8
- September 2015
Idle Bowling Thoughts
By Chuck Pezzano
(reprinted in honor of his dedication to bowling)
Helen Duval’s Bowling Tips
How Can We Work on Good Timing
How do we achieve perfect timing…or as nearly perfect as possible? Timing is good
coordination between your foot work and your armswing. That means
you
arrive at
the foul line almost simultaneously with your ball.
To be sure you know how to recognize good timing, here’s what I have everyone
do at my clinics.
First, stand with the weight on both feet and the feet pointed straight ahead. Pre-
tend you’re holding a ball.
Next, figure out which foot is your
sliding
foot.
Now—without moving your feet—push the pretend ball out, down and back. As the
―ball‖ comes forward, slide your sliding foot and follow-through and hold it. Hold it
right there.
This is the very last thing you do, no matter how many steps you take. The reason
you should get this down pat is so you will recognize the feeling of
everything
getting
to the release point
together
. Keep practicing this push-away and slide until you
really feel you have good timing.
If you cannot stay in the follow-through position, then your balance at the foul line
is bad. You should be able to stay at the foul line until the ball hits the pins.
Okay, so you think that feels good, but you fall to one side or the other at the re-
lease point? This is called
bad balance
. If you have bad balance, you cannot control
the ball. It controls you!
Most instructors teach the four-step approach to the foul line because it’s easier to
coordinate with the four things we do with the bowling ball.
Here we go: 1—push the ball
out
as you move your right foot (left foot for lefties);
2—let the ball swing
down
as you take the second step with the left foot; 3—let the
backswing
back
as you take the third step; and 4—slide on your left foot and deliver
the ball, all in one motion. Everything comes together on the fourth step…move for-
ward, slide and deliver the ball.
Doesn’t that feel great? And you got a strike!
Are pro bowlers athletes?
You have heard that question before, and you will hear it again and again.
The PBA official yearbook tells us that within a 42 game tournament, players will
lift more than five tons, carrying it for a total of two miles while projecting the ball
more than 700 times at an average speed of 17 m.p.h at a target 60 feet away.
Dictionaries tell us that an athlete is one who contends for a prize. The word
books also define an athlete as anyone trained or fit to contend in exercises requir-
ing physical agility, stamina, and often strength.
The pro bowler fits. Though strength is helpful and even necessary at times, the
type needed in pro bowling is not the brute strength so needed in the heavy con-
tact sports.
In pro bowling, timing, coordination, and a delicate touch at times add up to a
high degree of fitness to go along with measured force to score consistently. How-
ever, pro bowling takes rhythm, balance, and skilled muscular effort. The muscles
must be supple and toned, always in shape, but not necessarily rock hard.
A pro bowler must be highly competitive. He pays to play, unlike baseball, foot-
ball, basketball and other players who are paid to play. The bowler’s pay is what
he wins, and he cashes well only with superior performances.
Dedication is a must for any successful athlete. A pro bowler must spend long
hours for many years perfectly, maintaining, and adjusting his skills. Too many
times a pro bowler is classed with the average fun bowler.
That’s akin to equating a touch football game at a picnic with the Super Bowl
and a company softball game with the World Series.
A pro bowler rolls more games in a week than the average bowler rolls in a year.
He probably spends more time in actual competition than any other sports per-
former. A pro bowler is firing away on the lanes more than seven hours a day. The
total time involved, back and forth between squads, preparation (checking equip-
ment and studying lane conditions) can more often than not add up to a 12 hour
day.
There’s no relaxing at any stage. Each and every roll of the ball counts since the
total score takes in every game. There must be the utmost ability to concentrate
under constant pressure, on TV, and in a sport where you’re always in a crowd,
yet always all alone.
Spectators are only a few feet away from the competing bowlers. You sit next to
other bowlers, yet it’s you against the conditions and the pins. No teammate to
help, nobody to coach or instruct once you’re on that approach. You roll your way
out of trouble or wait until the next time.
Pro bowling has become a sophisticated and scientific sport. You must adjust
practically every game to every lane. You must learn about equipment, lane sur-
faces, lane finishes, lane dressings, and other variables, each in themselves wor-
thy of deep study and plenty of homework. The sport looks simple. It is, simple to
play, difficult to master, impossible to conquer. Each higher average plateau is a
new challenge, tougher in every way, and the pro side is the highest peak.
There are millions upon millions of bowlers. Only a few thousand average really
high while those good enough to make a living at the sport can be counted in the
hundreds.
Is a pro bowler an athlete? If you rate physical contact and brute strength at the
top of your list, the answer is an emphatic no. But if you add up the definite skills
and knowledge, physical and mental, necessary to success, there is little doubt
that a pro bowler must be ranked as an outstanding athlete.
Did You Know?
The Weight Block That is the Core
The core of a bowling ball is in a specific shape, and thus the
weight is distributed differently throughout the ball. This is why
drilling the holes in one spot can result in a stronger (that is,
more hook) reaction and drilling them in another spot results in
a weaker reaction.
