L atelier du bowling

Proper shoulder leverage is key to more power and better accuracy

To develop a free pendulum arm swing that results in more power and better accuracy, it’s necessary to create proper shoulder leverage throughout your delivery. Proper shoulder leverage uses tension against the ball from the shoulder, not inthe lower arm. The result is a pendulum motion extending all the way from the shoulder socket to the fingers. There are three methods that can be implemented to learn the feeling of proper shoulder leverage. In all cases, your shoulders should be level and square to the target during your delivery. This drill involves isolation exercises focusing on the shoulder area as the best way to learn proper shoulder leverage technique. If you do not have your bowling ball available you can practice this technique with the help of another person. ? First, take a balanced stance and let your arm hang down at your side with the fingers bent inward. Have your assistant pull down on your fingers with a slight pressure. As your assistant pulls down on your fingers, you should concentrate on resisting the pressure from your shoulder. It’s important that you do not resist the pressure by pulling up with your forearm. All the effort should come from the shoulder. ? With your bowling ball in hand, take the same balanced stance with your arm at your side. Have your assistant place his/her hands on each side of the ball and pull down with slight pressure. Once again, resist the downward pressure with effort from your shoulder. What you want to accomplish is learning what it feels like to resist with your shoulder rather than your lower arm. ? Finally, you can use a ball tote to perform another effective exercise. Take a balanced stance. Using the tote bag, let the ball swing back and forth in a pendulum fashion while focusing on the amount of shoulder tension needed to keep your shoulder level. The goal of the free pendulum swing is to keep your arm swing relaxed and your release free of tension. You’ll get better roll on the ball and you’ll become a lot more accurate when you perfect this technique.