In this recurring feature, I answer questions from Bowling This Month readers and bowlers that I work with. 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!
I’ve been struggling with my footwork a bit lately and drifting a lot. My third step, in particular, goes way out of line to the outside. How can I fix this? I take five steps.
Without a video, there’s no real way to diagnose this problem, but there are a few potential causes and solutions that could apply here. I’m assuming that you are a one-handed bowler, but this can also be a common problem for two-handers who tend to walk around their ball path and sometimes get a bit out of control.
Body position
One possible cause is your body position. In the modern game, you want a certain amount of core rotation and forward lean with your upper body. If your center of gravity is to the left of your second step, then your third step will compensate by stepping to the left. The image below uses a two-hander as an example, but it illustrates the concept regardless of whether you use one or two hands.
Here, we see a bowler who is about to take a big step to the left due to their weight distribution in the second step.
In this case, it’s clear that this bowler’s weight and center of gravity is more to the left, so stepping in that direction is necessary to maintain balance, even with the heavy bowling ball on the other side.
To correct this, we need to see the center of gravity shift. For two-handed bowlers or one-handers who use a fair amount of trunk bend (think EJ Tackett), you want to make sure that your hips are more open. This creates a position where the forward posture sends more weight to the outside, shifting your center of gravity so that it is more aligned with your desired footwork direction.
For one-handers ...
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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.
