Axis Rotation & Axis Tilt: Bowling Release Adjustments

Hi there. Welcome to National Bowling Academy. I'm Erik Vermilyea. In this clip, we're gonna talk a little bit about adjustments you can make with your release. Most importantly, axis rotation and axis tilt.

Kind of what they are, what you can do with them, what they mean to ball motion, and basically how it can make you a better bowler by understanding this. Now, a lot of adjustments you can make when you're bowling. You can change your ball speed, you can alter your rev rate a little bit. You can clearly change your targeting on the lane, where you stand, where you're looking, your launch angle. But then there's also your axis rotation and axis tilt.

Kind of the blueprint of what your release is. And they actually commonly get confused, axis rotation and axis tilt, so let's first touch on which is which. One is actually somewhat easy to manipulate, to change, takes a bit of practice. One is almost impossible to change. First, axis rotation is essentially the amount of side rotation on the ball.

Very little axis rotation would be almost an end over end motion, kind of like this. More axis rotation would be kind of like a 45 degree angle, kind of like. So a lot of side rotation like a Pete Weber is kind of like this right here. Almost 90 degrees of rotation. Now tilt is essentially more referred to as spin.

If you have a smaller track circumference, if your ball actually touches less of the lane. Instead of tracking near the fingers and thumb, you track a little further away. You probably have a higher tilt. So what that means is instead of your axis point being here, it's gonna point a little more towards the ceiling of the bowling center. Now, axis tilt is very, very hard to change.

A few players can do it, but essentially your axis tilt is kind of who you are. If you have more tilt, it simply means your ball's gonna generally be in the skid phase a little longer. It's gonna clear the front part of the lane a little easier without using any energy. And it's gonna generally respond to friction a little faster. What that means is when it does make its move down lane, it's gonna be a little quicker.

And that's just kind of the way it is. So if you are a player that has more tilt, a little bit more of a spin release, you're gonna generally use more surface just kind of to get your ball to read the lane, to get the blend out. Later on in the day when they hook a little bit more, your ball reaction's probably gonna be a little better. So now once we kind of understand what your axis tilt is like, we can kind of work on your axis rotation. A great way to do it is to get some tape on your ball so you can have a visual reference and understanding of what you're working with.

Start with some tape on your axis point. This is kind of your initial reference point. If you don't know how to locate your axis point, talk to your local pro shop. They can point you in the right direction, help you find this. It's also very important for getting correct layouts on your equipment as well.

So a good thing to know. Then I send the piece of tape from that axis point just below your finger holes. And this will give you just kind of, we refer it as rev tape. It gives you a great visual for when you let go of the ball, what the bowling ball's actually doing on the lane. So start off with your natural release, just whatever you feel most comfortable with.

A lot of people, it's gonna be right around that 45 ish degrees. Might be 30, might be 60, but somewhere in that middle road. So let's say this is your natural release right here, something like this. What you're looking to do with this as far as understanding axis rotation and what it means is to create something that has less axis rotation, more of an end over end. Just not necessarily zero degrees but just less than you're natural.

And then conversely, also one that is more. So let's say if your normal one is right around that 45 degrees, if you can develop a B release, that's closer to say 15, 20 degrees. And then also one that's kind of a maximum, kind of a, maybe even a C release for you that's closer to maybe 75, 80 degrees. It'll give you three tools to work with as far as making adjustments and creating the best ball motion. Now, kind of why would you use these tools?

So let's say your A release isn't working. If you're on a shorter pattern, there may be a little trickier that night in league, and you wanna kind of minimize your launch angle and keep things a little simpler. That more of an end over end ball reaction. Little less axis rotation will keep the ball going a little straighter line, easier to control. Also good when there's a lot of oil.

If it's, again, just trying to kind of minimize how much direction the ball is changing down lane is when you'd want to use less axis rotation. And then conversely, now let's say you've had to move way inside. They're really hooking. It's maybe late in the tournament block, game three of league and you just need to, your ball is hooking early and not doing the right thing. Going to that more axis rotation, getting around the ball more, is gonna help the ball get clear of the front part of the lane easier.

'Cause you're gonna have more side rotation. It's gonna take longer for it to lose all that rotation once it sees friction. This is very good for, again, when you have to open up the lane from deep inside. Helps the ball float down the lane easier, change direction sharper once it does see it. Great for when you're really deep inside there.

So again, you get some reference tape on your ball. Get a piece of tape on your axis point. Get a piece tape going from the finger holes, and get it on the lanes and practice. See what your A release does as far as degrees of rotation. Let's say again, you're right around that 45, maybe 30, maybe 60, somewhere in that middle ground.

Develop something a little bit less and a little bit more. Use this tape as a reference to make sure everything's working out right for you. Practice these tools, develop 'em a little bit, understand what they do creating different ball motion for you. And then when you do encounter different lane conditions, they break down differently for you, you'll have there tools in your arsenal to attack and really bowl your best.