Coach’s Corner Tip

Key Sport Bowling Adjustments

When you are bowling on sport conditions, you sometimes need to be creative to maximize your scoring. This month we’ll talk about some of these adjustments, and when to use them. If you are around the pocket, but you just can’t carry, you need to make an adjustment NOW. So what adjustments can you make to carry? Some of the common adjustments include:

• Speed
• Axis Rotation

So, how do you know that you need to make a speed adjustment? If you start to leave the “back row” – 7s, 8s, 9s, and 10s, the ball is probably getting into a breakpoint too late. To get the ball into an earlier breakpoint, first try changing your ball speed. Changing you ball speed means that you need to make you swing arc – the length of your swing and the speed at which it moves. To do this, hold the ball lower in your stance. When you hold the ball lower in your stance, you will
need to start the ball a little later so that your timing does not get too early, which will cause you to lose leverage. As you move the ball lower in your stance, you also need to tilt your spine forward a little more and possibly move your elbow in front of your hip to get the best starting position.

Axis rotation, or the degree to which your hand either stays behind (low axis rotation) or goes around (high axis rotation) determines how early or how late the ball responds to friction. If you keep your hand behind the ball, it will respond to the lane sooner, but with a milder backend reaction. If you get your hand around the ball, the ball will respond later to friction with a stronger backend reaction.

Use a little more forward roll when the ball responds too late, as this will cause the ball to respond earlier and create a lower angle of entry into the pocket. Conversely, if the ball is reacting too soon, causing a “flat” reaction at the pocket, you will want to get your hand around the ball a little more to get the ball to respond later and stronger.

There are three basic hand positions that will change your axis rotation. First, if you hold your hand so that your index finger is even with the right side of your wrist, you will create the most forward roll on the ball. If you hold your hand so that you can draw a line through the index finger down through the middle of your wrist, this will create more axis rotation. Finally, if you hold your hand so that the index finger is even with the left side of your wrist, this will create the most axis
rotation.

You can combine both of these adjustments – as you move farther to the inside of the lane, you will often want to cut down the ball speed and increase your axis rotation as the lane goes through the transition phase. Once the lanes open up, this combination will cause a flat, early reaction. At this point keep the axis rotation but increase the ball speed. 

Practice these combinations and you will have more success on sport conditions!