Coach’s Corner Tip

Adjustments – Move Your Eyes

Adjustments are the things we do to change our ball reaction. Most people think of moving left or right and of changing balls to change the ball reaction. This month let’s look at some other things you can do change your ball reaction, why you do them, and how to understand when and where to use these adjustments.  Sometimes, no matter which left or right adjustment you use, you can not get to the pocket and carry consistently. So, should I pack up my stuff and go home? Of course not! Reading the reaction of your ball is the first thing you need to notice, and where it breaks, (the break point) down the lane is critical to getting a ball reaction that hits the pocket and carries consistently. If you are close to the pocket, or just not carrying, the adjustment is not always left or right.

If you watch your ball reaction going down the lane, it could be that the break point is too early or too late. Often a late break point still looks like a good reaction, but the ball gets “behind” the pocket, leaving something on the back row. I mentioned last month that you will need to see the distance the ball travels down the lane and adjust that point to about 37’ to get the best ball reaction. You can do that by moving your eyes in one of two directions.

If you move your eyes “up,” (or closer to you) you can get the ball to start to roll sooner on the lane. Since the target is closer to you, your body will naturally get lower at the line, and you will roll the ball more. This will cause the break point to be closer to you, which will make the pocket angle smaller. This often will improve your carry if the ball travels too far down the lane and is breaking too sharply into the pocket. If you move your eyes “down” (or farther away from you) you can get the ball to start to roll farther down the lane. It’s ok for the ball to “stop” (appear to straighten out a little) just before the pocket, but if the ball stops too early, your carry will completely go away. If you start to leave flat-10s (RH) where the ball really quits at the pocket, look about 1’-5’ farther down the lane as a first adjustment. Since the target is farther away from you, your natural tendency will be to not get as low, and to project the ball a little farther down the lane, delaying the hook a bit.

So, what might be a typical adjustment utilizing both moving your feet and adjusting the distance you look down the lane? Let’s take a house shot – we know that there is a point where the volume of oil jumps dramatically. Let’s take the situation where you start to leave a 4-pin. If you just move 3-2 (3 with your feet and 1 with your target), the ball might skid too far, as you jump to an area with a lot more oil. However, if you move 3-2 and move your target up about 2’-3’, you might get the ball to roll a little sooner in the higher volume of oil and thus roll early enough to give you a good ball reaction.

Similarly, if the lanes tighten up a little, moving to the right may cause the ball to jump early and go through the “face”, leaving ugly splits. However, sometimes making a small move right with your feet and an aggressive move with your eyes down the lane (5’ or more) will get you the desired reaction. Caution, however, as this move often only works for a game or less before that part of the lane simply hooks too early and you have to move back in a half-arrow or so as your next adjustment. Bringing your target closer as you move to the inside of the lane is a common adjustment. Once the lane completely blows out you will need to move your eyes farther (sometimes much farther) down the lane. This will combat the tendency of the lane to hook very early.

Here are some more examples to making adjustments using your feet, your target distance down the lane, and the ball you are using. Perhaps the zone of the lane you are playing is to the outside, you are using a medium solid ball, and the lanes start to blend out. You could move to a stronger pearl, move in just a little and move your target up a little to compensate for the change from a solid to a pearl.

You might be using a solid and the lanes start to open up and hook a little earlier. You might then move left, change to a pearl and perhaps even target a little farther down the lane, depending upon the strength and the surface on the pearl. This might be 3-5 with your feet and 2’-8’ farther down the lane with your eyes. Finally, you are using a stronger pearl reactive and the lanes just start to blow out. You may move to a weaker pearl, move right, and move your target down the lane, perhaps 3-5 with your feet and 5’-10’ farther down the lane. The lanes might then start to break down more and you might move left again, target closer (perhaps 3-7 with your feet and 3’-5’ closer), then move left again and target farther down the lane as the lanes continue to dry out (maybe another 3-7 with your feet and 3’-8’ farther down the lane).

Are there any “magic” rules to making these adjustments? No, but if you experiment with these adjustments in practice, you will begin to understand how they work for your game. However, you must practice using these adjustments or you will not know how or when to use them in competition. The common sense comes
by understanding where the oil is, where the dry is, and how you need to change the shape of your ball reaction.