Breaking In New Bowling Shoes
Breaking in new bowling shoes can be easy and fairly quick if you keep in mind a few tips in doing so. Properly breaking in a new pair of shoes will help you slide consistently and can help prevent possible accidents on the approaches. Here are the tips:
1. Wear your shoes at home and walk in them long enough to break in any stiffness in the uppers portion of both bowling shoes.
2. When you arrive at the bowling center, take several practice slides on the various areas of the approach near the foul line where you will need to slide during competition. Practice slides will prevent unwanted sliding surprises.
3. Warm up slowly and make sure your initial practice approaches are taken with slow footwork. Avoid releasing your ball at full speed if your new
bowling shoes have not been tested for a smooth and even sliding process on the approaches.
4. Avoid excessive journeys to the concourse area where you might pick up debris or liquid on the bottoms of your shoes. If you must walk about the bowling center, we recommend wearing bowling shoe protectors which slip over the shoes.
5. If you cannot slide smoothly after making a few practice slides, use a
shoe brush to briskly brush the bottom of your sliding soles and heels. Using sliding powder can be dangerous and get onto the settee floor or onto the approach, which might adversely affect the slide capabilities of other bowlers.
6. Be aware that some bowling shoes are available with interchangeable slide heels and soles. These shoe models provide various heels for gripping the approach and various sliding soles to adjust to the friction factors of different approach surfaces.
Generally, high humidity can affect sliding on approaches. Approach finishes can wear away on the edges of wooden approaches making sliding smoothly very difficult.
Synthetic approaches can be sticky in some areas near the foul line and slick on other areas.
Caution should be taken to check out the sliding areas before bowling at all times and especially when using new bowling shoes.
