Grab your right ankle with your right hand and pull your foot up behind you until you touch your hip. Now do the same with your left hand and your left ankle. In addition to this, some people also stretch differently by grabbing the right ankle with the left hand and the left ankle with the right hand.

Hold on to a seat or table if you need to and stretch your right leg out behind you keeping your heel on the floor to stretch your hamstring. Don’t bounce and don’t try and stretch until you hurt. Just feel it pull slightly. Repeat with your other leg.

Before you put your wrist brace on, stretch your arm out in front of you and pull your fingers back keeping your wrist and elbow straight. Also pull the hand down with your wrist and elbow straight. This stretches the tendons you’ll be using in bowling and helps loosen them up as well as stretching the wrist.

Put your right hand on your left elbow and push the elbow up by your head keeping it bent. Then move your upper arm across your throat and push gently on the elbow toward your back. Repeat with other arm. This will loosen up your shoulder muscles.

These few stretches take about 30 seconds and can really help prevent injury. Check with your doctor before you do any stretching exercises, even these simple ones.

The ball should contact the lane as though it were an airplane landing. Cramming the ball INTO the lane instead of laying it ONTO the lane creates a very poor and inconsistent roll besides causing lane damage. That’s why knee bend is so important. You’ve got to get your body into a position to lay the ball down. The more upright you are, the higher the position of the ball for delivery. Banging the ball on the lane is loud, embarrassing, and kills the roll. Other than that, it’s a good idea.

Make sure your stance is comfortable and will allow you the easiest position from which to start your approach. A comfortable athletic stance includes the knees flexed 4″ or so, the spine tilted slightly forward by moving the hips back, and the ball held close to the body with your bowling arm never outside of your bowling shoulder.

There is a big difference between being in control and being in charge. If you alphabetize your canned goods, you’re probably an over-controller. We’ve all had bosses who were controllers. You felt like no matter what you did the scrutiny would be ominous. You tried to be perfect in everything you did. You checked and rechecked your work to avoid being wrong and you were always uptight when your work was being reviewed.

A ‘tight’ shot can mean many things. Most of the time, we feel a shot is tight when the lanes are oily (thus the phrase ‘the lanes are tight’). Actually, a shot is tight whenever you feel you don’t have much room for error. When faced with this feeling or perception, try moving your bowling shoulder about 2°-3° forward; not both shoulders, not your body, not the ball in your stance – just your bowling shoulder. This will help you keep the ball on line and avoid leaking it further right than you intended and is not enough of a shoulder-closed position to cause you to pull the ball.

If you’ve ever had a boss who was in charge, you know the difference. Your creative juices would flow, your work output was greater, the quality of your work superior. When the boss reviewed it, the suggestions for improvement, if any, were just that – suggestions, not criticisms. In bowling, if you are controlling, you are uptight and will cause your efforts to fail. You try too hard to be perfect, to look great, to hit your target exactly. And it never works! But, if you are in charge, your approach flows, your swing is free and natural, and your accuracy incredible. Be in charge, not in control!!