The last few weeks my home house has been putting out a longer oil shot. I don't feel like buying a new ball for it. Instead I'm working on throwing a softer shot.
  Not sure how this will work. But I'm moving up on the approach so I can slow down my feet. I tried it in practice and I was having trouble pulling the ball. I think it was because my timing was getting early. After awhile everything seemed to sync up.

So I'm just wondering how other people go about throwing the ball slower.

Scooterdog

You can also move up on the approach and go to a 4-step(that is if you typically do a 5-step.)
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When I have to throw the ball slower than I normally do, I just lower it in my setup.  Once you get the swing going, you won't have as much momentum, so the ball, by nature will be slower.

Just make sure that you don't, by mistake, muscle up the downswing in an attempt to throw it your normal speed or grab it at the bottom of your swing.

Just try to be loose and free.
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University at Albany 2007
    -Let's Go Danes-

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I've had this problem with my 16 year old cousin. We bowled a youth/adult tournament recently and his ball speed was ridiculously fast for the pattern. It never had time to hook.

I kept telling him to slow his ball speed down. I told him to lower it in his stance.

It didn't help. He kept clocking in at 18mph.

I think it's a harder adjustment than people claim when the bowler in question does not use a muscle-free arm swing.

If you do muscle it on the down swing or find that moving the ball down in the stance doesn't help, then you might want to consider hand adjustments or changing balls instead.

I had my cousin place his hand in a stronger position at the bottom close to the release point and his rev rate increased substantially thus negating the lack of ball movement down lane.

I'm not saying that moving the ball down in the stance doesn't help. I'm saying it's not easy for everyone to do and there are alternatives you can try that are easier and not subject to muscling, etc. Adjusting the hand position is easier in my opinion to do on the fly than altering your muscles behaviorism's.

And if you do apply this train of thought, you should of course work towards a free armswing in the meantime being that it is not something you can train yourself to do overnight.

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Edited on 2/2/2009 3:46 PM