Your shoulders, hips and ball-side foot should be in line with your path to the pin.
In general, spare
shooting is a pretty personal thing. Most bowlers have their own preferences, al- though the common thread is “straighter is better.” I use a plastic ball for all of my spares, in part because I’m usually facing conditions in which the concentra- tion of oil varies a great deal across the lane. Under those conditions, I feel the straighter you go at the pins the better your chances for suc- cess. Spares, particu-
larly single pins, are all about straight lines. That’s why I work with bowlers to become more adept at using a weaker ball (plastic) for spares. A plastic ball, because of its cover stock, doesn’t read the lane surface’s friction like a reactive ball. Because of that, it will roll straight to your target.
PATH TO SUCCESS The key to picking up single-pin spares is not so much where you stand, but how you ad- dress the lane and how straight you keep your swing. Determine where on
the lane you prefer to stand, and envision a di- rect path to the pin. For your stance, your core should be facing the pin. That means your shoul- ders, hips and ball-side foot should be in line with your path to the pin. In essence, position your body for each single-pin spare as if it were the head pin. Based on a right-
handed bowler, if you are shooting at the 10 pin your entire body should be angled in a straight line to that 10 pin. If you’re shooting at the 3 or 5 pin, you’re going to be pretty square to the lane. All too often I’ll see a bowler address the 10 pin with their body square to the lane. Be- cause the pin now seems
far off to the right, the bowler will compensate by opening up his body after he begins his pushaway.
SPARE TIME: Click on the play button (above) to view Team USA Assistant Coach Kim Terrell-Kearney demonstrate the keys to picking up single-pin spares.
This becomes too hard to manage with any consistency. By presetting the angle the odds of a consistent result are much higher.
THE STRAIGHT SWING Since we’re focusing on a straight line to the pin, your swing needs to be straight as well. A com- mon problem in today’s game is that there is a lot more muscle in the everyday player’s swing. Once you add a lot of muscle, throwing straight becomes more difficult because you pull the ball and it has a tendency to go in and out of the direct line we’re trying to play. And I’m not necessarily talking about hooking the ball. There are a
16 USBOWLER JULY 2011
number of reasons the ball doesn’t follow a straight line. Placement is one. If a right-handed bowler is pushing the ball too far to the right of their body, they’re going to end up pulling the ball to get their swing back in line. That requires more muscle and reduces the odds of a consistently straight swing. Us- ing too much muscle could also be the result of timing. If you are late getting the ball into the pushaway, you’ll have to muscle it into your backswing.
BALL PLACEMENT In order to ensure a straight swing, position the ball between your chin and your shoulder. This applies to
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18