Drop Your Damn Shoulder!

The benefits of lateral trunk bend revealed

Drop Your Damn Shoulder!

This month I’d like to share with readers why they should drop the bowling shoulder as much as they can.

I always strive to ground my thinking in sport science research and my own research studies as well as reflection on thousands of hours of video analysis of the best players in the world. Accordingly, over the past 28 years of coaching, my philosophy has evolved. Through this on-going professional development process, my beliefs have become more cemented in objectivity.

This thinking has converged to some critically fundamental cause and effect sequences. To illustrate, my comprehension of the cause and effect relationships associated with space creation continues to evolve. Through this progression, I have come to realize that space creation is the most important element in maximizing biomechanical efficiency in bowling.

This will be no surprise to those readers who have read my swing slot articles over the years or the downswing angle concept that I developed recently. Each of these articles was an evolution of understanding and articulation of the importance of cause and effect associations related to space creation.

My comprehension of the positive effects of increased lateral trunk flexion grows deeper and deeper on a daily basis. Consequently, my appreciation of the importance of increased lateral spine tilt has become a focal point of my teaching due to the fact that the result of adding side lean leads to many positive outcomes including a freer swing, increased ball motion, and improved balance at the foul line. What is most exciting about this realization is the fact that increasing your trunk side bend, also known as dropping your shoulder, is a relatively simple concept to incorporate into your physical game to realize big improvements.

As an advocate of lateral spine tilt, I created an initiative simply entitled Drop ...



Joe Slowinski

About Joe Slowinski

Joe Slowinski, a USBC Gold Coach, is a freelance bowling coach who works with bowlers around the globe. He is currently on assignment with the Philippines. Slowinski is the former Director of Bowling at Lincoln Memorial University, where he served as Program Administrator and Head USBC Collegiate Men’s and NCAA Women’s Coach. The Portland, Maine native has served as the Administrative and Men's Head Coach at Webber International University and served for four years as a Master Teaching Professional at the Kegel Training Center. Slowinski is also the former Director of Coaching and Coach Certification for the National Sports Council of Malaysia. He has coached international teams at the World Championships, Pan American Games, South American Games, and European Championships, helping Belgium win a Gold medal at the 2022 EBF Championship of Champions and coaching Brazil to Gold medals at the 2015 Pam American Games and the 2014 South American Games. He was the 2018 NTCA DII/III Coach of the Year and the 2010 NCBCA Men’s College Coach of the Year.