Balance at the line

[Crawf]

Despite my greatest endeavours, i seem to be consistently dropping my right shoulder and falling off my shot. Yet generally when i am sparing, this is not the case! This is probably a tough proposition given that you might have to see me bowl to actually find a solution. But just wondering, could it be something to do with my left arm? I have been told that often my arm ends up pointing more to the sky than out at say 90 degrees. Could this be causing my right shoulder to drop in compensation? Maybe this is a ridiculous question! Are there any ways that i could work on improving my balance at the line and not dropping that shoulder?

 

[Finchy]

Crawf I will be watching this space avidly.. I seem to be much more consistent, balanced and smoother on my spare shot than on my strike shot and for the life of me I can't work out why. I have a feeling it has something to do with trying too hard on the strike shot and then actually being more relaxed on the spare.

If anyone has any suggestions for you outside of this forum it would be great if you could post them on here.

Cheers..

 

[wchester]

Crawf

Dropping your shoulder is a GOOD thing!
The bowling instructors who teach the "old school" methods are just messin' up today's bowlers. Keeping your shoulder level was ok when you had a deep kneebend AND went straight up the boards. However this style of bowling just doesn't work in the current version of the sport.
Your bowling shoulder MUST drop if you are to belly the ball and open up the lanes.
If you're worried about your balance at the line I would suggest having a friend videotape your approach from both the front and rear and mail it to me..I'd be glad to take a look and see what Ican determine is the cause. Then I can devise as a method for better balance.
cheers,
Wayne

 

[da_cowman]

To both Wayne and Crawf, I believe it would help if we knew what kind of bowler you are. If you are a cranker, then Wayne is 100% correct, and dropping the shoulder helps, as can be seen in any good Robert Smith shot. However, if you are a straighter player, then the shoulder can't be dropped as much. I used to have the same problem, and anyone can tell you that I am a stroker through and through. Unfornatually, I can't really remember what Frawls got me to do to get me out of the habit. But Video tape the shot and give Wayne a look I'm sure he will be able to help you. But your current bowling technique should come into consideration first.

Later Da Cowman!

 

[Gail Torrens]

Current methods of coaching employ the principles of a firm shoulder.

Beginner bowler instruction will instruct the bowler to keep the 'shoulder up' feeling. This is base teaching.

The 'firm' shoulder principle applies to any style bowler. The shoulder does not need to be 'square' to provide the bowler with leverage on the ball. It is what the shoulder is doing on release that is the critical point.

If you are a stroker your shoulder should not move up or down - back or forward while you are releasing the ball as you loose critical leverage factors at that moment of release. Monitoring what position your shoulder is in while it is 'firm' is not important. Look at the massive shoulder leverage produced by Carl Bottomley - shoulder down - and no one will argue - No loss of leverage. Carls shoulder is firm throughout his entire shot.

Stand in delivery stance at the foul line (without the ball) put your shoulder in the position that you think you are in at the foul line at the point of delivery - get someone to pull down on your arm - at what point (up or down) do you feel your shoulder
feels the most stable. This is the correct position for you. Feel that position through out the approach and delivery.

Power bowlers who use trunk rotation (opening and closing the shoulders) firm the opposite shoulder and then the same principles apply. Again on release excellent transfer of power from the legs through the trunk to the shoulder through to the hand wrist and fingers.

Get a good coach to watch - The coach can fix your problems with a 10 second Hand on corrective to give you the feeling in the shoulder you should maintain throughout your approach.

Coaching has come a long way from when we were given tips by your team mate and the only instruction you were given was extend your arm - put the ball OUT on the lane!

Hope you are able to get someone to assist - but you are receiving excellent advice both from bowlers who care about your dilemma and also hopefully from qualified coaches.



Best Wishes
Gail Torrens