Getting Your Hand Behind the Ball

A major skill most bowlers try to achieve is the ability to get their hand behind the ball prior to and during the release. Many times bowlers focus solely on the position of the hand and not the position of the body. If the body is not in a proper position during the release, there is little chance of ever getting the hand behind the ball at all. Hopefully by the end of this article you will be convinced that you should start working on your body position to assist you in reaching this goal. Let’s start with mistakes in body position at the foul line.

Wrong shoulders

Notice in Photo 1 that my shoulders are level. Having the shoulders level at the foul line turns the hand inward (see red arrow). Now look at the yellow line in Photo 2. The bowling shoulder is lower than the non-bowling shoulder, but the hand is still rotated to the inside.

In Photo 3, see the red line and arrow. Starting at the hip, the line shows where the bowling shoulder should be. Clearly, this shoulder is way out in front of the hip, and the hand is rotated inward. If the bowling shoulder is lower than the non-bowling shoulder and in front of the hip, this causes the hand to rotate inward early. Now let’s take a look at the position of the body that allows you to better get the ...