Bowling World Newspaper July/August 2021

8 www.bowlingworld.com - July/August 2021 Stance Position On television you may have seen a broad jumper, high jumper or pole vaulter start at his take-off spot and walk in the direction of his starting position. A kickoff special- ist toes up the football, faces away from the receiving team and steps toward his goal line. Each expert is stepping off his approach to find his exact starting spot or stance position. Bowlers use a similar system. Standing three or four inches behind the foul line, they face away from the pins, take 4½ good-size steps toward the back of the ap- proach and turn toward the foul line. The extra half-step allows for the slide. That is the first fundamental in finding the starting spot or point of origin. Then, use marks on the approach and lane called range finders, because they help you focus on the bowling target, just as a camera range finder helps you focus on your photographic subject. There are two sets of five dots across the approach, seven more near the foul line, and seven arrows or darts about 15 feet down the lane. Right-handers count from the right channel, left-handers from the left channel, so my instructions apply to both. Take time out for a minute to follow the first dot down the board on the approach. You‘ll find it is on the same board as the second dot at the foul line, and on the same board as the second arrow or dart. I‘ll tell you the reason for this later. You're starting spot 4½ steps back of the foul line should be near the first row of dots, or 12-foot line. Face the pins. Put your feet together, sliding foot slightly ahead, or it it‘s more comfortable the feet can be parallel. Let your bowling arm hang straight down your hip, fingers extended toward the floor. Point them over the first outside dot on the approach. This is your starting po- sition 4½ steps from the foul line. Starting on the right foot, if you are right-handed, and on the left foot if you are left -handed, walk straight down the board from the starting point to the foul line and pretend to deliver the ball. Let‘s practice this. Without the ball, take your starting position and go through the four-step delivery. Check your position. Did you sliding foot finish at the foul line spot corresponding to the spot where you started back on the approach? Be sure to keep the knees flexed so you can more or less creep to the foul line. Don‘t rush. Take it slowly and easy. Bowling ball power comes from a pendulum swing of the arm and timing and coordination, not speed of delivery. Flexed knees and creeping approach put you into a position to have the bent knee necessary for the successful slide just before you deliver the ball. All right. You have found the starting spot and practiced the delivery. Now you‘re ready to bowl. Before delivery, move the ball slightly to the bowling arm side of your body, with most of the weight of the ball in your non-bowling hand. It will clear the hip when swung with the proper pendulum motion. Squeeze the ball slightly with the ring and middle fingers. This firms up the wrist for control and reminds you to lift and roll the ball. It also takes pressure off the thumb, helps put on the ―stuff‖ that imparts the re- quired roll and gets the ball out over the foul line. There is no way to bowl correctly if you drop the ball at your side when it is delivered behind the foul line. The bowling hand should be in a handshake position from the start of the delivery to finish. Remember, squeezing the ball slightly with the ring and middle fingers helps keep a nearly straight line from the knuckles to elbow. Right-handers: Hold the ball with the thumb pointed at 10:00 or 11:00. Left- handers: The thumb should be pointed at 1:00 or 2:00. Remember: No broken wrist, please. Keep your hand straight from elbow to knuckles. Make the approach and delivery. Did the ball roll over the second arrow? How about the thumb? Was it in the 10:00 or 11:00 (1:00 or 2:00) position? Was the hand extended toward the pins? Were the middle and ring fingers cocked as they were in the bowling ball? Were the sliding knee bent and foot pointed toward the target? If you‘re doing all these fundamentals right and still bowling poorly, timing or lack of coordination may be your problem. They will be explained in future lessons. Helen Duval‘s Bowling Tips Three New TEAM USA Athletes Join USBC Join USBC Board Of Directors, Four Incumbent Directors Return by Aaron Smith ARLINGTON, Texas – Kendra Cameron-Curry, Brittni LaGeorge and Ron Mohr have been elected as new athlete representatives to the United States Bowling Con- gress Board of Directors. The three new board members will start their terms Aug. 1, 2021. They fill newly created seats for Team USA athletes on the USBC Board of Directors to meet new requirements from the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Cameron-Curry‘s initial term is for one year, while LaGeorge and Mohr will serve three-year terms. Cameron-Curry, from St. Cloud, Florida, is a USBC Hall of Famer and spent five years as a Team USA member (1995-1998, 2010). She captured a gold medal in team competition and bronze in trios at the 1997 PANAM Bowling Adult Champion- ships and was the runner-up at the 1995 QubicaAMF Bowling World Cup. She is a two-time Professional Women‘s Bowling Association champion, four-time USBC Women‘s Championships titlist and currently works as the Regional Director of Bowling for Aloma Bowling Centers. LaGeorge, from Nashville, Tennessee, is a five-time Team USA member (2011, 2013-2016) and three-time member of Junior Team USA (2009-2011). She won two gold medals (doubles and team) at the 2009 PANAM Bowling Youth Championships and a silver medal in singles at the 2010 International Bowling Federation Youth Championships. She won the 2014 USBC Team USA Trials and finished third later that year at the World Cup. The 2008 Alberta E. Crowe Star of Tomorrow serves as the Assistant Director of Student Services at Vanderbilt University, where she was a four-time National Ten- pin Coaches Association All-American from 2009-2012. Mohr, from Las Vegas, is a three-time Team USA member (1989, 1991, 1998) and has represented Senior Team USA in each of the four editions of the International Bowling Federation Senior Championships, collecting 14 medals, including 8 golds. The Professional Bowlers Association Hall of Famer is an 11-time PBA50 titlist and two-time PBA60 champion. Before joining the PBA50 Tour, Mohr had a 25-year career as an Air Traffic Control Specialist for the Federal Aviation Administration in Anchorage, Alaska. In addition to the three new members, Josie Barnes of Hermitage, Tennessee, was reelected to a second three-year term as a Team USA Director. Barnes is a current and nine-time Team USA member and serves as the associate head coach for Van- derbilt‘s women‘s bowling team. USBC Bylaws, in accordance with USOPC requirements as the National Govern- ing Body of the sport, state at least 33.3% of the USBC Board of Directors must be comprised of Team USA athletes, who are to be elected by Team USA athletes. Three additional incumbents also will rejoin the USBC Board of Directors starting Aug. 1, 2021. USBC President Melissa McDaniel of Raleigh, North Carolina, was elected to re- turn by the International Bowling Campus Youth Committee. McDaniel is the youth director and head coach for Buffaloe Lanes Family Bowling Centers. The National Bowling Association reappointed Cornell M. Jackson of Kilmarnock, Virginia, to serve a three-year term on the USBC Board of Directors. Jackson worked professionally as a computer systems analyst with the University of District Columbia before retiring and is a Life Member and TNBA Hall of Fame member. The Bowling Proprietors‘ Association of America reappointed BPAA President Jim Decker of Rohnert Park, CAornia , to the USBC Board of Directors. Decker owns and operates Double Decker Lanes and is a second-generation proprietor with more than 45 years of experience in the industry.