Kyle Troup Bowled 500 Frames In Three Days To Improve His Physical Game
Kyle Troup Bowled 500 Frames In Three Days To Improve His Physical Game
Coming off the best year of his career, Kyle Troup is more mature and more focused than ever at improving his game.
Coming off the best year of his career, Kyle Troup is more mature and more focused than ever. And he's made some physical adjustments to his game, which he believes will lead him to an even better 2021.
So far, 2021 is off to a solid start as he won the East Region finals of the 2021 PBA Players Championship, and will compete in the finals of the event for the $250,000 first-place prize.
Troup knows, however, there’s a lot of work to be done this season.
“Last year, I won three titles, but my goals were not met,” Troup said. “I didn’t win a major, and I didn’t win Player of the Year. So, I had to tell myself, ‘where can I be better?’”
At the beginning of December, as Troup started thinking about the kickoff to the season with the PBA Players Championship, he decided it was time to step up his game.
“I knew that this event was coming up,” he said. “It was $250,000 for first place and a major title. Who really knows what our season is going to look like? So, I want to cash it in on an event that I know is going to be huge.”
To continue his positive momentum, Troup decided to take Storm Staff Development Manager Shawn Ryan up on a previous offer to practice together one-on-one.
“I take mental notes on the guys, how they handle pressure situations,” Ryan said. “I analyze when it comes down to crunch time his legs started to go away from his upper body. Instead, we wanted to make sure his legs are engaged.”
When Troup arrived at Ryan’s home in Florida about a week before Christmas, Ryan had a game plan, and they were both ready to get to work. After starting three straight days with a workout at the gym, they headed to Boardwalk Bowl in Orlando. The focus for day one was foot work.
“The first step in my approach, my left foot, would always want to kind of go in front of my right foot,” the two-handed Troup said. “What we started working on was getting my first step to go a little bit to the left. Whenever my left foot would go in front of my right foot in my first step that kind of closes my shoulders down, closes my hips down and just made it a lot more difficult for me to get into the optimal position at the foul line.”
Ryan said once Troup started taking his first couple steps to the left things “clicked” because Troup able to open his hips in the right direction.
“I think the biggest change that I made was in my second step,” Troup said. “He was wanting me to push the ball earlier. Maybe get it into the swing earlier and have more spine tilt. So, he was pretty much wanting me to bend over earlier.”
The third thing Ryan wanted Troup to do was really drive with his legs more at the foul line.
“Once he got me bending earlier, then I was able to almost stand up a little bit more at the foul line and use my legs more, which allowed my hand to get through it a lot longer,” Troup said. “When you drive your legs, your spine tilt is less at the foul line because I am standing a little taller.”
If you happen to ever notice Troup slap his legs after a shot, there is a good reason for that.
“Nine times out of 10, my bad shots, I am just not using my legs enough,” he admits. “I just keep thinking back to our man Forrest Gump and Lieutenant Dan. I would tell myself, ‘use your legs, Lieutenant Dan. You have got magic legs, use your legs.’ If you look at the greats in our sport, they have such great leverage at the line.”
Since working with Ryan, Troup has not stopped thinking about the changes and knows those tweaks to his game are working.
“I’m very confident in myself and very sharp in my shot making,” he said. “That was very eye opening for me. He has been a big help in my game in the last month or so.”
“We bonded,” Ryan said about the experience. “You get to know the way someone ticks and then it is easier to have communication and more trust, which makes it a much quicker process. Once you understand that, we can speak freely and go for it. It makes the progress quicker.”
Troup bowled about two hours a day over three days working on these physical adjustment and timing issues.
“We added up the frames when we finished practicing,” Troup said. “I had bowled almost 500 frames in three days. Some of the tips that he gave me to focus on, once it clicked, the shot was ace. It was 100 percent. I was like, ‘yeah, that is going to strike every time.’ My hand got into the sweet spot. My timing felt perfect.
“It feels like my career over the last few years has been trending in the right direction,” he said. “I am ready to see myself winning Player of the Year and a major championship. I have all the confidence in the world and the sky is the limit.”
Ryan is aware of the goals Troup has set for himself and they talked about what is needed for Troup to get there.
“I told him to not let outside distractions affect him,” Ryan said. “I do not think he should be bowling $500 sweepers on the weekends because he risks catching COVID. He wants to be Player of the Year this year, and he is damn focused on it. And the ones who keep their emotions in check get to the top.”
Troup openly admits he is an emotional player and 2020 was a tough year for him off the lanes. He lost his mother and his grandfather has dementia. To help him, he has been focusing on strengthening his mental game.
“I have taken a lot of tragedy and the hardships and turned it into a positive,” Troup said. “I matured a lot last year, so that just carried over into bowling. At the end of the day, I have had worse things happen than bowling bad in a tournament.
“I knew that I had to get even better mentally if I want to be the best out here,” he said. “The mental game is by far the most important thing, more than the physical game, because one little slip up in your process can cost you so many frames. Be the best you can be! That was one of the last things my mother said to me before she passed and I have taken that to heart more than just on the lanes. I want to win more. I do not want to be just the third, fourth, fifth best bowler on tour.”
And on top of all these changes, Troup and Ryan also worked together during the pandemic when the USBC banned weight holes Aug. 1, 2020.
“That was pretty big,” Ryan said. “Figuring out tips and tricks on making the ball do the right thing in the right spot that he was used to; that was an obstacle. We went through a lot of bowling balls to figure out what shape he likes without the weight hole. We filled the gaps.”
If you were wondering how the PBA’s most charismatic player got along with the typically quiet Ryan, well, they bonded.
“We couldn’t be more opposite, but we connected,” Troup said. “Shawn can be a little bit of an introvert at times, so for him to open up and offer that personal time to me that also just kind of built our relationship further.”
“He has his character on the lane, but he is not anything like that,” Ryan said. “He has got a lot of pressure on him because he is seen as an entertainer guy, but he is a worker. He is 100 percent focused all of the time.”
“Our tour reps have our back, and these guys are with you ride or die,” Troup said. “They are a huge part of what we do, and they provide us with the best opportunity to be successful. I now know Shawn on a personal level, and he is my teammate.”
Troup puts his new adjustments and deeper focus to the test on this weekend in the Players Championship finals.
“Bowling for a major, I was happy with the format, that it was going to be almost like the ultimate test,” he said. “Mentally, I feel stronger than ever and just locked in. I have all the tools in my bag, and I am ready to make 2021 my best year yet.”