8
- APRIL 2014
Helpful Wristbands and Ball Markings
Let‘s talk about how you can use wristbands to deliver a better ball and how to
read the markings on your ball as it rolls down the lane.
First wristbands. There are many on the market and all of them have been de-
signed to fit different bowlers‘ needs, so select one you feel comfortable with.
Definitely pick a wristband that does not overpower you. Some of them are bulky
and cumbersome and what‘s good for one bowler may not be good for all. The right
wristband can help you, but many people have to be taught how to use them.
Here‘s how they help. Remember when we discussed hand position and delivery?
To get the most effective ball release, remember that your thumb must come out of
the ball first and then your fingers, as the ball comes off your hand.
To make it a little clearer, put your hand out in front of you and pretend to shake
hands with someone. No wrinkles in your wrist. A straight line from your two bowling
finger knuckles to your elbow. Thumb at 11:00 and curl your two bowling fingers.
Now squeeze slightly with the two fingers. What does that do to your wrist? Why,
of course, it tightens it up. Now if you can keep your hand and wrist in that firm posi-
tion as you swing the ball out...down...back...and forward, then you don‘t need wrist
help.
But most of us do need help, including myself and lots of the pro bowlers. We
want to be sure that the thumb comes out first. Then if your fingers are still curled in
the ball, you will feel the ball being lifted off the fingers. A wristband helps keep your
hand in the shake-hands position and you will begin to feel the ball released.
Don‘t forget to test your thumb hole and spin your thumb around in it for a loose
feel. If your thumb hole is pulling the flesh on your thumb, it‘s too tight. Take some
black emery paper and rub a little out at a time until it is looser. Your thumb must
come out of the hole fast and it can‘t if the fit is too tight.
Now to the ball markings. If you deliver the ball properly, the ball should do three
things on the way to the pins: skid...roll...and hook. That means the marking on your
ball should change positions three ways on the path to the pocket.
Here‘s another point to remember. No matter how you deliver the ball—right or
wrong—the mark on your ball when it hits the pins will be in the position your thumb
came out of the ball at release point. Now, you had better re-read the above sen-
tence so that it really sinks in.
If you are right-handed and shake hands, where is your thumb? At 11:00, of
course. So that‘s where the mark should be on the ball when it hits the pins. For left-
handed bowlers, the thumb and mark should be at 1:00.
Why should the thumb be at 11:00? To get the most effectiveness from your ball,
you should be rolling a hook—picture it as a fish hook. If you are rolling a back-up or
reverse hook, your average will climb only to a certain point and never get any bet-
ter. More about this in a later column.
Imagine a line straight from the shoulder out into an arm swing to your mark (the
second arrow for strikes). The ball must continue on the same board as that mark
for about 10 or 15 feet beyond your mark before it hooks. Your thumb will take over
at this point.
Hold the ball in the shake-hands position, swing it the same way and deliver it the
same way for the easiest delivery and a great effect at the other end. The position of
your thumb at the release point determines the amount of hook. You see, it is you
and not lane conditions that make the ball hook.
If you stay at the foul line until the ball hits the pins, you can see if it‘s going
straight down the boards at the arrow or angling across them. You will also have
much better control if you help steer the ball and follow through.
Remember the four check points we talked about earlier that you must think about
every time you deliver the ball? 1) Where did I start? 2) Did I hit my mark? 3) Where
is my hand (thumb)? 4) Where am I at the foul line? You can do all these things only
if you concentrate and stay at the foul line until the ball hits the pins.
If your ball does not have a distinctive mark—and it must be behind the finger
holes—then you can put a mark on your own ball. Take a three-inch strip of white
adhesive or plastic tape and put it in the same position as a ball with three dots.
(
Caution:
This is okay for practice, but don‘t use tape on your ball in league or tour-
nament play. It is against the rules to have anything on the surface of the ball to
deface it.)
Now, practice what I‘ve been preaching. And next time I‘ll tell you how to move on
the approach to pick up spares. It‘s easy.
Final tip: Don‘t put your thumb in the ball first, as it will be ―locked in‖ the ball,
causing you to overturn or go over the top of your ball with your hand, making too
much hook. Put your fingers in the ball first, then your thumb.
The beginnings of most sports are shrouded in mystery, to put it mildly.
But there is no doubt that the father of organized professional bowling was
Eddie Elias, the one of a kind pioneer who comes along only every century
or so. To succeed at such undertakings, you must have unlimited energy,
patience and the lofty hopes of a dreamer who believes.
Eddie's dream lives on, half a century after he came into the spotlight,
convinced he would do what no one else had done. Convinced he could
convince all even those who needed a little nudge or a big push.
The young lawyer had to sway players, proprietors, press, manufacturers
and sponsors. In short the entire bowling industry and the world outside of
bowling.
No person ever did it better or did it at all before he came along. He cre-
ated a tour where bowlers could earn a living for the first time through their
talent on the lanes, just as so many other athletes did in their chosen field.
He brought credibility to a sport that never had its due to visibility. He
vaulted bowling to the heights of national network TV and top bowlers be-
came household names because of the highly rated shows.
Elias spurred generations of bowlers into thinking they could make it big,
and gave them what they needed the opportunity. Even if they didn't make
it, they could try, and trying is a learning experience in itself.
He uplifted the status, not only of the most talented of bowlers but all bowl-
ers, and the perception that bowling is a sport for all from youngsters under
five to oldsters pushing 100.
Though Elias left us in 1998 he remains in so many ways. His ideas are
still used and memories of him inspire. Eddie always called the pro bowlers
"his boys," but he helped every bowler and every group he could, whenever
he could. Despite a heavy schedule with many of his clients from all fields.
As Phil Donahue said, "Long before free agency, long before pro sports
rose to billion-dollar levels, there was Big E., bargaining his hear out for big
and small clients alike."
Elias has many monuments to his life in bowling, his Hall of Fame election,
his citations from every group in the sport, his innovations that thrive.
Now there is the Edward G. Elias Bowling Center on the campus of the
University of Akron, his alma mater. a fitting way to memorialize the life of
Elias and his legacy.
His always caring wife, Peggy and daughters Rainy and Annie, have and
continue to give the center their full support in every way.
The center is now in operation with the vitality and future plans Eddie
would have loved. Future plans call for special bowling events for youth and
various scholarship plans and any venture that will enhance the sport with
particular attention to young people everywhere.
Donations are being accepted to
develop the center's future as a
center of bowling, its history and
traditions, and the values so well
exhibited by one of the greatest
names in bowling history.
Contributions, large or small can
be sent to: The University of Akron,
Department of Development, Elias
Bowling Center, Akron, Ohio 44325-
2603
This is the king of giving that
grows our sport!
Helen Duval‘s Bowling Tips
Idle Bowling Thoughts
By Chuck Pezzano
