Turbo Tech Gold Instructional Tip

 

Feeling proper Grip Pressure and a pure pendulum swing:

By Louis Marquez
Head Coach for Turbo Tech
At Turbo 2 n 1 Grips

 

  In my many travels around the world coaching and working with students at different levels in the sport of bowling and at our training facility I see many unique ways of creating a so called pendulum swing. For some proper ball reaction is developed with a pure pendulum motion created at the very start of the swing and for others they struggle with grip issues, erratic swing direction and inconsistent releases at the release point.

 Our tip today details what different players with different style at the very top of their game share as a whole when it comes to the pendulum swing.

 First let's look at the grip. A proper fingertip grip is one that allows your hand to support the weight of the ball with the finger pads along with the base of the thumb. If the thumb hole is to large then squeezing with the thumb tip will occur causing blistering, knuckling and excessive skin damage and swelling. To small of a thumb hole will now cause excessive swelling due to loss of blood flow around the thumb and causing the hand to create friction calluses to protect the high abrasive action for this improper feel. Now worn finger grips or finger holes that are to large will cause the grip pressure to be excessive. Cuts on the crease of the finger and or burning or discoloring of the finger at the tip where all of the nerves ending are can be evident.

 But let's assume we have found the right grip for our flexibility with the help of our Pro shop technician. Now let's take a look at the start in our stance.

 With today's top Pros many of them are trying to create a feel in the stance which allows them to feel an even distribution of the ball weight. What I mean by this is to take the total weight supported by your hand and redistribute it with the help of the non bowling hand. Many a time I have seen video of students that would say that they are sharing the weight evenly with both hands, yet have the gripping hand under the ball and the opposite hand on top. Unless they have the ability to palm the ball then I would say "not possible."

 The proper feel that is required is,  one were equal distribution in weight with each hand placed under the "equator of the ball or the Horizontal center of the ball. For example if the weight is 14lbs then 7 pounds in feel in either hand is the target. (See picture #1 for illustration)

   Now on to start of the pendulum swing. At the start of the swing for your particular timing sequence the push away direction should be in a direction where gravity is used to help create a free movement. What I mean by this is that the ball movement should be moved out and downward or a movement of unfolding of the arms. This type of technique will create the proper shape in the pendulum as to not have sharp edges or a mechanical feel. You are trying to create an Arc with the swing and the swing should be rounded not curled upwards and downwards.

   The use of the non bowling hand is as important to this swing as the gripping hand. With the non gripping hand placed under the ball to help distribute the weight it should also tell us how far out to project the ball in the push away to create the start of the arc motion.

  Let's take a look at our hand and arms for a moment and simulate holding a ball with even weight in each hand in front of your shoulder. Now project the ball straight out horizontally as if it were on a kitchen table, notice that the distance of the NON BOWLING hand and arm are further out and straighter than the bowling arm. Also notice that the bowling arm is also slightly bent and NOT FULLY EXTENDED. This motion of softness is what we are trying to maintain. (See picture #2 for illustration)

    At this point the arm with the ball in hand will start to fall and only be fully extended when it is in its downward motion into the swing. The bowling arm should never be locked while it is going out horizontally as this would create excessive force of muscle tension and increased grip pressure.

   This method in the start is common amongst the very best in our sport that have free swings. They tend to use the non bowing arm as a limiter to help them project the start and also use this as a trigger to tell the arm to drop the ball into the swing allowing the weight to transfer with the help of gravity and allow the ball to swing freely. Keep the thought of a rounded downward arc shape. This is what we are trying to achieve as if the ball was now to fall off the kitchen table or the thought of presenting a gift to a anouther person. (See picture #3 for illustration)

  I have seen many players try to pick up the ball and place it into a higher position than what was started at the back of the approach. This technique time and time again has raised some concerns for me because of the fact that it takes more muscle tension to bring an object of any heavy weight up to a higher elevation. Think of a box with 15 pound inside and the force generated to put it on a shelf higher than yourself. Squeezing of the hands and muscle tension from the arms is created to perform this task, not very good fundamentals for a free swing.

 As the ball now drops into the swing the grip pressure because of the light ball weight at the start will be very low and limited. This is a good thing because the feel should be as if we are trying to hold onto a small pet animal as a bird or cat. If the tension were to severe then instant muscle tension would soon follow causing you to commit to this pressure as we can not at any time during the swing relax the grip. This action would soon cause difficulties in coming out of a proper fitted ball with the correct pitches and hole sizes.

 As the swing now starts its downward movement no abrupt change in the swing should occur. Don't pull back on the arm or control the rate at which it falls as this would increase grip pressure and muscle tension and also don't pull down on the arm as it starts its downward momentum from the top of the back swing. Let your body angle, ball weight and ball starting height dictate the speed along with your foot speed moving to the front of the approach at the foul line. I tell bowlers all the time to "let the ball control you and for you to not control it".

 On to the release or the moment of truth. It is this part which confuses many as there are many different ways to release a ball to create a rotational spin and orbital tilt on the lane.       

  The importance of keeping the hand stable at release is the goal as there are many ways to do this. Your goal is to create a technique where at the release the thumb loosen it's grip of the ball as it passes the heel of the shoe and OPENS the hand but transfer the weight of the ball to the fingers pads at about the distance from the front of the shoe to about 6"-8" in front of the shoe on the lane. This motion will allow the pad and palm of the hand to roll the ball forward and create a "Flat spot" in the arc of the swing causeing the ball to reach it's maximum rev potential for your style and allow the ball to gently roll into the lane as if a plane were landing into a runway at the airport.

   Well I hope this tip brings to light some new ideas about the free arm swing as created by some of the best players in our sport.

Good Luck.

Louis Marquez

USBC Gold

Turbo Tech

lmarquez@turbogrips.com

www.turbogrips.com

 

I have to give a special mention out to one of our own coaches on the coaches think tank group for doing a wonderful job with his girls team at the Michigan High School Division 1 State Finals held at Sunnybrook lanes in Sterling Heights Michigan..
Coach Mike of Kennedy high school in Michigan coached his team of girls into the finals and was presented the trophy of runner up for the state finals. Congrats to him and all of the members on the team. You did a great job leading your team Mike and it was a pleasure presenting you that trophy. Enjoy and cherish this moment with your team.

Congrats to you

The next element of the Competition Mental Game we will examine is concentration. What is concentration? Concentration is possibly the most misunderstood competition mental skill. Most bowlers associate concentration with an internalized narrowing, this in fact is only one form of concentration.

Generically, there are four forms of concentration
Internal (conscious thoughts) accompanied by a narrow focus
Internal accompanied by a wide focus
External (no conscious thought awareness) accompanied by a narrow focus
External accompanied by a wide focus
Internal awareness, describes an attention that is centered on self, what's happening inside our head and body. As we become absorbed by self we lose touch with the environment, centering instead on body feels, sensations and conscious thought.
External awareness, describes an attention centered on the environment, what's happening outside our head. By focusing on the environment we become consciously unaware of self, although still possessing a sub conscious awareness. The environmental focus requires processing information through the sensory mode, smelling, seeing, hearing, etc.
The term narrow or wide-angle focus, describes the size of the focus. The wide-angle focus draws in information from the environment through a broader scope, the narrow focus centers on something specific at the exclusion of all other stimuli.
Before we delve specifically into the type of concentration required for bowling we should have a broader understanding of these elements of concentration.
To understand concentration we must define two terms:
Attention.... the ability to gather information from the environment, process it, and react
to it.
Focus........what you center your attention on to gather the information.
By combining attention with focus we retain the abilities of centering, gathering information, processing the information in to our brain and transmitting commands to the body based on the information received.
The focus is the lifeline of concentration; a poorly defined focus will produce a blurred transmission. People with poor concentration skills can look at something intently but not actually see it. More to the point are not intimately connected to it. The person that reads a whole page in a book without remembering one word of the contents best demonstrates this form of seeing.
You must have an intimate connection with the focal point, it must be clearly defined, if not it will decrease the effectiveness of your concentration. This would help explain the inconsistency of a bowler whilst bowling in an unfamiliar area of the lane, the inability to connect with and see clearly the intended line of flight. This is often interpreted by the uninformed as unwillingness to change or a lack of ability, when it is actually a breakdown in visual interpretation, concentration. Fami1iarity gained through practice will correct the visual problem and enable the bowler to feel comfortable seeing the new target line.
The ability to see clearly is a learned skill; some methods for acquiring these skills will be addressed later in this module.
In the example of reading a book without remembering, the reason for the breakdown was that the type of concentration chosen did not match the task, by internalizing instead of externalizing the reader becomes distracted by their own thoughts, usually stimulated by something they read early in the passage or a thought provoked by something already on their mind.
Another example of an incorrect focus is; while a bowler uses an unfamiliar inside line he/she becomes aware and therefore distracted by the close proximity of the ball return when attempting to bowl on the even lane. This awareness broadens their focus and disturbs their concentration.
Many bowlers see concentration as withdrawing internally so as to focus attention on the task. This in fact creates the required centering on the task but can have a disastrous side effect, the emergence of conscious thought. This type of concentration invariably leads to an internal distraction during the delivery. Many bowlers and coaches believe this to be the state of concentration they wish to obtain, this couldn't be any further from the truth, as we will learn during the modules relating to left hemisphere interference.
The following features characterize concentration:
1. Focusing on one thing at a time.
2. Being totally in the here and now.
3. Quieting the mind and removing distractions.
4. Selective attention to particular thoughts or objects and selective non-attention to others thoughts and objects.
5. An increased degree of alertness or awareness, which might even be characterized as super awareness.

Coaches and bowlers believe in self-focus because they believe in the cliché "if a bowler is truly concentrating they shouldn't here or see distractions from the environment". If this were true why is it that the more elite the player, the more distracted by the environment they become. On the pro tour, any noise usually produces a negative reaction from the player. Why are the best players in the world affected? Is it because they are not really concentrating? I don't think so! It's because their concentration takes in the environment. Their focus is in the environment; they are centered on specific external stimuli (usually the target reference). This specific, yet narrow focus is combined with an awareness of the whole environment; anything seen or heard that is out of place in the environment may therefore distract the player. The international tournament arena is full of unusual noises, colorful national chants and rhythms can be heard constantly, the inexperienced international player is often effected by the noise in their early events, but after an initiation period they become accustomed to the din. At this point the player is no longer distracted because the increased noise level is the norm, only unusual noises such as a waitress dropping a tray will distract them now. Those that cannot adjust are usually the ones that have adopted an internal concentration. Again, their lack of understanding of concentration induces them into the internal narrow, due to what they believe is a need to block out the environment.
The bowlers' lack of understanding of the types of concentration directs them to use a "self" focus; this leads them to alienate themselves from their environment. While absorbed in the self/narrow focus, bowlers tend to think too much, they find themselves constantly making tactical adjustments adapting to changing lane conditions, selection of bowling ball etc. Additionally, during the delivery their own body movement tends to distract them, seducing their attention away from a more productive awareness. As we learned in the anxiety segment, in pressure situations a bowlers attention often focuses internally towards their own physical reaction to the pressure, which in turn adds to the stress, leading to an increase in the bodies tension and a greater awareness (distraction) of the bodies sensations.
If we insist on internalized narrowing as our definition of concentration, the body's ability to spontaneously calculate (foul line correction) will be retarded or eliminated. This style of concentration produces one mindedness, meaning, we center our thoughts internally on executing only one thing, this is usually at the expense of everything else. We respond by saying, "at least I did what I was trying to do", even though the overall result failed a visions cycle.
What we must strive for is a single thought focus that takes in a broader scope of awareness.
To maximize our ability to spontaneously calculate (the right hemisphere's corrective system) we must center on cues that act as references to the corrective mechanism.
An example of such a cue would be:
To center on the direction of the swing during the delivery in relation to the target system references, this is accomplished by focusing on the direction of the ball relative to the target line, do not focus on the arm itself since this would require an internal attention. Take note though that it's not important whether the swing is on line only that we are aware of the line it's about to take so that the corrective system can make a sub-conscious adjustment. Also note that in this example we focus externally, using a reference that provides external stimulus.
Let's use the release to again illustrate the point. When trying to correct a problem with the release most bowlers' center on the release point as their focal point, this produces an internal self-focus. An alternative focal point would be an external focus such as the balls rotation during the first 15 feet, which would give the brain the information it requires to assess the re1ease characteristics (an external stimulus). By observing the ball, the trained eye can determine the angle of rotation, effectiveness of the lift imparted and the amount of hand rotation around the ball.
This information obtained from the ball's rotational properties can then be translated into release properties:
Angle of rotation translates to...hand position, for example, 6 o'clock, 4 o'clock etc. Amount of rotation around the bal1 ... amount of axis turn from the foul line to the arrows, this translates to the amount of hand rotation around the ball.
If you center internally on the release, conscious thought takes over control of the task. This internalization during the release as one of the worse, if not the worst, focus, a bowler can adopt, never, never use the release point as a self-focus.
The type of concentration for the bowling delivery is; an external awareness accompanied by a narrow focus.
Picture yourself in the stance; focused on the target line reference, you are in an external narrow focus. You do not see the target reference from behind your eyes; you project yourself outside, intimately connected to your target line. By doing so the target line width seems to increase in size, the target becomes you; you are one with the target.
You should look at the target line until it encompasses the whole environment. Think of your eyes as a television screen, as your concentration increases so does the clarity of the image on the screen, until it's the only image on the screen.
Many times we adopt the external narrow focus during the stance but as we start our approach we switch to a self-focus becoming distracted by something internally, either our thoughts or a body sensation. This disrupts our attention and/or co-ordination and/or focus.
Concentration is the ability to set the desired focus and maintain attention on the focus throughout the execution of the task.
The ability to environmentally focus is best achieved through having only a sub-conscious awareness of what is about to happen in the immediate future, instead of awareness of what just happened. If you are centered on what's happened you are in reality centered on past events, only by centering on what's about to happen in the next moment, can you instinctively know what is required.
In a peak performance state the bowler has a sub conscious awareness of his body's overall state. Thus creating an awareness of anything that seems out of place yet remains consciously focused on the target reference.
By practicing out technical skills to reach the point of automation enables us the luxury of focusing only on the immediate future. By practicing, technical skills become habitual, and we are more likely to feel confident enough to surrender control of our physical game to the sub conscious. A soccer player never thinks about footwork, only on the needs of the environment, a player calling for a pass, the defense reaction to the moving player or the position of the defender assigned to defend against him, if he thinks for one moment about his footwork, the play would have already happened and a new dimensional perspective would be required. Defined as anticipation, the skill of performing in the future not in the immediate past is an important component of elitism in sport. This is obtained through superior confidence in one's technical abilities and the skill of focusing on the immediate future.
Focusing on the immediate future should not be confused with focusing on the future. The focus should always be on the task at hand; by focusing on the task (short term goal) you will guide yourself to your long-term goals. Worrying about what might happen beyond the immediate future can only lead to a break in concentration from the present.
Your mind naturally reacts in a certain way. You must control it to make it function in the way that you desire, which is often very different from its natural reactions. For instance, your mind wants to rapidly flit or shift from one idea or concept to another. It seeks ideas but does not want to remain centered or focused on a single one, and skips to new topics after a short concentration period. So you must control your mind by preventing this flitting about and keeping it concentrated on one concept. This requires practice and time, but once learned, will provide benefits for your entire lifetime. Your mind will tend to be more easily centered on that which you like, and it will not be drawn off course by whatever you dislike. Once this tendency to restlessness is restrained, your attention spans can be short or long, depending on your mind control. Your ability to concentrate will increase, even when you are dealing with uninteresting topics. It is important for you to realize the constant motion of your mind in all directions away from a main course. The mind must be brought back to the course again and again; but without mind control, no sooner is it brought back than it begins another detour.
In summarizing concentration's relationship to the bowling delivery we must remember four important statements:
In the delivery...
1) The focus is the target line reference.
2) Although our focus is the target line we have a sense of awareness of the swing's direction to the target line.
3) Our attention should be centered
externally so that we can react to the demands of the environment.
4) We should be centered on the immediate future, never in the past or beyond the immediate future.

The debate will continue as to which form of concentration is best for bowling, my recommendation "external narrow", remember to stay out of your mind and focused in the environment. By doing so you allow ‘your natural instincts the opportunity to spontaneously calculate. Scientific studies have shown that it is impossible to feel fear; anger, anxiety or negative emotions of any kind while the muscles of the body are kept perfectly related. The mind also can be c1eansed in this manner; by relating and calming the mind we can free it of anxiety. Therefore logic would suggest that producing relaxation of mind and body would enhance performance in a stressful situation.

Concentration cannot be summoned. You cannot concentrate on concentrating.
Some bowlers can be seen playing pinball machines or video games just before competition. This is a very good way of centering their attention, sharpening their reflexes and emptying their mind of thoughts and distractions. If these technological advancements are not available to you at the competition sight, reading will center you and create the external narrow focus you require to be successful.
For those that wish to take this concentration skill to the limit the Transcendental Meditation mantras of Yoga's Mantra will maximize the discipline. What you put into your learning is what you receive out.
Losing concentration is usually the result of a shift in our focus from the external/narrow to one of the other concentration focuses, i.e. internal/narrow, external /wide or internal/wide. The fact that we shifted is not the concern; the inability to return to the external/narrow is the cause of the loss of concentration.

The inability to shift is loss of concentration.
Reasons for losing concentration include dwelling on a mistake, which in effect shifts us to a self-focus. By dwelling on the mistake we fail to revert back to the external/narrow for the delivery. Chances are, by dwelling on the mistake we have retrieved a negative template from the memory bank and will repeat the mistake until we are able to shift back to our former focus,
Body sensations are always trying to seduce us into shifting to an internal focus, audiences promote internal thought appearing to judge our performance, making us wander, distracting us from our focal point.
Going around the clock is a practical concentration exercise. Con¬centrate on the sweep-second hand of a watch or clock and b1ink your eyes or snap your fingers each time the sweep-hand hits a five-second interval. Once you have completed one revolution of the second hand, go around again, b1inking the eyes or snapping the fingers each time the sweep-hand hits a ten-second interval. Do this again a third time, alternately blinking the eyes or snapping the fingers first at a five-second Interval and then at a ten-second interval. Practice these exercises a few times each day and you will discover a progressive and gradual improvement in your ability to concentrate.
Concentration is a skill, which can be practiced at any time and in any place. It requires only a brief time frame, but learning to concentrate for both short and long periods of time is desirable.

 

 

Warming Up for Bowling

Introduction:

      Before performing any exercise, it is important to warm up your muscles. Bowling is no different to any other sport in this respect. While bowling may seem to be a relatively low level exercise, due to the repetitive nature of the sport, and the necessity to carry and deliver a weighted ball, it is possible for the muscles and joints to be strained.
During bowling, repeated strain is put on various areas of the body - the arms, wrists and knees in particular. Also, many muscle groups are involved in the bowling action, including the forearms, shoulder, back, torso, hips and legs. The exercises performed should include the body parts that are being used, and should take you at least through the range of motion that will be involved in the exercise. The exercises should start you off with slow controlled movements, progress to more ballistic movements, and culminate with the full bowling action.
When to warm up
The warm up should be done before each bowling session - both for competition and practice. If you have extended rest periods where you are not performing, you may have to go through some of these procedures to keep your muscles and joints ready to safely and consistently perform.
Preparation
Initially you should begin by doing some light activity to increase blood flow to the muscles. A short run around the block, or running on the spot, or anything similar that increases your heart rate would be suitable. The next phase of the warm up is to stretch the muscles and joints. This will be achieved initially by passive stretches followed by active stretches.
Passive Stretches
Hold each of the following stretches for 10-20 seconds.

Neck Stretch -     Tuck your chin down until it touches your chest and you can feel tension at the back of your neck. Tip your head to each side slowly until you feel the stretch.

Shoulder Stretch 1-     Point your elbow upwards, with you hand behind your head. With you other hand grab, your elbow and gently pull towards the other side until a good stretch is felt. Repeat for both sides

Shoulder Stretch 2-      Hold you arm horizontally across the front of your body. With you other hand, grab your elbow and gently pull towards your chest. Repeat for both sides

Side Stretch -       Begin in a similar position to the shoulder stretch 1 above, with feet slightly apart. Keep your hips stable; bend your torso so that the stretch is felt along your side. Repeat both sides.

Hip Flexors / Hamstring Stretch -       With you body and feet all facing forward, place one leg back and your other leg forward, hands on the front thigh. Shift your weight forward remaining as upright as possible and keeping both feet flat on the floor. Repeat on opposite side.

Quadriceps Stretch -        Support yourself with one hand while standing on one leg. Bend your free leg back and hold on to your ankle with your free hand. To increase the stretch, pull the foot higher behind the body.

Forearm Extenders -       Hold out your arm with the palm facing down. Drop the fingers and palm at the wrist. Grab your fingers with the other hand and pull them towards the body. Change hands and repeat.

Forearm Flexors -         Hold out your arm with the palm facing up. Drop the fingers and palm at the wrist. Grab your fingers with the other hand and pull them down and towards the body. Change hands and repeat.

This stretching regiment is reprinted from a bowling web site

Happy Strething,

Lou Marquez 

Head Coach for Turbo Tech

www.turbogrips.com  lmarquez@turbogrips.com

 

 

 

So the question is "what portion of a balls construction contributes to its motion on a lane"?

Coverstock........____%

Weights (side+ -, top,Bottom, Thumb, Finger).......____%

Core Radius of Gyration(RG)............_____%

Core Differential (Flare) ...............______%

Layout or Drilling style ............_____%

Balance  (extra) Hole .............______%

Any and all answers are welcome for discussion