Bo-Fish Bowling News: the Positive Source for Bowling Worldwide

Bowling Better
by Brian Dodds

Article Archive #3

Walk Naturally to the Line
Take the "Down" Escalator
For Focus – Check Process
Hide Your Ball-Side Knee
Will “Late Timing” Become The Norm?
A New Season?...Spare Me!
Check Out Your "Summer" Posture
The Pros' Focus
Bowling's Drug Problem: Technology
Summer Vacation: A European Success

Walk Naturally to the Line

One of the first things I look for when coaching a bowler is their footwork. It’s not so much the pace that is important but the length of pace of their walk to the foul line. The most important step is the first step.

Many of us have a problem getting started in the right direction and maintaining balance. When you think about combining this with timing it can appear to be daunting to some. Let’s start with the most important part of studying and learning anything new, engage your brain. Think through each step of our process.

Our first step should be the shortest. When you get up out of your chair and begin to walk how long is your very first step? When you take your first step after standing in place while conversing with friends note how long it is. We must take a short step to get the body moving in balance and in time. Our body naturally articulates as we move to stay in balance. A short first step gets our momentum going while enabling us to continue without falling over.

When we move about we all have a natural tempo, a pace of body movement that accommodates our height, build and “personality of energy”. Take note of your friends and compare their natural “body personalities”. Everyone has their own pace and level of movement energy.

So let’s look at our length of first step in our approach when bowling. If it is too short (a rarity you will soon come to observe) there will be a tendency to rush the ball into its swing path. The result will be a fast-paced approach and many times a rushed, out-of-balance release will result.

More often you will see a much too long first step. Avoid this at all costs. A long first step immediately throws off the body’s balance and it’s natural timing. One will notice a more articulated approach, a muscled arm swing and generally slower ball speed. The release will likely be poor because of the lack of timing and over-gripping the ball.

With a long first step the brain will immediately make a judgment that there is less room between the bowler and the foul line than is needed. The ensuing second and third steps will be shorter to compensate for this. When this occurs, the body is slowing rather than accelerating. Rather than a smooth, ballet-like athletic movement to the line that culminates in a well-timed release with natural speed created by body momentum, one will end up with a slower approach that disenables a powerful release and consistent, well-paced ball speed.

Ask a teammate to check the distance and pace of your steps to the line. Use video if possible so you can observe yourself in action. Work on a natural approach. You’ll be glad you did.

Getting your body into a good leverage position at release is vital to consistency and enabling a powerful ball reaction. Many bowlers attempt to descend with their lower body but still have issues with release and consistency because they try to get down on their last two steps. This seldom works, as many of you no doubt can attest to, because you are trying to do too much in too short a time.

Let’s take a look at what should happen versus what often happens. It is important to maintain your momentum throughout your approach. If you wait until your last two steps to lower your lower body you will likely throw off your arm swing and/or your balance. In addition, more often than not you will lose whatever good timing you may have had up to that point. This too is way too common an occurrence.

Starting with your first ball-side step in your approach you should begin to get lower to the approach. Descend gradually into your slide during your subsequent steps. Ideally we will have a gradual, smooth transition from the beginning of our approach to the release. Think of yourself as a beautiful, sleek jet making a smooth, soft landing. Imagine what it looks like then try it. Remember, the approach from start to the foul line can be as beautiful and athletic a “dance” as a ballet.

If this mental image does not help, try imagining yourself on a “down” escalator. Each step smoothly moves you toward the bottom where you stop moving again and are in a balanced finish position. The key here is to keep it fluid and in good time. There is no need to rush the line. Walk at a natural, but athletic pace. Let your arm swing loosely, easily and wait for it to catch back up to your body at the foul line as you transcend into your slide.

Remember that important push-off, that power step into your slide. Your next-to-last step must be in a stable position under your body and you should think that you are pushing forward and down into your slide. The slide foot is placed in line with the push-off foot and the ball-side knee collapses and kicks behind the slide leg knee. Your ball-side foot continues around behind your body as you turn the foot onto its little toe side. Make sure your knees are not close together and maintain your release position until the ball hits the pins.

Practice this without a ball several times, then with a ball. Remember, do not keep score or worry about what happens on the lanes until you are able to achieve a steady descent into your slide and maintain a stable release position. Ask a friend, fellow bowler or coach to watch you to make sure your transition to the line is smooth and athletic. Good luck and good bowling.

While recently watching a closely contested high school match I realized that many of us misunderstand the meaning of focus. To many of us focusing means concentrating on a target, trying to hit the second arrow or a breakpoint area. To bring focus to one’s game means much, much more.

Most often on our best nights, when we are in or almost “in the zone”, it’s our routine or process that defines our ability to focus. This means we are paying attention to detail and have a repeatable and orderly process we follow every time. It begins prior to picking up our ball off the rack. The key to high-level performance, in addition to having physical game skills, is to prepare with “perfect practice” and then bring it to “game time”.

To begin we must have our “head in the game”. Starting with practice we need to pay attention to our ball reaction. Where is it hooking, when is it hooking, how smooth or sharp is the hook, and is it rolling out or continuing strong through the deck? Making adjustments means finding a line to the pocket but also remembering what transpired that resulted in your decision. As the lane breaks down later it may be helpful to recall what the practice reaction was before your initial changes.

Next you need to pay attention to your teammate’s approach and the subsequent ball reaction. Communicate to her/him about what happened on their shot. Did they throw the ball well or not, was their a lane breakdown or not, etc. Spend two or three seconds wiping off your ball and taking a deep, diaphragmatic breath and then stepping onto your starting board. Be aware of the board you are stepping on; what number is it? If you are not aware of this detail how will you know what adjustment to make when an angle adjustment is needed?

So far this may sound very basic to some of you but most of us do not pay enough attention to this very basic detail. We must actively engage our brain, that is we must think about details, to gain focus and ingrain a routine. Eventually much of this becomes second nature but until we can tell someone instantly when they ask what board we just stood on to pick the 6-pin or whatever spare, we have not achieved the secondary nature process awareness necessary to elevate our game.

After checking our set-up or stance positions (waist down, waist up, ball position and finally hand position) we may again take a deep breath, exhale and begin our ball start with our target foremost, but not exclusively, in our conscious thought. Many of us have adopted either a “trigger” point or “check” point in our approach. A very relaxed, over-the-bar ball start, or an awareness of where the ball is in the swing when you finish your second step with your ball-side foot for example.

Continuing with a relaxed swing, but athletic movement to the line (small first step, longer second building momentum step, either an evenly paced third step or a shorter power, push-off third and finally a slide), we release the ball. The release must be unforced and this may take most of your focus for many practices and competitions until you learn it. Your focus continues as you “post the shot” (stay in a balanced position) while you watch the ball hit your target - or not - and continue on to impact the pins. Your focus does not end here as you must immediately consider if you made a good shot, what was the reaction, what change, if any, do you need to make and how will you do it.

If you have a spare to make you must repeat the process. It’s important you look down every time to check you foot position to ensure you are standing on the correct board for your spare. This point is what prompted this week’s column. I watched a bowler step up to make a spare without double-checking their foot position. After missing the spare the coach asked what adjustment the bowler had made. Although the bowler responded with the correct answer for the spare he attempted, in fact the bowler had not moved off the original position used for the first ball. Not paying attention to process had caused this athlete to lose focus and fail without having a clue as to why. The player simply said, “I missed my mark”. Why? Their mark was missed simply because the athlete was out of position for that particular spare attempt.

It’s a good idea to ask a teammate or coach for help when you practice a good focus routine or are in competition. Write down your normal foot position or personal adjustment formula for each of the seven spare shots and share it with your training or competition partner. Ask him/her to help you gain a good focus routine. Good luck and have fun!

It’s difficult to score if you have something interfere with the ball path at release. Sounds obvious doesn’t it? Ask someone to watch you bowl or just stroll down a few lanes and watch other bowlers at release and count how many you see who get their ball side knee behind their slide leg knee before they release the ball. If you do not do this there is no “hole” to place the ball at the optimum leverage area, next to your slide leg ankle.

I recently enjoyed the privilege of watching some of our central and western NY premier youth bowlers at a weekend tournament at Terrace Gardens. I watched as many with otherwise solid approaches and good timing disenabled consistent and powerful releases by allowing their trail leg to stay at their side. Almost none of the bowlers who did not kick that ball-side knee behind the slide leg knee were in balance at the line. No balance equals an inconsistent release and a lack of ability to get into a strong leverage position.

The results of poor trail leg position are many and none are good. In addition to the above there is a tendency to stand up and lose hand position, to turn the ball too soon, to loft the ball when you should be feeding it into the lane and enabling the possibility of either hitting up on the ball, pulling the ball inside your target or missing your target to the right. All of these lead to missing the strike pocket, missing spares or a weak pocket area hit.

Let’s consider a change, an opportunity to add another dimension to our game that could easily result in 10 or more pins increase in our average. First let’s practice by putting on a pair of soft, dry socks and, without your ball, stand on a clean, polished hardwood, linoleum or tile floor. Put your hands on your hips for balance and push into a slide with your ball-side foot. Make sure your knees are bent and you are balanced. When you push into a slide let your push leg knee bend and move behind your slide leg as you turn your push foot onto its side with the little toe of your foot remaining on the floor. Your feet position should be 12 o’clock with your slide foot and approximately 7 o’clock for a right-hander or 5 o’clock for a left-hander. It’s important that you remain in balance and that your knees are several inches apart.

After you have performed this exercise correctly a minimum of 10 times, then practice by first taking a step with your ball-side foot and then continue into a slide. Repeat this routine a minimum of 10 times. When this become comfortable and repeatable without thinking, change the process to walk your normal four or five-step approach and finish with a balanced slide again, with your ball-side knee in proper position. Now add your arm-swing to your practice routine and be sure your timing is correct. When your ball-side arm is at the apex of the swing, push into your slide and get that ball-side knee behind the slide leg knee before the ball enters the release zone, approximately in the knee area.

Now you are ready to take it to the lanes. It may take you several days of practice before you are ready to do this with a ball and several games to do it on the lanes. If you continue to find it difficult, seek out a coach to help you. The difference in your game will ultimately be worth your efforts. Imagine yourself with a solid, pro-style release that others notice the next time you are on the lanes. And think how it would feel to increase your scores with such a simple change in your game. Good luck and good bowling!

I have been questioned frequently about starting the ball in motion late, that is after the first step in a four-step approach rather than with the first step. Many believe that this is the direction today’s game is headed and point to several pro players whose game reflects this process with some success. Is it better, is it a trend, and what does it mean to you?

The important thing to consider about timing is that it’s where the ball is at in relation to your slide foot end-position when you release it that counts. A bowler’s timing can be both early and late in the same approach. How can this happen? The feet follow the arm-swing if the arm-swing is loose and relaxed. Our incredible body will automatically adjust the timing of its pace to reach the end of the approach when the ball enters a leveraged release area if you do not muscle your swing. If you start your ball in motion before the ball-side foot, but quicken your pace, it is possible for your feet to reach the release point in time with your ball. Similarly, you can start your ball late and either muscle or pull the ball back, and slow your gait, and you can be back in time in the release zone.

One thing every coach that I know or have read agrees on; early (release) is a worry but late can be great. If you are late (at release) the key for most successful bowlers is to stay relaxed through the release, do not try to “hit” the ball with your fingers or force the release by pulling through the shot with your arm or shoulder.

“The Coach”, Fred Borden, says “the first rule is, there are no rules”, everything is open for discussion. Famed writer and instructor John Jowdy, says that the traditional, accepted timing for a four-step approach is still the standard but that there are exceptions to everything. Both agree, however, that starting the ball in motion at the same moment you move your ball-side foot is the way to go. The exceptions, those bowlers you might reference to back up another process, are just that; exceptions. Many pro bowlers have developed a style of play that works for them and that they can repeat. But the majority of better bowlers, including the pros, have traditional timing of the arm-swing in sync with their footwork. To repeat; a late-timed arm-swing will cause most bowlers to have a tendency to force their release and frequently muscle and/or pull the ball through release which results in lack of consistency , accuracy and a less desirable ball reaction. It is unlikely that “late timing” will become the norm although many will start the ball late in their approach.

If you start the ball late and muscle or pull the ball back, ala Pete Weber, you must be able to relax your swing from the top of your back-swing through release or you will not enable the dynamics of your equipment to provide you with maximum benefit. To get the best from your game, follow the basic suggestions from the best coaches in the game. Want a couple of role models to emulate? Copy two of the best traditional stylists ever; David Ozio and Brian Voss.

Let’s start our season together with a new focus. Before getting into your old habits, get out your checklist and let’s review it together. What are your goals this year? Are they to win the league championship, improve your league average ten pins, become a better spare maker or just have more fun bowling? Whatever they are write them down and be specific if you can. Simply saying you want to improve gives neither you nor your coach information to put together a plan that will help you reach your goals. Under you goal(s) write “talk with a coach”. None of us can see ourselves bowl and even if we have access to video most of us would not know what to look for or how to correct it. Seek out a certified coach to help you with a plan for success.

Secondly let’s adopt a great attitude. Without an open mind and positive attitude learning is almost impossible. You must make a commitment to learn and improve before you can make improvements in reasonable periods of time. Without true commitment changes will require more time than most of us are willing to take. Having said that, remember to be patient and positive with yourself. Some of us do have better fundamentals and therefore will be able to make a change more quickly than some, less quickly than others.

Keep everything simple, one change at a time. The brain works very well if you learn one new thing at a time. If you decide to take lessons I suggest you practice each change for a couple of weeks (league competition does not count) before returning for another session. Do not overdue it. Two or three practice sessions each week of two or three games each time should be sufficient for you. The body needs some down time so the brain can think about the improvement and feed information to your body. Keep notes on your success or issues during practice sessions. These will help you to better understand your progress and provide your coach with information to better coach you at your next session.

If you cannot afford more than a lesson or two, or perhaps none, let’s work on a couple of improvements everyone can use. The first suggestion is to practice using a simple spare formula to shoot your spares. Identify the key pin in the spare, that’s the pin closest to you. Next, adjust your slide foot 3 boards to the right from your strike position for each pin to the left of the head pin or 3 boards to the left if the key pin is to the right of the head pin. Roll the ball toward your strike target. For example, for the 2-pin you would move 3 boards to the right, the 4-pin 6 boards to the right and 9 boards for the 7-pin. If you leave pins to the right of the head pin you adjust by moving to the left 3 boards with your feet for each pin. Roll a straight ball and if possible use a plastic ball for spares unless you have double wood (2-8 or 3-9). The exception to this process is if you have a baby split the key pin will be the pin that is missing. Please understand this is only a formula and a lot depends on the lane condition and the type of ball you roll. You may have to adjust this formula to only two boards or to four or more boards for each pin. Write down what seems to work best during your next practice session.

The second improvement you can make on your spare game is to play low-ball. Low-ball requires you to hit at least one pin on every delivery. The lower the score the more accurate you are and the better spare maker you will become. The first ball you shoot, try to hit only the 10-pin or the 7-pin. If you do not hit any pins, you score the frame a strike. If you knock down more than one pin you count all the pins you knock down. The second ball you also count only the pins you knock down. If you do not hit any pins with the second ball you count the frame as a spare. A perfect game would be 20. Bowl at least two low-ball games a week. The more you do this the better you will become and the higher your average. After all, the first thing we all learn to do is how to strike. The first thing most of us neglect is how to spare.

Looking up and down the lanes early in our new season I have discovered many new bowlers I didn’t see at the end of last season. Well, actually they are the same people I bowled with last year but each season start many have different approach characteristics. After a spring and summer of physical activity most of the bowlers seem to have more enthusiasm, more energy, they are better coordinated and have slightly better balance. What’s the reason? It’s all that great outdoor exercise and extra oxygen.

I bet you hadn’t thought of gardening as a way to improve your bowling had you? Or that working on your golf swing, taking long walks, canoeing or mowing the lawn could help your approach. How many of you seem to start the season in good form and shoot some high scores yet haven’t picked up a ball for months? And how many of you seem to struggle, hit a slump and find yourself working to maintain that improved average by mid season?

Exercise has a direct affect on our general health and our feeling of personal well-being. Our better posture and attitude directly affects our game. Workouts are not just for other sports, nor should they be limited to pro athletes. But what is the most direct benefit of our “outdoor” workouts.

I think many of us gain better posture from participating in our variety of pursuits. I notice when we have a feeling of well-being we stand straighter and have a more athletic, balanced look when we walk. Our back is straighter, our stomach and abdomen a bit firmer and there is more spring in our step.

Where does all this lead us when it comes to bowling better? Having a more natural, athletic posture in our initial stance setup should lead us to a better release position. Step onto the approach and assume a normal upright posture as if you are going to give a speech standing behind a podium. When you place the ball into your hand about waist high in front of your shoulder, the only change in posture may be a slight drop of your ball side shoulder.

The key now is to maintain this posture throughout your approach. Common mistakes are moving the shoulder with the ball start, bending forward at the waist instead of lowering the body from the waist down, and moving the shoulders forwarding the second and third steps (of a four-step approach, third and fourth in a five-step) as a means to get the ball higher in the backswing rather than allowing the ball to fall freely to its apex.

Once we have moved the shoulders out of a natural posture position ahead of your torso it is nearly impossible for most of us to get back into a solid, leveraged release position at the line. Even if we have not muscled our swing up to this point, most of us will now grab the ball, pull through the shot with our shoulder and force a very unnatural release. One classic result will be standing up at the line instead of staying down. The ball may roll well but your hand position will not have been under and behind the ball at release as it should be. A very athletic person can still make a consistent delivery but will now encounter countless corner pins or other back row leaves because the release is no longer relaxed and fluid. The axis tilt at release changes slightly from the ball being hit at release, the loft is not consistent, the ball doesn’t roll smoothly and read the mid-lane and it all comes back to our bad posture.

Try posting every shot (staying in your release position at the foul line until the ball hits the pins) and look at your shoulder position. If your ball-side arm cannot hang down loosely at your side with your hand directly next to your slide foot ankle, you are out of position. Practice feeling where your shoulders are throughout your approach. Think chin over knee, knee over toe or…”toe, knee, chin”. Change your posture, change your game.

Driving home last week after a night of mixed results in my league, I pondered how some athletes can do so well but not practice as much as others. In golf, Vijay Singh claims he doesn’t spend the hours he used to on the practice range because he has mastered the fundamentals and only now and again needs to tweak something. Bowling’s Brad Angelo also says he doesn’t practice because he now knows how to bowl. Other than having command of a larger inventory of skills, what are the primary differences between the “Brad Angelo's” of our tour and the rest of us?

The first thing I notice when talking with successful professionals is they will tell you they “know how to perform” versus the lower tier athletes who tell you they “think they can perform”. Ahhh sweet confidence. The great Billy Welu made the phrase “trust is a must or your game is a bust” very popular because of the intrinsic truth it states. Golf’s senior putting guru Dave Stockton says it another way and I paraphrase him: “it’s when you have to try to do something that you have problems; rather than just doing it”.

The mental game is huge at every level and that includes you and me. Having confidence in your abilities helps one to relax and focus correctly. Rather than worry about failure we can focus on success. We often are trying too hard rather than just letting things flow. “Quiet the mind and let the body perform” is how USA Bowling Coaching manuals say it. Do you or do you not know how to bowl? I do not expect everyone to be as gifted or skilled as Walter Ray or Norm Duke but if you can consistently hit a target then you have a foundation of confidence for some success. The key ingredient after that is your ability to focus.

Few of us have a repeatable routine, a pre-shot process that enables us to “zone in” and concentrate on our next shot. At some point between the bench and the foul line we lose the point of the shot. Practice total concentration from the time you step on the approach, through release, and after the ball has hit the pins. You should be able to recall whether or not you hit that arrow or board, what the result of the shot was, and even remember what you felt during your approach. Was your arm-swing relaxed, were you in time, what was your non-bowling arm doing when your ball reached the apex of your swing, etc.? This is important feedback for you to understand, analyze and then store for future reference. I guarantee most of us cannot maintain focus long enough to even be able to confirm or deny that we hit our intended target.

Use a pre-shot routine in your next practice session. Wipe off your ball, think about your target and your commitment to making a relaxed but athletic shot. Focus on your process. Don’t worry about results, just practice concentrating so that you can totally recall the entire shot process and relate to a coach, friend, bystander, or just yourself, everything that happened. Keep track of your successes just as you would your spare-making or percentage of pocket hits. The more you do this the better you’ll be able to perform in competition. Eventually your routine will become more automatic. Your pre-shot routine will become a trigger to help you focus and you’ll be able to recall each and every shot.

The pros are able to tune in to their “shot zone”, and maintain their focus, frame after frame whether shooting spares or stringing strikes. They have confidence (they “know how to bowl” rather than just think it) and can “let it happen and trust the shot”.

I’m going off my normal coaching track this week to discuss an important issue. Our sport has been challenged for the past 25 years or so with a drug problem. No, it’s not thought of that way by most, but in the end that’s what it is. Our sports’ drug for the masses is called technology.

How we got here today is a long story, but a combination of lane surface changes, new conditioning oils, better lane equipment and application of patterns conducive to easy scoring have brought us to a point of adult bumper bowling; the enabling of higher scores for people who do not know how to bowl well enough to achieve them with skill. Our drug of choice?...dynamically designed, urethane bowling balls with resin added for incredible scoring potential.

A bowling center buys a new lane machine which cleans the lane better and the shot changes slightly. We head to the pro shop for a new ball. The center changes the oiling pattern and we truck on over to our local pro shop. Equipment manufacturers each release several new balls a year telling us this one hooks more and that one has incredible carry or hitting power and…we head to the pro shop.

I am not blaming anyone for doing it, we’ve all done it, but this cultural change is an avoidance practice. Instead of learning how to change speeds, learning new release positions or how to play different angles to the pocket we buy our game out of a box in the pro shop.

To date we have not come to grips with the results of our technology invasion. Better technology can be a good thing. But, as scores have been artificially inflated, bowlers have left league play in huge numbers. Interestingly, overall participation has increased. This makes sense to me because I have seen tournament entries dwindle where centers have extremely high scoring conditions. The bowler who gets hot out of the gate will make the cut while a grinder who starts slow many times is left behind in a two or three game cut format. Thinking that a shootout situation offers less chance for a win, many elect not to enter again. In another situation, league bowlers look around at the number of honor scores and see that a disparity exists. The better bowlers are now adding up honor scores while the average person, who has seen their scoring increase by 10 to 20or more pins on average, feels left out; they aren’t getting the same return for their sanctioning dollar. So many spend their bowling entertainment dollar (note I did not say competition dollar) on social and recreational bowling outings. The experience is fun and the center is likely to gain new family members, work associates, and others similarly exposed, as new customers. Having learned how to better market the “experience”, centers now derive added income from beverage sales, food products and glow-in-the-dark accessories.

The original benchmark to gain entrance into the PBA was a minimum 190 average for two consecutive years. This was in the day of black rubber balls, softer lane finishes and inconsistent oil patterns. Spares were king. League average leaders seldom averaged above the 190’s, 600’s were mentioned with some reverence and honor scores were…well they were actually honored and talked about. Today you can buy a 200 average and there is no comparison with a 230 league average and a professional tour player’s 215 average unless it was bowled in a sanctioned sport shot league.

Is there an answer to this dilemma? No easy one exists or we already would have tried it. Is it even important? To those of us who love the sport, and most of us do, we are willing to accept that we have an imperfect situation and go on enjoying it for the fun and challenges at whatever level we each seek. My personal answer is to continue to add to my physical skills, learn how to master my mental approach and to share my knowledge and enjoyment of the sport with others. What will work for everyone is learning how to pick spares so that your personal enjoyment increases. It’s always more fun if you knock down more pins and don’t have to say “I would have shot 500 (or 600 or …) if only I hadn’t missed that spare six times last night.

I do have a couple of suggestions for tomorrow’s “coffee discussions”. Since headquarters has computerized data files why not have a bowling center “slope rating”, similar to golf, so that the handicap bowler can have a more fairly rated average when competing in tournaments outside his home center. The other thought begins with educating everyone better on what constitutes a skilled bowler. Why do we start our kids in leagues as soon as they sign up for bumper bowling instead of having developmental programs? Centers could still get their lineage but bowlers would be paying for coaching and those with similar skill development could occasionally compete in events against those with similar skill development. 10-week programs could be established with awards and higher levels of competition as new skills are learned. A bowler can move on to additional developmental programs or enter leagues, short-season scratch leagues, to test their abilities.

Remember returning to school and being asked to write a story titled: “What I Did On My Summer Vacation”? Here’s my essay for 2004 to start your bowling school “year”.

This past July I had the opportunity to travel to London and Amsterdam as a coach at the World Friendship Games. There were 101 bowlers from all over the United States who traveled as People to People Sports Ambassadors. In addition to sightseeing, learning about other cultures and meeting and making new friends from other nations there were workouts and a two-day tournament.

One of the athletes representing our country was a young man from Virginia named Eric. He was the only one who wrote me prior to our trip and told me about himself and his game. From his descriptions I sent him some recommendations, things I wanted him to consider and work on. After meeting him and observing his game in London I knew that he needed to back off on his loft, soften his release, and to take one shot at a time.

Let me say before proceeding farther with this story, I take no credit for his tournament success. Eric just reinforced my message to you and others that opportunity for success can arrive anytime. If you are not prepared to answer the knock on your door however, don’t expect to experience serendipity.

The second day of the tournament in Amsterdam Eric was in the hunt for the singles title but had to bowl on a pair of lanes that were set back from the adjacent lanes to his left. This meant that it was possible for spectators behind lane 20 to actually lean over lane 21 in the 15 foot area (arrows) and look directly at him when he bowled!

As I migrated from lane one to his end of the center I heard a lot of cheering but this was not unusual. The Dutch parents and spectators were most gracious, fabulous ambassadors of their country and showed great sportsmanship and love for our great game. Just before reaching Eric’s pair word reached me that he had the first five strikes. I watched as he calmly threw number six, then seven, eight and finally a crow-pleasing ninth consecutive strike.

The center was abuzz. History was being made. Last year the tournament had it’s first ever 300, rolled by a very humble young man from Michigan named Marcus. He was a legend to everyone there and had returned to try to win the title he narrowly missed last year. Could there be a second consecutive perfecto?

There was electricity in the air when the 10th frame arrived. Eric, now looking very flush and bowling on lane 21, stepped up for his 10th shot. He took his stance but then stepped back, put his ball down and re-started his routine. He steadied himself, made his approach and released the ball a bit wide of his mark. It roared back to hit light and sweep the left side….one down, two to go. On the 11th shot he again stepped back and this time looked toward the spectators behind lane 20, leaning near the arrows on his lane. He put his index finger to his lips, re-started his routine and made his approach. A mirror image of his 10th shot, the head pin again swept the left side.

For his final shot, he first breathed deep a few times and paced about before stepping to the ball rack. His final approach and release was perfect. There was no doubt on number twelve. At the instant the pins had left the deck Eric was in the air. He had his first 300. The interesting fact of this is he’d never had more than six strikes in a row! His attitude, his patience and persistence, his willingness to listen to his coaches and to try to improve his game paid off at a time when it meant the most, an international tournament representing his country.

Consider one other amazing observation; he was totally in control of his actions despite the incredible emotion of the moment, his heart racing, and adrenaline pumping. Eric knew enough to stick with his routine and when it did not feel right to him he had the presence of mind to step back a regroup.

Stay with your improvement plan, practice, work with your coach and be patient with yourself. You never know when you are going to reach your goal.

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