Use Your Sliding Bowling Shoe For Approach Alignment

bowlingball.com, Originally Posted: 3/3/2013; Updated: 7/14/2021

Just as it is very important to make a smooth and even slide into the foul line so you can maintain good body balance and make an accurate delivery of your bowling ball, it is also important to develop an alignment routine on the approach so you can easily monitor your footwork.


Proper alignment means a combination of where you slide on the approach and which sighting target you select on the lane. You want your bowling ball to be delivered on an intended path toward your target so your ball is successfully headed to the break point down the lane.


The extended factors in sliding on an appropriate board at the foul line are which portion of your sliding bowling shoe are you referencing when you slide at the foul line and which board do you align yourself with initially back on the approach.


If you walk a perfectly straight line to the foul line, then it is easy to select an alignment board with your sliding bowling shoe back on the portion of the approach floor where you set-up into your stance position.


By using the instep of your sliding shoe to cover a selected board on the approach floor, you then know which board is left open next to the shoe and that should match at the foul line when you complete your approach based on a straight line walking pattern.


Sliding reasonably straight into the foul line with the toe of your bowling shoe pointing ahead to the pins makes it easy to monitor your sliding board to check your alignment before stepping away from the foul line after delivering your bowling ball.


If you drift right or left during your steps to the foul line, then it is important to know which board you must slide on at the foul line to ensure you maintain a correct alignment with your sighting target.


The objective is to repeat a consistent walking pattern to the foul line, use the instep of your sliding bowling shoe to both line up on a selected board back on the approach floor and slide on the same board, or an appropriate board at the foul line based on your walking pattern.


Some bowlers will use the middle portion of their sliding bowling shoe as a method of alignment on the approach or some will use the non-sliding shoe as an alignment technique on the approach.


It is certainly acceptable to use the toe portion of your bowling shoe for alignment and monitoring your walking pattern to the foul line but using the opposite foot for alignment can be tricky unless you develop a very consistent method of doing so.


It is important to note that using the instep of your sliding bowling shoe at the foul line is a more accurate method of making sure your walking pattern matches with your intended sliding board.
Since the bowling ball comes very near to your sliding ankle if your forward swing is close to your body as is recommended by coaches everywhere, it makes sense to use the instep of your sliding shoe as your alignment technique on the approach and at the foul line to monitor your slide and your walking pattern.


It has been said many times that accuracy in bowling comes with good footwork. If you are careful about which board to align yourself with on the approach and which board you should slide on at the foul line, based on your walking pattern, then you will give yourself an excellent chance at making accurate deliveries.