A teammate of mine is struggling with the conditions in out mens' league. He throws a 15 pound Black Widow pearl, but has NO ballspeed whatsoever. So he plays inside 4th arrow in as much oil as he can find to try and get the ball down the lane. The shot is a typical house shot....dry outside, oil inside 10. He either packs the nose, or hangs one outside and leaves the 2-8-10. Third game last night was a 105.
 
Last year, I suggested a pearl urethane, and he got an Avalanche. He throws it the same way with the same results.
 
What can he get that will force him to square up and go more direct? Covering all these boards is killing us...and his average.
 
My thoughts were something like the plastic Hammer spare ball. Still has a core that has some punch. Maybe something drilled like you would for a lefty, to delay hook.
I'm going to suggest dropping from 15 to 14, and hopefully, he'll generate more ballspeed.
 
Any educated advice would be appreciated.

taboo spare

Suggest some coaching over the summer to help his mechanics so he can generate more ball speed and maybe straighten out his line..IMHO
Chris

All of the things mentioned above will/would help him improve. His execution is probably the most important. Their is no magic ball, per se, since he very well could be just as erratic with a squared up look.

I do feel his pain though. I too, suffer with low ball speed. I am rev dominant.

Here are two things I have tried which help me. I currently use an old Retro Roto Blue, 14lb ball, drilled pin down, highly polished, which allows me to square up and play the track. (high friction area) I normally throw 15 and 16 lbers.

Also, I use an old light 15lb Ninja reactive, with the cover scuffed to about 500 grit. This gives me more control, and keeps me off the nose more often than not.

He's going to have to experiment. I have found that the older the piece, the better it is for giving a milder reaction downlane. These new coverstocks are aggessive as heck. Just my two cents.

I think we need a better picture of this guy, not just very low ball speed.
Is he old, like some of us; does he have physical problems?
What is the reason for his low speed?

Do you know what his actual ball speed is, plus revs and tilt, etc?

14 lb balls plus coaching (different hand releases + ways to generate more ball speed) could certainly help him much more than different balls will, but I'm thinking, if he's using an Avalanche Urethane from inside 20, he's either has 500 rpms or a serious problem (mental bowling adjustments or physical).

Thinking about the Avalanche (I have one; I know what it can do.), maybe his driller is drilling his balls too strong??? You can drastically change many balls' basic reaction by a great deal with drillings and surface changes.

My friend is in his later 50's. He's about 6 foot tall and slim. He's always thrown the ball like this, but on a better pattern. A couple seasons ago, he averaged over 200.
Other than some back issues, he doesn't have any physical ailments. He's not a bad spare shooter, but he's leaving wide open splits you can't make. Last night he left the 3-4-6-7-9-10. He's not able to throw much harder, so I'm exploring other means to straighten him out. The pattern at this house dictates a straighter path. Lots of guys still throwing urethane and plastic, and yes, it does alter the shot. I find myself moving right almost before warm up ends. By the third game, I can be an arrow right and switched to my most aggressive ball.

Comments:
- later 50's? He's still a "kid".
- "He's not able to throw much harder"? - sorry, don't buy it. Maybe he's just stubborn. Maybe he thinks he is limited for some reason.

- His release: I'd bet his fingers come around the ball. Wonder if he couldn't just stay behind it more - less rotation and tilt. That's a coach's province, though.

- His release #2: I wonder if he doesn't hit up on the ball? That could be a major hindrance to any ball speed increase. This, again, is a coach's province.

Bottom line is he just hasn't kept up with the times; he's still back in the urethane days.

As for throwing harder, it's a mental problem, much more than a physical one, especially if he has no physical problems. Let me use myself as an example. For years (40+) my ball speed had been around 13 mph at the pin deck (Qubica machines). For a dedicated bowler, this is slow and for many years my problem was the same as his: too slow, requiring too mild a ball, leaving too many splits and lacking carry power. I got sick of it and 2+ years ago I decided that was it.

I spent most of the time since then working on increasing my ball speed and becoming less rev dominant. This year my backend ball speed has been as high as 15 mph with 14 lb. balls and 14.5 mph with 15 lb. balls at the pin deck. I can use stronger balls and my carry is better. I'm overweight with lots of physical limitations: bad hip (femur necrosis), tendonitis in my bowling ring finger, carpal tunnel in both wrists, torn tibial tendon and Plantar Fasciitis in my left (slide) ankle. My loft, instead of being 10 - 12 feet, near the arrows, is now less loft and more projection, with lay down 4 feet down lane. If I can do it, anyone can. He just has to want to and you can make him want to do it.