Bowling has always been one of people’s favorite pastimes. You will probably choose this activity over another due to the fact that it is so much fun. Plus, those competitive souls get to show off their skills and turn every friendly game into an exciting competition. In addition to being fun, though, bowling also comes with a lot of benefits, both for our physical and our mental health, as explained by this useful source.
What happens, however, when you really want to show that competitive friend of yours that you can beat them at their own game, but you realize that you just lack the skills to do that? What if, for example, you actually have a desire to enter a real professional competition? Will you be able to do that with those mediocre skills you are flaunting right now, or will you need to find a way to up your game?
I suppose the answer is pretty obvious, isn’t it? For starters, you won’t get accepted in any professional competition if you don’t find a way to become much, much better at this game. Then, there’s that competitive friend who will probably praise you for your eagerness to win, but at the same time laugh at you for the poor skills that you have. How about you turn that situation around in your favor?
Yes, that’s very much possible and I’m not talking about laughing it all off and not getting worked up about your lack of talent. Of course, you definitely shouldn’t get worked up about it, but if you are really serious about beating that friend or perhaps entering a competition, there is something you can do about it. Instead of just sitting back and frowning, you should find a way to improve those skills of yours.
Now, the first thing you will need when you decide to work towards those improvements is a useful source of information. For example, you might visit Bowling Line – The best online resource or similar online resources useful bowling guide in order to get better at this game. Another thing that you can do is continue reading this article to get some useful tips on how to improve your bowling skills.
Slow Your Feet Down
I bet you have already heard about the phenomenon called “fast feet”. While you might be used to “fast” being good in certain other sports, that’s definitely not the case in bowling. When your feet are running ahead of you, i.e. ahead of the swing, you might lose your balance. What do you think will happen if you get thrown off balance? Obviously, you won’t hit the target the way you wanted.
So, the trick is in slowing your feet down. This is, however, easier said than done. People tend to forget all about it once they find themselves actually throwing the ball. It’s hard to concentrate on everything at the same time, which is why I understand your inability to focus on your feet while also eyeing the target, taking care of your posture and perhaps even doing certain calculations in your mind. You are bound to fail to take some things into account while throwing.
Does that mean that you won’t ever be able to make sure that your feet are working for you? Or, does it mean that you need to have a super brain in order to manage to take everything into account? Lucky for you, the answers to both those questions are negative. You can definitely do something about it, but you will have to be consistent and determined.
Here’s the catch. As you already know, practice makes perfect. This means that you should practice taking the steps that actually line up with your throw. Eventually, this will start coming naturally to you and you won’t even have to think about it. Your whole body will be perfectly balanced thanks to taking the right, slow steps, which will lead to you hitting the targets perfectly.
Get To Know The Lane
You can never be good at any sport whatsoever without getting to know the field you are playing at. Compare this to tennis players, for example. Different terrains will cause them to change up some of their techniques. Adaptability to those various terrains is one of the factors that makes a player either good or bad. The same logic can be applied to bowling.
In this case, however, instead of considering the terrain you are walking on, you will need to consider the terrain that your ball is getting in contact with. I don’t know if you were aware of this or not, but the lanes are all properly oiled up so that the ball you are throwing can roll without any troubles. In order to understand how and where to throw the ball, you will have to think of how the lane is oiled.
Usually, the lanes are mostly oiled on the centers, meaning that there will be a difference between the movements of the ball on the sides and in the center. You will have to be pretty attentive in order to see how the oil is affecting the whole game. Once you get to know the lane perfectly and once you understand the effects of the oil, you will be able to change some of your techniques so that you can get a better result. For example, you might increase or decrease the speed of the throw or, perhaps, change the weight of the ball.
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Practice Your Grip
As every bowling expert will tell you, the way you hold the ball plays a crucial role in the success of your throw and, thus, your overall game. This is probably one of the first things you learned when you started engaging in this sport. Now, you might have already chosen your own grip technique and that’s okay. Still, if you start noticing that the results aren’t as great as you might have expected them to be, it might be time to do something about that technique.
There are two things you can do. For example, you can keep on practicing to improve it and make it perfect. Knowing the theory of placing your fingers is one thing, but actually doing it in practice is a completely different thing. No matter how accurate you believe your grip to be when you learn it for the first time, you should keep on practicing to improve it. Trust me; after a while, you might even start laughing at the way you used to hold the ball in the beginning.
The other thing that you should do consists of completely shifting to a different grip technique. It can easily happen that the one you first chose because it seemed right for you isn’t actually that right for you. Instead of sticking with it, why don’t you try switching things up so as to find the technique that will bring you the best results? Don’t be afraid of making this switch, because you will be able to master any technique if you are determined enough. Who knows, you might even come to the point of alternating between different grip techniques during the same game and that’s something to look forward to!
Hire A Coach
If you are one of those who don’t think they can do things all on their own, you should start thinking about getting some help. When you are really serious about getting better at bowling but you fail to see any improvements in your skills over time, hiring a coach is perhaps the best idea for you. Instead of wasting your time on hopelessly trying to improve without actually seeing any results, get yourself a professional who can teach you all the tricks you need to know.
It’s important to understand that you should spend some time searching for the right coach. You also need to be aware of the fact that having your friend help you is usually not the best idea. Even though that friend might be perfect at this sport, who can guarantee you that they know how to transfer their knowledge to you? Most likely, they won’t have the same teaching skills as a professional coach who has been teaching people how to bowl for a long while.
So, spend some time searching for these experts in your area and make sure that you get as much info about them as possible. Check their reputation as well as their qualifications, so that you can be sure you are hiring the absolutely best person for the job. I have no doubts that you will come across a lot of coaches ready to offer their services, but make sure not to hire anyone who isn’t skilled or experienced enough, or you might regret that decision afterwards. And, of course, once you get the coach and start with your lessons, don’t forget to always keep on practicing because practice will really make you perfect.
