This three-part series started with a dose of truth and reality. That reality was that we can’t all throw the ball like the pros do, and sometimes we do more harm to our games—and possibly our bodies—if we try. In the second part of the series, I described what I thought was the ideal ball roll for a lot of league bowlers and the conditions they bowl on. That ideal ball roll took us away from the mantra of “working the inside of the ball” and replaced it with working the side of the ball to create more than 45 degrees of axis rotation. Creating more than 45 degrees of axis rotation is not something league bowlers usually hear as a suggestion.
I am not suggesting that more than 45 degrees of axis rotation is rare among league bowlers, because it’s not; some league bowlers even have too much. A lot of bowlers with just the right amount of axis rotation for the conditions they bowl on ask me to teach them to stay behind the ball, and that’s just fine. I think everyone should be able to do both, but for the right reason. Hearing that the pros “work the inside of the ball” is not one of them.
Over 25 years of coaching experience has taught me that a lot of bowlers want to try to emulate the pros of the sport they love. I am sure that is true in every sport. It’s not a great idea to directly try to copy anyone else’s game because everyone is an individual with individual abilities. We can, however, look at other bowlers’ games and see if ...
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