Bowl - Stance

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Richard Wolfe
Sports Plus Pro Shop
703-941-9653

Richard Wolfe started bowling at the age of 12 in the Saturday morning youth league as many other youth bowlers. I began bowling competitively at the age of 16 in adult leagues and competing against some of the most renowned players at that time. As he became more interested in the game he then began working at the local pro-shop Carmen Don’s which was the most popular bowling pro shop in the Metropolitan DC area. Still a member of the Sports Plus Carmen Don’s pro shop, with over 20 years of experience in the bowling business, he has been a main stay in the knowledge and integrity of the game. He has been employed by many of the major manufactures such as Columbia, Ebonite, Hammer and Storm and has been recognized as a vital member to their staff. Being a PBA (Professional Bowling Association) member since 1987 with credentials that include 4 Professional Bowlers Tour Regional Championships one of which was in Hawaii which has become one of his most memorable. It was most special because his Mom and Dad flew there to be a part of his dream. Then went on to be a part of the elite Professional Bowlers National Tour. It was then that he found to be one of the most respected bowlers and finished 2nd in the Indianapolis Open in 1995. He then followed that with 7 nationalized televised finals, qualified for the all exempt tour 2003-2004, 2005-2006 and was voted the recipient for the Steve Nagy Sportsmanship Award in 2005-2006 by his peers. Mr. Wolfe will be inducted into the Metropolitan Area Hall of Fame on October 20, 2007 for his accomplishments for both his achievements as well as his dedication to the sport of bowling.

Bowl - Stance

In this video, AMF Bowling Center's Richard Wolfe demonstrates the basics of bowling. Learn how to choose the right bowling ball, tips on understanding the lane and bowling etiquette, stance and follow through.

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Transcripts

Hi, I am Richard Wolf, certified bowling instructor also technician. We are here for basic bowling instruction. Today, I am going to discuss with you the actual starting position otherwise known as the stand to bowling. Now, we discussed that in that last clip, but what I want you to do is to pick up that ball with both hands, we got to cradle that bowl on our opposing hands, we talked about the arrows, we talked about them being in five board increments. We know a good starting point is directly in the center. I am going to put my right foot on the center dot also known as the 20th board. Now, on doing so, I am going to take my hand, I am going to place in the ball fingers first, then the thumb. As the majority of the weight is being held with the opposing hand, what we are trying to do is create a nice, relaxed arm. Now, that means obviously, you have to have a grip on it. It is not an egg. You have to have a hold of this ball. So, but most the weight is being held with my opposing hand.

Now, for this to get started in a nice free arm swing which is what we are going to discuss in the next clip, this is imperative. The right, the opposing hand for you right-handers that would be your left hand, should be holding a majority of the ball s weight.

Your hand can be as relaxed as possible without actually losing the ball. Now, you want to keep that bowl directly in front of the bowling shoulder. You are going to see a lot of different styles and there is going to be a lot of different ways you can get this done. This is a simple way to start out because when things are going poorly it is very easy to correct if you so some fundamentally things correct right off the start.

One of the biggest thing is that most of you want to do is hold that bowl in awkward positions. We want it directly in front of the bowling shoulders. Lot of good bowlers may hold it here, hold it there, that does not mean it is wrong but I am telling you that it is going to help you out in the long run if you do some of these things. One of the key is keeping that bowling ball directly in front of the shoulder that is the target.

For example, the actual target is down the shoulder line. When we line up, we are actually looking from the center of our body. In actuality, we would want to actually if we could see down that line by simply tilting, but that puts us in an awkward position. We do not want that to happen. So, what I am going to do is relax. I am in that center dot, the fourth arrow. The ball is being held with the majority of the weight with my right hand, it is in front of my bowling shoulder and my simply to I am standing in a relaxed position what they refer to as an athletic position. Now, I am going to discuss the push away. So, let us get to the next clip.

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