Bowling with Leverage
by David A. Leverage
David A. Leverage is a Former exempt PBA Player, Silver level certified coach,
an ASU Bowling Alumni member, A 6 time PBA titleist, has (40) 300 games
and owns 2 Phoenix area Pro Shops.
Sportsmanship in Bowling
During a recent trip down to Tucson for the 2009 State Masters I witnessed 2 acts of genuine sportsmanship from 2 of my fellow competitors who both reside in the Tucson area. The first was Steve Dekker. You see I had a bit of a "brain malfunction" as I was leaving my pro shop and hurrying home the night before the Staste Masters and with many things on my mind I forgot to bring a very important bag with me. This particular bag was important because inside were my bowling shoes, my Storm accessory bag which contained all of my Interchangeable thumbs. Keep in mind without the interchangeable thumbs to go into the 6 balls I brought with me these 6 balls become utterly useless. Fortunately a very nice competitior of mine was nice enough to allow me to use one of his...That was Steve Dekker. Now he could have thought to himself, "too bad for you Dave, you should've remembered to bring your stuff with you". But he didn't. He offered one of his interchangeable thumbs for me to use during the competition and even allowed me to alter it so that it would allow my thumb to fit since mine is bigger.
Now if you recall, I also left my shoes in my Phoenix pro shop as well. Another moment of brilliance! That's where another great sportsman came in..His name is Billy Bundza and he owns the Pro Shop located inside Golden Pin Lanes. Usually during these early starting tournaments the Pro Shops are closed since they usually open later in the day. So naturally I was worried I was going to have to make a pair of rental shoes work during a very important tournament. Billy was nice enough to offer up his pro shop work bench so a fellow competitor and Pro Shop colleague could work out his thumb hole and pick out a pair of shoes. Needless to say I was very fortunate that these 2 gentleman were nice enough to help out a fellow bowler following a senior moment! Which is scary since at 39 years of age I really shouldn't be having those yet! Well as it turns out I bowled well enough to make the finals by 2 pins despite having different shoes and someone elses thumb! Well not his ACTUAL thumb of course. That would take reconstructive surgery. Thanks to the both of you for showing great sportsmanship in our sport!
Some basics of bowling better…
HOW MUCH DO YOU “DRIFT”
The next time you are bowling and practicing there are a few things I would like you to take note of. The first thing is your “drift”. When referring to drift we are talking about whether or not you are walking straight or you are drifting to the right or to the left. So keep a record of where your slide foot is in your stance and where it ends up at the foul line. I typically drift 2-3 boards to the left. Drift is only a problem if it is inconsistent. For instance if you drift 4 boards, 8 boards and then 5 boards on 3 shots this will negatively affect your score because you are not sliding on the same board each time.
YOUR SLIDE FOOT
On that same note, make sure that your slide foot is pointing directly at your target. For most bowlers you will want your slide foot aimed directly at your target and for most bowlers you will want your slide foot perpendicular to the foul line at release.
This is very similar to a baseball pitcher who points his left foot right at the catcher when he throws a pitch.
FOLLOW THROUGH
Now we have covered the fact that you need to point your foot towards your target. You must also remember to follow through with your arm swing toward your target. One good way to visualize this is to point your index finger at your target as you follow through.
POST YOUR SHOT
Posting your shot or posing at the foul line is just that. Pose and hold your position at the foul line as if someone was going to take a picture of you. This drill will create better balance for you at the foul line and will make it easier to make foul line adjustments on your marginal shots
Thank you to all of the people who have been emailing in real questions and ideas for upcoming articles. We always appreciate any and all input as we are always aspiring to help and educate bowlers so they can knock down more pins. As always you may email me at: daveleverage@yahoo.com.
"TEXT the Coach" As a new feature if you are having a problem and need a quick answer to that problem, send me a text message during your next practice session, league session, or tournament and I will do my best to reply in a timely manner. Text to 6025505788.