My son, who is 8, has been bowling since 4 and he throws an 10 pound tropical storm with NO finger tips, averaging a 130.  He seems to be throwing it in the 14 MPH range when I don't get all over him about throwing too hard.  He is getting no movement (hook) on his ball for the last few months while his speed seems to have gone up.  If I get him to tone it down, his movement is back but seems to hit with too little power to get strikes.  He is always leaving a 5 pin or the 5 and 8 pins.  I was tossing around the idea of getting him a heavier ball (with or without fingertips) or keeping it at 10 pounds and switching him to a finger tip ball.  I was hoping to get some suggestions here.  What are everyone's thoughts?  Thanks in advance

My son is 9 years old and uses a 14lb slingshot.

I think 130 is good for an eight year old.  The notion of "carry he needs" is debatable for someone that young.  I think you'd have to make a pretty significant jump in weight to see an improvement in carry and at some point he's going to lose that ball speed and have trouble controlling the ball.  Just my two cents.

 

Back in the day this was a highly reviewed bowling ball on this site.  Perhaps this would help? 

Why is it so important that he's carrying better now? 

 

I have a 12 and 9 year old that I admittedly get a little excited when they do well, but I'm trying to control how much I push them forward.  I feel your anxiousnous.

 

I've had discussions with several respected coaches that share my feelings that kids this age should be focused on technique even at the expense of scoring better.  Every proud parent wants their child to be the next prodigy, but you'll be better off in the long run to teach fundamentals now.  Fundamentals are much easier to learn with a simple conventional grip and a ball that is easy to handle. 

 

Being good at 8 means he'll beat some 10-12 year olds.  So what?  Teach him great skills now so that when he's 12, he's giving you a run for your money. 

 

Also, wait on fingertip a few more years.  Everyone is different, but too often kids struggle if moved up too soon. 

I agree with most of the comments here so far.  Unless he is slinging it due to it being to light I would not change.  Another thing to be careful of at that age is moving into a fingertip grip.  Youngsters depending on body build may not be able to handle the stress involved of the fingertip grip.  Small thin fingers and joints are not like adults.  I will normally not drill fingertips drills for anyone that their fingers are smaller than the smallest insert.  If you do decide to go ahead and move up be sure to go to an excellent experienced pro shop.  If the span or grip is wrong it may also cause serious injury as well as grabbing the ball/muscling.  Work on technique and fundamentals.

 

Smash49