Ok so the last couple posts I wrote were about my upcoming trip to Reno NV to bowl the USBC Open Championships. Which I am still excited about it. This week I need to get back to giving all you bowlers out there some small tips that will create a big difference out on the lanes.

Small as it may seem, minor adjustments can make a big impact on your bowling. It can make a difference in your swing, release, or even your overall scores. Below I will talk about some small things that may be hindering bowlers, and some techniques to get you back on track. 

One of the biggest things I always hear bowlers talk about (and coaches) is timing issues. Timing issues can be footwork, swing, or tempo. How do you, the bowler, really know which one of these can affect your game? The first thing a coach or bowler should do is start at the beginning. As a coach myself, watching a bowler’s initial start can tell you a lot. If a bowler has late timing, it usually means that the body has gotten to the finish position before the bowling ball and arm swing has gotten there. One small adjustment can be as simple as seeing where the bowling ball is at the setup. If the bowling arm is farther from the bowlers body, this will cause the arm swing to create a bigger swing arc, there by slowing the arm in relation to the foot work, and this will cause the bowler to get to the line before the bowling ball swing has completed it’s decent to the release position. One simple tip for this is, simply bring the bowling arm closer to your body at your set up. The day of pushing the ball out and locking your arm is gone. You want to make your arm swing fluid and smooth, not straight out then down. By doing just this simple adjustment you the bowler, can know get your foot work in time with your swing.

Another simple adjustment for timing can be the opposite of the above paragraph. Some bowlers can have early timing. This would mean that the bowler has not arrived to the final slide position but the bowling ball is already there. On simple way of correcting this is to start at the beginning. Watch the push away in relation to the footwork. If the bowlers swing has reached the back swing before the proper amount of steps are taken then the swing will be coming down before the bowler is ready. If you are using a four step delivery, the bowling balls initial start and the first step should be in sync. With this type of bowler the push away has been started before the bowler has started there approach. On simple tip for this is to take a few minutes and practice taking the first step in the approach with the movement of the arm. Remember you are not taking a full approach to the lanes, I simply want you to go through the motions of the first step and arm to sync together. For a five step delivery, you would sync up your push away with the second step in the approach.

Let’s do a recap of this week’s article. For a bowler that has late timing, simply try to bring your push away and set up position closer to the body. For early timing, have the bowler sync the first step with the first motion of the push away. Trying these simple tips can make a big difference in your timing. So how can you tell which one of these you are? Well if you have early timing, you feel like you can never feel balanced at the line. Most often then not you fall off your shot to the direction of your bowling hand. If you have Late timing you should feel like you are pulling down your arm swing instead of the arm swing coming down naturally. Again this can cause you to fall off balance. One more tip to find out which one you are encountering, is to actually count your steps. If you get to your last step and you are waiting for the bowling ball to be released you have late timing. If you get to the line and you are releasing the bowling ball before you have entered you final slide then you have early timing. You never want to alter your foot work as far as speeding up or down. You want to use what the individual bowler is comfortable and work with them. Now remember readers, a muscle change does not happen overnight. It takes over 1500 repetitions before those muscles replace the old feeling with the new feeling. So with that said, do you think you need to go out and practice?

T.J. Yeip is the Manager of GLC Bowling and the Lead Technical Advisor. He is an IBPSIA Advanced Certified Member and former PBA member. He is a USBC Certified Bronze Level coach.  You can email your questions to him personally at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com