what type of ball will work best for your game. He’ll be able to point you in the right direction to make sure you have high-per- formance equipment that fits your style.”
Fine-Tune Fundamentals Though you’ll likely have fairly solid mechanics by the time you’re averaging 175, you’re still probably a long ways from perfect. At this level, you will want to take a hard look at your stance, swing and release, and fine-tune everything so that you’ll become more consistent with your shots. “Your timing still probably needs work
and your balance isn’t that great either,” says O’Neill. “To get to 200, you’re going to need to work on those things. You’re probably all out of whack on the line and the ball some- times doesn’t go anywhere near where you want it. To get better, you really need some coaching. “The best thing to do is to see yourself
on video throwing the ball. That can be a real eye-opener for any bowler. You never know what you look like until you see it for yourself. It can be as simple as having your buddy videotape you from the back, front and side during practice and then taking a
look at your form. Even without a coach, you’ll likely see some flaws for yourself that you can work on.”
Light Reading
At this level, you’re going to want to be able to do some basic lane reading and you’re going to want to know why you’re making adjustments. “You’ll need to work a lot more on lane
play,” says Fagan. “When you start to really understand how your ball is reading the lanes, you’ll be able to make proper adjust- ments and your average will go up. “If you don’t want to go through
months of trial and error, you should con- sider getting a few lessons. Adjustments can be very ‘feel’ related, but if you keep your adjustments to just a board or two and keep doing that, you’ll eventually find your spot. There’s always going to be trial and error involved in making the right adjustments because there’s no set hand- book for bowling.” To read the lane, begin practice by
rolling your favorite ball on your favorite part of the lane. Watch the ball reaction carefully to see where it begins to curve
and how much. Using that benchmark will help you determine what changes, if any, are needed before starting actual league play. Also, watch where other people are playing with success. Is it an inside or out- side line? Especially watch people using a similar style to your own. If the lanes are oily, plan to use a
straighter line to the pocket. Trying to force the ball to curve more will lead to accuracy problems. If the lanes are hook- ing, you may need to use a softer release. Sometimes moving to a different part of the lane will help you find the amount of oil that will be a better match to the ball selection and release you prefer. Generally, the outside of the lane will be drier and the inside will have more oil. “At this level, besides adjusting your
target or equipment, you should also consider experimenting with ball speed,” recommends Fagan. “Don’t do that until you’ve got your fundamentals down though because you’ll need to be funda- mentally sound with your shots or making a speed adjustment is going to completely throw you off balance.”
Go From
200 to Elite Everyone wants to be the top dog in their league. What do you need to know to go from a solid 200-average bowler to the best of the best in a league? “This is where the combination of
practice, arsenal, versatility and observa- tion combine,” says Barnes. “Even players at the professional level must constantly maintain their base game — or founda- tion. By adding in bowling balls with vari- ous pin positions, covers and surfaces, you give yourself the opportunity to bowl well on multiple conditions. Experience starts to play a big part as well as you must be able to see what your ball does and know what adjustments need to be made.” Bowlers looking to make the jump
from 200 to a truly elite bowler are prob- ably already starting to look well beyond their typical Saturday night league. They’re playing in tournaments and probably have tried, or are at least considering, joining a Sport league or other scratch league. But to really break out of the pack of
200 bowlers and go beyond, you must first study, study and then study again.
Study Hall “This step up is the most difficult of them all,” says Fagan. “You can get to 175 and a
24 USBOWLER FALL 2010
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