In this recurring feature, I answer questions from Bowling This Month readers. If you have questions, please leave them in the comment section below so I can address them in a future installment of Coach, I’ve Got a Question!
(Editor’s note: the images below are adapted from Juha Maja’s Bowling 2.0: Footwork article, where they were sourced from the European Tenpin Bowling Federation (ETBF) training materials and used with permission.)
I start my approach straight ahead, but my last step is always toward my target. I see good bowlers use a straight approach all the way to the line, then throw the ball to the right, and I am baffled at how they do it! Is a straight approach the best? It certainly seems better for playing a deep inside line. Assuming it is, what is the secret?
I’ll start by saying that a slide toward your target is not necessarily a bad thing. This depends on some of the other details of your approach and on exactly how far toward your target you are sliding.
Over-pointing the slide
We’ll start with the problem scenario of going too far toward your target in the slide. Ideally, your slide should be in front of your second-to-last step. (We’ll talk about the position of this step in the next question.) If you are going too far toward your target, it often looks a little something like this:
The slide step (represented by the gray oval) should be in the green channel in front of the second-to-last step. For some bowlers, it goes too far toward the target.
Note that this image is for a righthanded bowler. The gray oval represents the final foot position of the slide, crossing completely in front of the second-to-last step and several boards to the right of it. This causes the ball path to deviate because the leg gets in the way, which makes it very hard to maintain accuracy and consistency.
If this is your situation, you want to work on redirecting your ...
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Image Credits: Bowling pins illustration (©iStock.com/OlekStock) is licensed for use by BTM and is the copyrighted property of its original creator.
