Improving Your Bowling With Off-Lane Training – Part 1

Over my next two articles, I’m going to go through alternative ways to develop your bowling skills, all of which can be done away from the lanes. Over the years, I’ve given many bowlers “homework” to continue developing skills we worked on during a lesson. This helps bowlers consolidate movements and improve faster the next time they take to the lanes.

This month, I’ll focus on the physical drills you can do in your home to improve both your bowling technique and foundational skills like coordination and balance, as well as strategies for improving important elements of your mental game.

Physical skill development

Bowling technique depends on a foundation of balance and coordination, which can easily be developed away from the lanes. In addition, several of the drills a bowler might use at the bowling center can be used the same way at home, or can easily be adapted for use at home.

First, the development of overall balance and coordination skills is essential for athletes of almost any sport, but especially for bowling. Keeping your balance at the foul line is a product of good dynamic balance and strong technique. A consistent release and good accuracy are also products of overall coordination and technique.

Balance

I’ve covered balance before, and the drills discussed in that article can easily be done either in the home or at the bowling center. Start by developing static balance, which is essentially balance without movement, and then continue by adding movement to improve dynamic balance.

Note that many of the following movements will also have a strength component, and I recommend consulting with a trainer or your doctor to safely implement these into any other strength training you are doing. The goal of this particular article is to focus on the balance component ...