Today’s bowlers and scoring environment have made bowlers roll the bowling ball faster. When this is done incorrectly your body will not be in balance. Bowlers need to remember that the power and force of a bowling ball is generated by your free arm swing, letting gravity work, and your legs. When you do not use these two together you cause an imbalance in your body and your body does what? Falls off your shot.

First thing you need to work on is to make sure that you are using a free arm swing. If you try to use more muscle then gravity, your body will over compensate and try to correct itself without you really knowing.  The first tip this week is to see how free your arm swing really is. If you set up in your starting position and make your first motion with the bowling ball into the swing, your arm should swing back all by itself. The bowling ball is controlling you, not you controlling the bowling ball. Your arm swing should move freely from your shoulder. If you are using muscle or over exerting your swing, you’re entire upper body will move as well.  A practice drill you can do is to take your non bowling hand and support the weight of the ball with this hand. This hand should be placed under the bowling ball, and act like a trap door. Once it moves, the swing begins. This is called free arm swing. If you hold the ball out there and you physically take the ball down towards the bottom of the swing then this is using too much muscle.  Remember free arm swing will generate more power with less muscle movement.

The second tip is at your release and finish position. Your legs are the strongest muscles in your entire body, so let’s use them. As you are taking your final step into your slide the non sliding leg should be trailing behind your body on the opposite side of your swing. Imagine a triangle; the floor is the base of the triangle and your legs become the left and right side of the triangle. Based on your physical ability the triangle can be large or small. The main ingredient is that it stays a triangle until the bowling ball hits the pins. If you want to do this at home, try this two ways. First try and make a triangle and put your body in the position that you finish at the foul line. The bigger the triangle the more balanced you body has become. Try these a few times to let your mind understand what you are trying to accomplish. You mind will think it feels weird at first, so you have to retrain the mind as well.