Ten pin troubles

Questions about coaching?

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Qman
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Ten pin troubles

Post by Qman »

Over I'd say the last 10 years I haven't been able to pick up the ten pin with any consistency. I could average 195 or better over that time by just being able to pick that pin up on a regular basis but haven't. Back in the 80's and 90's I never missed the ten pin. Back in the old days you were taught to just throw it over the third arrow on the right and you picked it up just about every time unless you pulled it. But now it's my kryptonite. Most often I miss it just to the left or when I do miss left adjust on the next time I leave it move a little more left then I miss it just off to the right. I need to get down and practice more but time and money are not in plentiful supply these days. I guess what I might have to do on league night in warmups is just shoot at the ten pin and hope that I find something that works until I can find more money for practice time. I work mostly nights and have to be at work at 1:30pm and my center doesn't usually open until 1:00 pm anyway so you can see my dilemma a little as far as time goes. (Small town rural area 10 lane center). :oops:
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by elgavachon »

Qman wrote:Over I'd say the last 10 years I haven't been able to pick up the ten pin with any consistency. I could average 195 or better over that time by just being able to pick that pin up on a regular basis but haven't. Back in the 80's and 90's I never missed the ten pin. Back in the old days you were taught to just throw it over the third arrow on the right and you picked it up just about every time unless you pulled it. But now it's my kryptonite. Most often I miss it just to the left or when I do miss left adjust on the next time I leave it move a little more left then I miss it just off to the right. I need to get down and practice more but time and money are not in plentiful supply these days. I guess what I might have to do on league night in warmups is just shoot at the ten pin and hope that I find something that works until I can find more money for practice time. I work mostly nights and have to be at work at 1:30pm and my center doesn't usually open until 1:00 pm anyway so you can see my dilemma a little as far as time goes. (Small town rural area 10 lane center). :oops:
Do you switch to a plastic ball for the 10 pin?
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by Qman »

elgavachon wrote: Do you switch to a plastic ball for the 10 pin?
Yep, just can't find the right spot on the lane to put it consistently.
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by moonlightPS »

Obviously, I don't know your release or approach, but I am going to throw out some generic info here.

I usually coach my students to stand very far left (just past the last dot on 7 dot approaches. If your center has 5 dot approaches, stand 7 boards past the last dot).
Preset an open should but plan on walking straight with minimal drift to the right
Your target should be around 17, 1 or 2 feet past the arrows.
Visualize a line from the pin, through your mark to your right shoulder. Move left or right to create the alignment.
Relax and with commitment to making your shot throw the ball back down the line.


I also recommend that your spare ball be a pound lighter than your first ball equipment.
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by JohnP »

Take the plastic ball to your pro shop and ask them to sand it to 4000 grit and then polish it. That will help keep it from breaking away from the 10 pin. -- JohnP
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by spmcgivern »

As moonlight stated, without seeing your delivery any recommendation is just speculation.

But one thing I would recommend to all bowlers having issues with 10-pins is to understand how the release affects your make percentage, especially if you use your normal release. Excess rotation, even with plastic, can make the ball overreact when it sees the dry part of the lane and become hard to control. The typical reaction to to move even more to the left and expect the "reaction" you were getting only to see the ball fall in the ditch when the plastic ball doesn't react enough.

What I like to do is release the ball in a manner where I reduce the amount of rotation as much as I am comfortable doing when shooting at 10-pins. My goal is to have the ball react and finish going as straight down the lane as possible instead of moving right-to-left.

I use the same philosophy on most right side spares from the 6-10 to the 3-6-10. It has become especially helpful on 3-6-10 spares since it has reduced the dreaded chop on that spare a lot.
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by kboveington »

Excellent posts so far! Here are some suggestions that work for me and I've seen work for others.

For me I have a plastic ball spare ball. I throw it straight and hard at my target which is 20 at the arrows * 4th arrow *. I stand pretty far left but don't have a set place to stand because it can change a few boards from pattern to pattern.

For others, I've seen a backup ball. This can work if you possess the ability to throw a backup ball consistently. I would only do this on your league shot. I've seen guys use higher tilt to skid the ball out there. I've seen guys roll it straight completely end over end so ANY ball will not hook. Some guys really increase their ball speed so the ball will not hook. I would only use this method if you can stay in control of your body throughout the approach.

I know its hard for you to practice, but you have got to find time and get out to the lanes. See what works for you. Once you have committed to a certain way, practice as much as possible to get it into muscle memory.

Good luck!
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by LabRat »

Most people miss the tenpin due to poor shoulder alignment. They tend to walk towards the pin, which puts tha ball swing outside the target line - when youo get to the line, you pull it left. You need to have the ball swinging toward the pin, then walk alongside the swing. So...
Whatever line you choose to shoot the pin on, (preferably 3rd or 4th arrow!) point your right big toe at the tenpin. Then, look 7 boards left of your target and line up your shoulders and body to walk towards that point. Move your eyes to your target arrow, and go.
And like everyone else has said, use plastic or learn to throw the ball dead straight.
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by JMerrell »

Qman wrote:Back in the old days you were taught to just throw it over the third arrow on the right and you picked it up just about every time unless you pulled it. But now it's my kryptonite. Most often I miss it just to the left. When I do miss left, adjust the next time by moving a little more left…….. then I miss it just off to the right.
My 2 cents
Spare conversions are about developing a method and trusting the process.

In Scenario #1:
I have defined my version of the typical house shot. A heavy amount of oil (green rectangle) in the center of the lane and a minimal amount of oil (orange rectangles) the outside portion of the lane.

Scenario #2:
In this example the bowler is targeting the third arrow to convert the ten pin. By using this method the ball spends slightly less time in the heavy amount of oil area (blue triangle) and slightly more time in the minimal amount of oil area (red triangle). When using a plastic ball with our normal release it is not a good idea to get the ball into too much of the minimal portion of the lane. Back in the day when plastic balls were “King” the oil pattern only had about 9/10 milliliters. Today’s environment only requires 3 milliliters on the outside portion of the lane surface! Targeting the third arrow in today’s environment is a dangerous thing.

Scenario #3
The bowler misses right of target, getting the ball into the high friction area even sooner. Remember when the polyester ball (plastic) was “King” it was because the lower volume patterns provided enough friction to create ball motion. Now, you’ve just missed right of target giving the plastic ball its wish……more friction, thus the ball can hook left of the ten pin.

Scenario # 4
Okay, the ball hooked left of the ten pin, commonsense dictates that I should move my feet further left to compensate. As you can see by moving the feet left and still targeting the third arrow keeps the ball in the heavy amount of oil area longer (that’s good it will slide more). But moving the feet left and still targeting the third arrow can result in a straight ball heading towards the outside of the ten pin or even worse into the channel.

Before solving this dilemma, looks look at a similar scenario that many bowlers encounter every day.

Bowler “A” is an average league bowler (slightly speed dominant) and bowler “B” who is rev dominant
(typical house pro).

Bowler ”A” has been taught to target the proverbial second arrow. He finds that when he misses inside of target he strikes occasionally, but tends to leave back row pins. When he misses right of target he often faces the danger of splits because the ball goes high. I like to compare this situation to that of a bowler standing along the ocean front. If he pulls the ball left then ball will hydroplane along the water, if he misses right the sand will cause an enormous amount of friction and disastrous results. This my friends is why the THS is often referred to as a tweener’s nightmare.

Bowler “B” often stands against the ball return throwing an entry level ball hard and somewhere right. Somewhere, because it doesn’t seem to matter as long as it gets to the minimal friction area, where it will then bounce back to the pocket. He can miss in and the ball will hold and carry a high percentage of times (speed and rev rate are his best friend). This might seem a little off topic but this is exactly what is happening when bowler’s target spares too far right in today’s THS environment resulting an a over under ball reaction.

Scenario #5
Is my preferred method for conversion of the ten pin in today’s THS environment. Target somewhere between 17 and 20, move the feet to the left of the approach to a position that will enable you to execute the shot as shown in the example below.

Important notes:
1) Notice how the feet are aligned with the direction of the ball’s path…. not towards the 7 pin!
2) The ball now stays in the heavy oil longer (will go straighter due to encountering minimal friction) and will spend less time in the area of the lane that has the most friction.
3) This method of targeting the ten pin will provide you the most margin of error. Margin of error
is always a good thing, just watch bowler ”B” on the THS.
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by MegaMav »

Im a 3rd arrow 10 pin'er.
I will try scenario 5.
The reason I dont do that now is, for whatever reason, I have a hard time getting the same slide that far left on the lane. A lot of dirt and pebbles out there, and the approach is usually slightly raised in that area due to less traffic.

I'll try it again anyway, missed two 10 pins on sport last week, which is not like me, im usually 9/10+ on average.

Great job on this Jim, I think its a coaching wiki article in waiting.
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by JMerrell »

Its there now!

http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/index. ... Corner_Pin" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by kajmk »

A ha'penny extra
Half Penny.JPG
Remember that any single pin spare does not require power to topple it.
Sort of like not having to shout in Carnegie Hall.
Stay within yourself and as with all bowling deliveries POST YOUR SHOT.
Keeping the index finger in as opposed to spread, can also help.

Also, there are drills that can be practiced at home.

Bill Hall has one on his website
"Release Drill Part 1"
http://billhallbowling.com/index.php?id ... roller=cms" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This drill and others by Bill have appeared in editions of Bowling This Month Magazine.

I encourage bowlers to develop various types of bowling release.
If and when you have the time and money for on the lane practice, be sure to play a game or two where you only shoot corner pins. If you want to add a degree if difficulty, roll a straight ball release with a ball that hooks.

Cheers.

Oh yes, Ron Clifton's "Kick Ball for Strikes and Spares" and "Finger Dancing" are Germane.
Look for them in the Archived Articles Page of his Website at http://www.bowl4fun.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ron's newer articles appear in Bowling This Month Magazine.

On Posting The Shot
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Re: Ten pin troubles

Post by rrb6699 »

i took some 10-pin conversion videos using 2 different balls the last 2 practice sessions. normally i like to 'pad' the fourth arrow and throw it as straight as i can. the blue ball you see in one of the videos reacts to friction. i like to practice with a strike ball on 10-pins even to make sure i am throwing it straight. i do use a backup ball sometimes if the lanes call for it but with these spare shots for the 3-6-10 and 6-10 and 10-pins i have the best angle against a chop. since i switched to throwing a straight ball at single pin spares i am at least 95+% effective in successfully converting the spare. i key on staying relaxed and make sure my wrist is facing the pin and i come straight thru the shot.

enjoy!

rr

10-pin conversion with an old Hard Rubber ball:
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

10-pin conversion with reactive ball (good practice throwing straight)
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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