This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
side of the table because the sur- face of the target is reduced. For simplifi cation purposes,


forget the 2 and 4. The focus should be on kicking the head pin into the 10. If you make contact with the left side of the head pin, the natural path of the ball will take out the 2 and 4. At fi rst I was skeptical, but I


went back to Delaware State, where I was starting my second year as head coach, and decided to try it with my team. At fi rst my bowlers said it was a diffi cult adjustment and that it just didn’t feel right. But halfway through the year we were by far the best spare-shooting team, particularly with washouts. That summer I started prac-


ticing again and decided to give it a try. I immediatley thought, “Wow! I’m a believer!” I usually line up at 22, which is


just two boards to the left of the center arrow. I want to be square to the lane and square to my tar- get. We’ve talked before about turning your body to the target on single-pin spares, but in this case you want to be as direct and straight up the boards as you can. People who try this approach


sometimes line up a little too far to the left and throw diagonally at the head pin. This may be success- ful, but the head pin can react a little differently. Ideally, you want


Alternate Route


Traditionally, bowlers have at- tacked the wash- out from the path illustrated in


Figure A. Using your strike ball, you start far right and try to clip the left side of the head pin. Today’s elite bowlers use a plastic spare ball, line up just left of the center arrow, and throw directly at the left side of the head pin (Figure B). This path actually increases the surface of your target.


to get the head pin horizontally toward the 10, greatly increasing its chances of taking out the 10. Taking this approach to the


washout might be a little uncom- fortable at the start because it is so different than what you’ve al- ways done. At fi rst you might feel a little closed down, but you’ll see how your odds of making the spare increase and you’ll get com- fortable with it pretty quickly. The same philosophy holds


true for another relatively com- mon spare, the 3-6-7-10. The most common approach is to shoot it from the far left, crossing the front of the 3 and hoping it slides over into the 7. Now we’re suggesting you can shoot it straight up the right side of the lane, still get- ting the 3 to slide into the 7 while the ball takes out the 6 and 10. The key to this process is to get


you to better understand your an- gles, regardless of what spare you’re shooting. A better understanding of how you move your feet and how it affects the ball down lane is a valuable learning technique. It will make you more cognizant and careful about where you stand.


— Kim Terrell-Kearney is FIGURE A FIGURE B 17 USBOWLER NOVEMBER 2011


Assistant Head Coach of Team USA and the Interna- tional Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas.


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