Bowlers Journal International - November 2008 - (Page 85) PLAY THE ARROW GAME During practice, start by targeting the first arrow and do whatever you need — change equipment, change your release, alter ball speed — to hit the pocket. When you succeed, move to the second arrow, then the third, etc. As you become more adept, require yourself to throw a strike from each arrow, not merely hit the pocket. This builds versatility in your game. 35 Age of Bill Monce, the youngest coach ever to achieve USBC Gold level certification. NEWS, NOTES AND PERSPECTIVE Clinic PRO TIPS AND BALL REVIEWS Practice OPPOSITES ATTRACT A player’s opposite hand has a brief but important role to play as it contacts the ball early in the approach. That hand helps support and steady the ball in the stance, and when the ball moves away from the body as a prelude to the swing. At that point, if the pinky fingers on both hands are nearly touching, the opposite hand is in its ideal position. As the ball takes a preferably rounded path into the swing, the opposite hand moves off the ball and into position to fulfill its next assignment: as a counterbalancing aid. GOOD STANCE BASICS 1. The bowling ball is positioned underneath the bowling side shoulder (not the chin), at a height between mid-thigh and upper chest. 2. The sliding foot is 1-3 inches in front of the other foot, to preset the hips about 5 degrees open. 3. The knees are slightly flexed, ready to move. 4. The back is angled about 10 degrees forward. 5. The bowling hand is behind the ball, the thumb position between 10 and 2 o’clock. DON JOHNSON: THE BEST OF HIS ERA Bill Spigner calls Don Johnson (above) the best bowler of the late 1960s and early ’70s. “He had great timing, a very loose swing, a rock-solid finishing position and could play anywhere on the lane,” Spigner writes in this month’s edition of “The Pro Approach.” Find out how Johnson was able to produce a great deal of hand action by reading Spigner’s column, which begins on page 86. Also in that column, learn what delivery trait Don Carter, the late Earl Anthony, Mike Aulby, David Ozio and Jason Couch share. www.bowlersjournal.com November 2008 | Bowlers Journal International 85 http://www.bowlersjournal.com
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