Well, I'm sure a couple of you remember the post I made several months ago with the violin playing in the background, discussing my bowling woes. Well, after some work, I've generally straightened things out. Previous woes were lack of slide, lack of speed for my rev rate and poor accuracy. Before I would stand left, use something relatively weak, throw it 15-16mph at the deck and watch it overhook. I was at rock bottom, and I wasn't even sure I wanted to shoe up again, nevermind go to any tournaments.
Fast forward, I ended up switching back to 15# after fooling around with 16, and changed my thumb pitch from 1/4" reverse to 0. I corrected my footwork enough so the sliding is a non-issue, and I'm teaching myself how to roll the ball rather than lift and chuck. I'm able to use stronger equipment and play straighter at a higher speed (typically 17-18 at deck), albeit with less revs. Now, things are going pretty well, but I'm still not really comfortable. I like my release just fine, but I feel that I shouldn't have gone all the way to 0 pitch in my thumb. My driller and I had discussed this, and originally thought about going to 1/8" reverse, but I decided just to go to 0. My plan was to force myself to roll the ball, which I've learned to do.
But I find that I'm no longer able to produce revs, regardless of how well I release it, cupping/uncupping wrist and whatnot. I'm pretty much peaked out in terms of rev rate, although I was throwing with 100 more rpm about a month ago (more if I really got after it). I know it's just a mental thing as my scores show I don't need to hook the ball more than I do, but I'm not really comfortable knowing that I've lost the ability to change my rpm rate in case my speed gets a little overwhelming, or if I just need to hook it a bit more. So then it occured to me, what if I switch to the 1/8 originally discussed? My hand is not flexible at all, hence the reason I had the 1/4 to begin with, so don't worry about me dropping it like a rock. I sometimes have trouble clearing the thumbhole with the 0 anyways. But what do you guys think? Am I in the correct train of thought, to try the 1/8 and if it doesn't work out, at least eliminate it as a variable and move on?
Because if I'm off base, I don't want to waste the time it'd take me to get the new pitch, assess it for a while then end up going back and getting what I originally had. I'm just really anxious, because I realize now that I'm at the point where I'm nearly ready to actually be a competitor in tournaments and won't have to be a perpetual donator, but need that last push, be it mental or physical.
PS- Since I know you're probably thinking it, yes I am a headcase.
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- Andy
Edited on 9/12/2006 5:44 PM
