DROPPING IN AT RAY'S CLINIC

Ray Spackman held one of his drop-in bowling clinics at Diablo Valley Bowl on October 5th. Sharon handled the bowling this time while I observed and shot some video. The clinic was very well attended. I counted ten lanes of bowlers. For $20, each attendee bowled for two hours while Ray roamed from lane to lane, providing instruction and encouragement.

My impression was that Sharon made some substantial improvements in her game. Ray worked with Sharon primarily to smooth out her first two step to resemble regular walking steps and to stop muscling the ball with her forward arm swing. Sharon kept an open mind and made a strong effort to work on the things Ray showed her. By the time the two hours were up, Sharon had a smoother, less strenuous delivery that will be easier to repeat consistently. Here are four shots taken during various points in the lesson. In the first you'll see Sharon is muscling the ball less than before and in the three subsequent shots, a vast difference is detectable.

Another thing Sharon worked on was using a target closer to the foul line to shoot her right-side spares. She found that using the targeting arrows 15 feet beyond the foul line was leading her to reach and loft the ball too much. By choosing a target closer to the foul line, she was able to get the ball down on the lane just beyond the foul line and do it in a more controlled manner.

When using her new target, Sharon's shots were still rolling over the third arrow most of the time. That's the target she used previously. In this video, you'll see the first shot roll over the 14th board (one board outside the 3rd arrow) but miss the 10-pin slightly to the left. I was focusing on the lane so I couldn't see where Sharon set up. I assume she either set up a board or two too far to the right on the approach or she drifted to the right. A ball rolled over the 14th board wouldn't miss to the left if it were released from the correct angle. You will also see a ball that rolled over the 2nd arrow (10th board) and fell into the gutter as one would expect. The other shots were on target.

Later in the lesson, Ray tinkered with Sharon's starting position. He had her start with her right elbow on her right hip with the ball in front of her rather than off to her right side. Unfortunately, my batteries went dead before that adjustment was made so I don't have any video.