to hold onto the ball, making a release that much harder to achieve when you have a death grip on the ball. Another one is adding forward pitch to the fingers to get more revs, when in reality, curling your fingers even further under to contact the front side of the fingers will shift your entire hand up on the ball, causing your thumb to reposition itself, causing you to grip, and tiring out your fingers faster. A little reverse in the fingers will bring the front side of the holes closer to your finger pads so your hand will be more relaxed, the fit more comfortable, and the tiring of your hand will occur at a much slower rate.
My pitches are 3/8ths reverse in the fingers, zero in any direction in the thumb, with a span of 4 3/8 x 4 7/16. I have zero release problems, can get all the revs on the ball I want, and here's the kicker. I could take a picture of my hands and post it here and you wouldn't be able to tell which hand I bowl with. In every single bowler I have ever seen (including myself, years ago), with pitches of zero forward or reverse in the thumb, and an average of 1/4 reverse in the thumb with a span similar to mine, thumbs have always been enlarged, with callouses (which will be there to a certain extent depending on how much you bowl), and excessive bevel on the front sides of their thumbholes. Spans were usually too long (which is a common adjustment for thumbholes with too much reverse, because feeling like you're falling out of the ball apparently has more to do with your span than the angle of your thumbhole . .), and dark areas were often present on fingertips.
I've done tons of experiments with pitches, more specifically in the thumbholes, and once I was taught the proper concepts, I almost feel like I could use a little forward in the thumb now. I haven't had tendonitis in years, I haven't had cramps, fatigue, callouses, numbness, or anything in my hand for years. Less reverse or forward pitch in your thumbhole allows you to hold onto the ball easier with less force exerted. Reverse in the fingers and a proper span allows the thumbhole to come straight out of the ball on release with very little friction or stress, which is what causes callouses.
Some of these bowlers have been able to make obscene pitches work for them (3/4 reverse, 1/4 left for righties on spans of 4 1/2), but their hands are hamburger, and just because you can make something work doesn't mean it's right or doesn't mean there isn't a better way. Everyone (and I do mean everyone) that has allowed me to adjust their fit has benefited significantly from it. One kid specifically had 3/8ths reverse in his thumb on a span of 3 3/4, and his former pro shop guy had kept adding reverse and making his thumb tigher because he was having trouble "sticking." His entire thumb tip was dark brown, he constantly was ripping skin off, and he was having trouble dumping the ball. Straight to 0 in the thumb, 1/4 reverse in the fingers, and a slight reduction in span length repositioned his entire hand, the darkness in his thumb has disappeared, he doesn't have to grip anymore, he no longer has to dig his fingers in to keep from dumping it, his revs have increased, his speed has increased, and his average has gone up. More importantly, no more discomfort, no more ripped skin, and no more elbow brace. This kid is 13 now, been about a year since I started working with him. He still has a gripping habit, but because he doesn't have to grip near as hard, the effect on his release is nearly non-existant.
Hopefully this made sense, and hopefully it might even help some of you out who may be having trouble in this area. It's really easy to make the wrong adjustments, because at face value, they seem right, when in fact, they're exactly opposite, and several wrong adjustments can make the problem snowball and become much harder to correct.
