I don't mean for this topic to be so self oriented because I know I'm not the only person with this problem, but I have yet to see a post dedicated to it.
When I first started out bowling, in YABA leagues in 1995 every week was pretty much a pot luck to whether or not the lanes would be done, if they got done at all, resulting in choppy conditions, burnt heads leftover from all of the action of friday, or in some cases, 15 feet of oil just to protect the heads and whatever else was out on the lanes past that(in most cases, nothing.) This seemed to hold true to many of the houses in the area for the youth programs thus resulting in many youth bowlers growing up through years in the program(with a lack of volunteer coaching) to develop poor habits in order to combat the shot, or lack thereof. Helicopter releases, no-thumb releases, backup balls, 10-15 feet of loft through the heads, and knuckleballs were all prevalent due to the fact that it seemed like a normal up the back roll with 45 degrees of rotation just never worked if you wanted to hit the shot. Your ball would just hook off the lane no matter what you used, or you would never get a consistant reaction. I believe this is what has caused my awkward release.
Starting at about 1998-99 I began traveling out of the state doing tournaments like the JBT and other youth tournament clubs and I noticed how solid the mechanics and how much better the bowlers looked and scored outside of our bowling district. I was in awe of how good alot of these bowlers were(some of whom are now very successful professionals and top amatuers in the country, namely Michael Fagan, Adam Subach, Bill O'Neill, and many many great college bowlers). So that is what gave me my competitive drive, but then again, due to a lack of coaching when I returned back home I had no way of developing a physical game that mirrored what seemed to be successful out there, the only practice I had was accuracy and spare shooting drills by myself and I deem that the only reason I can stay somewhat competitive as a bowler with those who are better than me.
To describe my release, it's on the borderline of a tweener/spinner. I have a very low track which comes out to PAP measurements of 3 3/4 right and 3/4 up, but my Track Diameter is like the same measurement of a common power player or tweener at 10 1/2 inches which can sometimes cause me to clip weightholes in the thumb-positive quadrant. Doing this for almost 10 years has screwed up my muscle memory to the point that it's almost impossible to change my release, and when I do raise my track, there is no tilt whatsoever on the ball, just end over end roll which gives no reaction(but works great when shooting spares, so thats the release I use for spares). SO with those coordinates, I'm just now finding out what layouts work for me and most of the layouts have negative pin and or c.g. placements just to fit into my PAP coordinates(most look like lefty drills, so what may be a 5 1/2 x 5 drill for most players with the pin over the bridge and C.G in palm, relates to something like a 4 x 3 1/2 for me which is still too strong) I've spent a long time reading anything I can and practicing on changing this release to comething more condusive to the environment since I'm tired of being stuck in the 190-199 range of bowlers when I know I have the potential to be much higher.
Moving to a new house to bowl league, the shot is so dramatically different(and easy) from anything I've ever seen. There is a super heavy concentration of oil in the middle which provides for unlimited tug room, and virtually no oil outside of the 5 board which provides for unlimited room to miss right. With a good lane surface and exceptionally clean backends it's just too extreme wet/dry for me, but everyone else in the house that is more up the back of the ball with end over end rotation can hook the ball as much as they want(regardless of poor mechanics or a lack of knowledge of the game) and still average in the high 2-teens, low 220s. We even have about 7 guys in the 230s, but only 2 or 3 actually have the potential of maintaining an average that high in any house or condition as they are prominent scratch players and/or regional pros. But then again, even some regional pros are struggling in the low 200s simply because the shot is "Too-Easy" making for such wet-dry hell.
After a coaching analysis I was basically told that if I wanted to "Get any better", I was going to have to change my release, that's the only thing holding me back on conditions like the typical house shots because due to my release and revrate it reads dry so much quicker than the normal player and it is so sensitive to lane transitions whereas a "Normal semi-roller"(and I'd hate to use the term "normal") can go 5-6 games straight on a condition like this adjusting maybe 2-4 boards whereas I have to adjust 15-17 boards per league night and go through 2 or 3 ball changes a night due to how my ball reads the condition, yet on a sport pattern or tougher condition I can average close to what I average on the THS because I can repeat a shot, keep the ball in play from many angles, and have a good spare game. But my game is just not pivotal on such easy conditions because I can't maximize my area on the lanes without seeing such dramatic reaction and lane transitions the whole night while guys can just stand left and throw right from the same spot all night and strike away.
Is this really the direction bowling is heading in and I really need to adapt, or do I just still work on being more consistant in repeating the shot/release/speed and work diligently on my accuracy and spare game like I've been doing the past 4 or 5 years? I'm so confused at this point that I really am contemplating quitting(but everyone knows that's impossible). I just have no idea what to do to take my game to the next level. Should I just quit league bowling and devote 12-15 hrs a week to practice then play tournaments and such? Any and all suggestions are welcomed, and thanks for reading.
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-DP3
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Edited on 3/1/2005 10:16 AM
Edited on 3/1/2005 10:20 AM
