I always think back to a quote that I learned from the great Gary Sparks, "Perfect practice creates the perfect bowler." I know practice takes time away from the day and sometimes can cost a bit of money out of the pocket, but it is always worth it. The question really is, how do you go about making practice worth your while. Do you go to the lanes just to bowl a few games and call that practice? Or do you have some sort of method behind your schemes. I will take you through a few drills that I like to run.

First things first, you have to make sure you stretch a little and loosen up your limbs. Age does not matter, even if you are young, it is still better to stretch a little before chucking a bowling ball down the lanes. Now that you are loose from stretching, make sure you shoot at a corner pin before throwing a pocket shot. Why do this? First, you get 2 shots per frame, so take advantage of it! Second, it gives you more shots to loosen up, rather than throwing one shot and getting a strike real quick. Third, what if you do leave that corner pin during your game, we all know when you shoot at the first one of the day it looks a little shaky. Make sure you test out the oil pattern with different lines while throwing your strike shot to truly see what kind of room you may have on the shot. All this can be done in 10-15 minutes before league, tournaments, or just in general.

Here are some drills to help all parts of your game:
One drill that i am sure everyone does is, shooting at the 7 and 10 pin. Set up goals while doing this, for example: I want to make 10 in a row for both 7 pin and 10 pin. Now when you are shooting at the corner pins, you can NOT hit the 2 or 3 pin. So while shooting at the 10 pin you are allowed to hit the 6, and 10 pin but NOT the 3 pin. This drill will help your accuracy while shooting at your comer pins.

Another drill that you can practice is called the 2-3 Drill. It starts by hitting the 2 pin without hitting the head pin, then hit the 3 pin without hitting the head pin, then the 4 pin without hitting the 2 pin, then the 6 pin without hitting the 3 pin, then hitting the 7 pin without hitting the 4 pin, and finally hitting the 10 pin without hitting the 6 pin. To add difficulty to this drill, say you make it all the way to the 6 pin after hitting the 2,3,4 pins and then miss on the 6 pin, start over. The goal is to make each one in a row and if not, start over with the 2 pin each time. This helps with all of your spares, for example, the buckets and picket fences. This also will help you with your targeting and being more accurate since you are trying to hit a small window. Again always start with the 2 pin and you can not move on until you make each one successfully. If you miss, start over with the 2 pin. Remember the goal is to make 2,3,4,6,7,10, all in a row.

A drill that will help with the middle of the lane is called the 2-3 Combo. Start with either the 2 or 3 pin, in this case does not matter which one. Same principle as before, make the 2 pin without hitting the head pin, then you are to make what is left. For example, shoot at the 2 pin successfully, then say you are left with the 1-3-6, now you are to make the 1-3-6. After done correctly this is the 2 combo. Same principle for the 3 pin combo. Make the 3 pin without hitting the head pin and then make what is left. Try and make 5 of each combo, so Five 2 pin combos and then Five 3 pin combos. This again will help with buckets, picket fences, and washouts. This drill should also help with your targeting and making your spares with more ease.

These are just a few drills you can do in a few games of practice when you head to the lanes. If you are able to practice for free, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT! If you have to pay to practice, use it wisely and work on parts of your game that need it the most. Whether it is spare shooting or practicing different arrows or even hand releases. Hit the lanes and enjoy the game of bowling!