Technique


“The best way to increase or decrease ball speed is by using your legs, not


your upper body.“


actually accomplish faster or slower ball speed, but your accuracy and consistency is going to be very dif- ficult to repeat.


The best way to increase or de- crease ball speed is by using your legs, not your upper body. Using your lower body to adjust your tem- po to the line will allow you to main- tain a fluid, natural swing and will greatly increase your ability to repeat shots. To increase ball speed, start your approach a step behind your normal starting point, which will give you more room so that you can walk faster. By moving faster to the line, your stride will be slightly longer. That extra pace to the line will get your lower body working while your upper body stays relaxed and ball speed will still increase. Conversely, if you want to de- crease your ball speed, move up a foot in your approach. Whether you’re using a four-step or five-step


LIFESTYLE AND BOWLING TECHNIQUES TO MAKE YOU A BETTER BOWLER


are instinctively going to keep track of that to keep you in your timing. Now, if you cut your swing to 3.5 seconds, your feet are going to move faster to stay in synch.


It’s all about the distance your swing travels. If you take a shorter swing, your feet automatically have to go faster in order to stay in time. In essence, your feet have to move faster to make up for the lost distance in your swing. If your swing is longer, your feet have to move slower to maintain proper timing.


SPEED THRILLS: Click on the play button (above) to view Team USA Assistant Coach Bryan O’Keefe discuss how to increase and decrease your ball speed.


approach, your steps will be shorter and your pace will be slower. Naturally, a byproduct of quicker/ slower tempo to the line is that your timing must adjust with the tempo, and that’s where the biggest miscon- ception about adjusting ball speed comes in.


Prevailing wisdom suggests that in order to throw the ball harder you start the ball higher (lengthening your swing), and to slow it down you start the ball lower in your stance (shortening your swing).


By adjusting your tempo to the


line, the opposite is actually true. Start with the ball about six inches lower if you want to increase ball speed, and start with the ball slightly higher if you want to decrease ball speed. Confused?


Here’s how it works: By speed- ing up your tempo to the line, you’ve actually got less time to get the ball from your stance, through your swing and to the release point. Let’s say your normal swing takes four sec- onds from stance to release point. There’s a natural tempo, so your feet


10 USBOWLER SEPTEMBER 2011


So, to increase ball speed, move back one foot on the approach and adjust the ball position six inches lower in your stance. To decrease ball speed, start one foot forward on the approach and position the ball six inches higher in your stance. To a certain extent, the distance of your swing dictates your foot speed. Adjusting the length of the swing shorter or longer than normal will allow you to increase or decrease ball speed.


That can come in handy because often times you’re on the right part of the lane. Instead of moving left or right, adjust your ball speed to adapt to the changing lane conditions. — Bryan O’Keefe is Assistant Coach and Facility Manager at the Interna- tional Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas.


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