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Author Topic: Staying behind the ball...  (Read 3830 times)

J_Mac

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Staying behind the ball...
« on: November 29, 2004, 05:53:19 AM »
I've worked in a bowling alley for more than 3 years now and was always told that if I stayed behind the ball I'd do better in bowling.  Last night I had someone tell me that my game has come a long way since I started staying behind the ball.

I, being the THB that I am, can't really say when or how I started doing this.  I know my game has seemed to improve slowly over the past year since I dumped my robo-wrist brace and went to a more relaxed (1/8" shorter, no thumb pitch) span.

What is staying behind the ball?  What does it mean to you, and how do you execute it?
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It's kind of hard to read the lanes if you don't know their language...
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Ragnar

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2004, 02:02:58 PM »
Staying behind the ball ~~~~> coming up the back of the ball.  Your hand releases the ball with the ball directly between your palm and the pins.  To execute this just don't rotate your wrist.  Contrary to what many will teach, this is how I threw a full roller for over 15 years, coupled with not hitting the ball.  You can stay behind the ball in several variations: cupped, flat wrist, broken wrist, etc.
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"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal." Oscar Wilde
Ragnar sure likes to throw his purdy Uranium Buzzsaw.
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Wyrd bið ful aræd!
(Thought to be a member of something called the PMS club by some.)

J_Mac

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2004, 02:31:25 PM »
I think my slightly stretched old span may have caused me to stay in the ball longer, which may have made it more difficult for me to not "hit up" on it.  Perhaps?
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It's kind of hard to read the lanes if you don't know their language...
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Ragnar

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2004, 02:34:14 PM »
I'm not sure about the relation between stretched span and hitting up, but I think a stretched span encourages you to stay in the ball longer, and because of that to come a bit more around the side.
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"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal." Oscar Wilde
Ragnar sure likes to throw his purdy Uranium Buzzsaw.
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Wyrd bið ful aræd!
(Thought to be a member of something called the PMS club by some.)

J_Mac

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2004, 02:45:34 PM »
quote:

   Now, are you totally confused?
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Bones


Not yet, but I have to go to work.  Keep this coming guys, it makes for good reading/thinking...
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It's kind of hard to read the lanes if you don't know their language...
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pin-chaser

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2004, 04:38:55 PM »
Great answer Bones as always.

  Staying behind the ball simply means that at the bottom of the swing as the ball is coming off your thumb your hand is behind the ball and not already rotating around the side.

  Coming around the side causes lack of accuracy and loss of ball speed. The longer you can stay behind the ball and the faster you can rotate your hand after thumb release to more "hook" and power you will achieve.
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janderson

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2004, 05:07:21 PM »
However, "staying behind the ball" is typically meant that you do not generate a large amount of side turn, aka axis rotation.

As 'Bones has said, there are certain condition/equipment/bowler combinations where decreasing your axis rotation and generally causing the ball to hook sooner on the lane will be in your favor.  There are also times where it will work against you.

It sounds like people are basically complimenting you on generally improving your game possibly because you are no longer trying to super-rev and super-hit the ball.  )That is not to imply that getting many revs on the ball is bad, it is a matter of what you can consistently repeat.  Kudos to the crankers that can consistently repeat shots).

Either way, it's good to hear you're improving your game and proud of doing so.

From my own experiences, shortening my span to a relaxed fit from a streched did help me get out of the ball cleanly and at the correct point in my swing.
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Sean John 369

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #7 on: November 29, 2004, 05:25:19 PM »
ok this is in regards to what ragnar flogurass posted....exactly what is a full roller? is that someone who tracks in between the thumb and fingers..and if so..how do u correct that?
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P Murchizzle
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DON DRAPER

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2004, 09:56:47 PM »
staying behind the ball---more of an end-over-end roll is the main shot for walter ray williams, jr., and norm duke. this is their bread and butter release. both can hook the entire lane if necessary but this shot is in their wheelhouse. the carry can be great using this release on a down and in shot if the lane condition accomidates it.
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Ragnar

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #9 on: November 30, 2004, 09:17:48 AM »
Sean John 369, yes a full roller tracks between the thumb and fingers.  The track will sometimes clip the outside of the  middle finger hole and the other side of the thumb hole.  The track is covering the full circumference (or extremely close) of the ball.  Took me 2 years to get away from it.  When you release the ball think of your thumb as making a sort of "flick" upward; you can also position your thumb mor toward 1 or 2 o'clock, with the fingers correspondingly shifted, and slightly rotate as you come out of the ball - you don't (normally) want to go too far with the rotation however.
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"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal." Oscar Wilde
Ragnar sure likes to throw his purdy Uranium Buzzsaw.
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Wyrd bið ful aræd!
(Thought to be a member of something called the PMS club by some.)

Sean John 369

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #10 on: November 30, 2004, 09:38:14 AM »
thanks ragnar..
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P Murchizzle
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charlest

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Re: Staying behind the ball...
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2004, 07:35:27 AM »
I was going to add my 2 cents at the start of this thread (as I usually do ), but refrained as everyone seemed to be giving J_Mac the good story.

However, I just realized one point hadn't yet been made and it had been a problem for me for a long while. When people say to stay behind the ball, they can also mean this:

You are turning the ball too early and your thumb is still in it. This is not a good thing and will often result in a lower track and some smaller faults like, too much spinning and reduced revs, among other problems. One should not turn the ball or even attempt to turn the ball until the thumb has at least started to clear the hole, if not cleared it all the way. This always results in a better roll, stronger hook (not necessarily a bigger hook) and a cleaner, easier release.

This may not have been your problem, but it is also one other meaning behind someone's saying, "Stay behind the ball (more)."

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