Mr. Merrell help for a struggling bowler

Have our certified coaches analyze your game!

Moderators: TonyPR, deanchamp, Moderators

Forum rules
In this forum you can post your YouTube videos for the coaches to review.
Users can only create new posts, only Certified Coaches can respond.
Make sure your questions are thorough, registered users can only create new topics and edit, not reply.
If you have a change in your game or would like to reply, you can edit your post then bump it using the BUMP link.
Post Reply
stanthecaddy12
Member
Member
Posts: 57
Joined: December 27th, 2011, 5:03 pm
Preferred Company: storm

Mr. Merrell help for a struggling bowler

Post by stanthecaddy12 »

Thanks to RobMautner for his post recommending watching Rhino Page's quiet shoulder. I was hoping to hear what Mr. Merrell would suggest. My friend is a speed dominant, lower revs player. He tends to struggle with inconsistent ball roll, pulling the ball, and trouble carrying when hitting the pocket, leaving many flat 10 pins and occasional 5-7's. I suggested you having a look. I attatched 2 videos for you to see. Anything you have to say he would be very eager to hear about. Thank you for your time Mr. Merrell.


[youtube][/youtube]

[youtube][/youtube]


Thanks for the thorough response. I know you are a very busy man. You are always very generous with your time, and it is greatly appreciated. He'll get working with what you suggested, and I'll post a follow-up when he gets this done.
Last edited by stanthecaddy12 on July 27th, 2016, 6:21 pm, edited 5 times in total.
RobMautner
Certified Coach
Certified Coach
Posts: 664
Joined: February 15th, 2016, 5:23 pm
Preferred Company: No Preference

Re: Mr. Merrell-Coaching Help

Post by RobMautner »

I'm not Mr. Merrell, but it looks like he is leading with his shoulder which is usually done to compensate for late timing. It's hard to tell with the videos so small on my antique computer. At any rate, have him watch UTube videos of Rino Page who is known for his quiet shoulder. Keeping the shoulder quiet should keep him from pulling the ball, increase his accuracy, and increase his rev rate.
JMerrell
Trusted Source
Trusted Source
Posts: 1440
Joined: August 1st, 2010, 1:45 pm
Positive Axis Point: 5 1/8" x 1/2" up
Speed: 16 mph @ foul line
Rev Rate: 230
Axis Tilt: 20
Axis Rotation: 50
Location: Florence, Ky

Re: Mr. Merrell help for a struggling bowler

Post by JMerrell »

I was in Indy at Junior Gold for 10 days, therefore no time for the chat community.
Sorry, but that's the reality of life.


Let’s start from ground level.

1) Move the ball closer to the body at address, see slide S1. Moving the ball closer to the body will position the right elbow slightly behind the back.

2) Everything looks good in S2, focus on the position of the right elbow at this stage.

3) During the second step in S3, keep the right elbow in it’s original position and just allow the right arm to unfold downward….NOT outward away from the body as it is in S3. Also take note of the spine angle in B3 highlighted by the yellow dotted line.

4) In B4 because the ball was still out in front of the bowler in B3 (should be down at his side as shown in B3) the bowler must now pull the ball to the top to catch up with the feet and be in time. Pulling the ball to the top both over tilts the upper body and over rotates the upper body. See the change in the angle of the yellow line.

5) Also in B4 the left arm is close to the body and pointed down at the floor.

That’s what I see going on from his address position to the top of his swing.

Let’s focus on those items and see what impact that has on his overall game.

My suggestions:

1) Move the ball closer to his body at address.

2) First step don’t change a thing.

3) Second step allow the right arm to unfold so that the ball position is closer to that of the photo of Doug Kent. Correcting ball position in B3, will go a long way to fixing the over tilt of the upper body seen in B4.

4) During the third step extend the left arm out from the body at 45 degree angle as show in the attachment. This will help in keeping the shoulders more parallel to the foul line. Too much upper body rotation, does not match his physical game.

Post video after these changes are incorporated and we'll go from there.

Thanks for the patience.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.


Last bumped by stanthecaddy12 on July 27th, 2016, 2:46 pm.
-JMerrell
"Simplify the Motion.....Maximize the Results"
Post Reply