When we start talking about the physical game, it's easy to get lost in details and become overwhelmed with all the things going on every time you bowl.
The good news is it doesn't have to be overwhelming. We'll start with an overview of three crucial components to the physical game.
Stance and Start
Your stance and start prepare your entire approach for motion, so we want to pay close attention to what you're doing before you even take a step. This is the foundation for your entire physical game.
We're looking for balance in the stance. Most players will have flexed knees and forward posture, with the bowling ball either in front of the body or just toward the ball side (that is, the right side for righties and left side for lefties). This helps with balance before you take a step.
After you're in your stance, it's time to start. This is what sets everything in motion, and generally your body will stay on the same path throughout the approach, so you want to make sure you're doing the same thing every time, making your start repeatable.
Timing
Now that you've started and are on your way to the line, you're trying to maintain consistent timing. When your timing is consistent and repeatable, it's much easier to diagnose any issues you may be having at any point in the approach, including the stance, start and finish position.
The rhythm of your timing should consist of a tempo and cadence that are easily repeatable. Numbering your steps or repeating the timing of the sequence in your head can help reinforce consistency.
Finish Position
We keep talking about repeatability and being able to duplicate your finish position. Repetition is important to overall accuracy and speed control.
Just like in your stance, you want to have good balance in your finish position. You should feel like you're in control of the momentum you built throughout the entire approach. Also, you want your finish position to be consistent in relation to where you started. That is, if you always finish two boards left of where you start, that's repeatable and fine. If you sometimes finish two boards left, sometimes a board right, sometimes on the same board, you have an issue somewhere in your approach causing those inconsistencies.
By thinking about these three components of the physical game, you should be able to begin working on maintaining consistency throughout the approach. If you're working with a coach, focusing on these areas makes it much easier to help you find any liabilities that may be leading to inconsistencies in your game.
Stephen
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