Quick Question!

[martinezsam2495]

What would happen if I were to join an adult league while I'm in high school.
I'm in a sport in my high school atm,
Cross Country and Track
Bowl in a league at Gage Bowl,
Just trying to get as much info wether this will hurt or help me.
I'm planning to bowl in college as well.

[75lockwood]

Well I'm 17 and just last week i joined a Friday night adult league I'm the youngest one there by 6 years, its a fun league and i really enjoyed my first night. i don't see why joining one would hurt, extra time on the lanes is always a good thing. go try it, if you like the people and atmosphere keep going, if not then find a different league :D

[martinezsam2495]

Well I'm 17 and just last week i joined a Friday night adult league I'm the youngest one there by 6 years, its a fun league and i really enjoyed my first night. i don't see why joining one would hurt, extra time on the lanes is always a good thing. go try it, if you like the people and atmosphere keep going, if not then find a different league :D

I heard if you join an adult league, you can no longer participate in high school sports, or enter any youth tournaments, D:
I'm 17 as well

[billf]

In the US if you plan to bowl NCAA you can NOT accept any monetary awards/rewards. However, it can be set up as a scholarship and be legal. If the college you plan to attend is not NCAA sanctioned for bowling (club sport only) then it doesn't matter.

[75lockwood]

So, whether it is a fun league or a money league is the million dollar question.

[billf]

Even most fun leagues have a prize fund.

[75lockwood]

Even most fun leagues have a prize fund.

seems line a complicated rule.... what happened to just wanting to bowl?

[billf]

People expect something for their money. So to accommodate them the alley charges more and gives it back to them at the end of the season.

[75lockwood]

People expect something for their money. So to accommodate them the alley charges more and gives it back to them at the end of the season.

but i don't see why this should disqualify you from going college for bowling, its not like your bowling in the pba :/

[Brother_jd]

even youth leaugus have prize funds. Just all the money goes into scholarships.

[billf]

Ben, if you accept monetary funds other than a scholarship, then you are no longer considered an amateur by the NCAA. They had to as some college players took a pay cut turning pro! Eric Dickerson was a first round draft pick by the Rams in the NFL and had to take a pay cut from what the boosters were paying him. Google SMU (Southern Methodist University) scandal from the 80's. The NCAA never set a limit so any amount disqualifies you.

[75lockwood]

Ben, if you accept monetary funds other than a scholarship, then you are no longer considered an amateur by the NCAA. They had to as some college players took a pay cut turning pro! Eric Dickerson was a first round draft pick by the Rams in the NFL and had to take a pay cut from what the boosters were paying him. Google SMU (Southern Methodist University) scandal from the 80's. The NCAA never set a limit so any amount disqualifies you.

I understand the reasoning for this, but what if someone simply wanted to join a fun league that happens to give out low value prices at the end of the year for things like most improved, high series, etc just to spend the extra money brought it by league fees, i don't understand why this would disqualify you.

[martinezsam2495]

Yeah Lockwood, this sucks...
I was really looking forward to joining an adult league this year,
looks like it won't be possible.
:/

[noeymc]

SMU players where balling they got mad money i watched the espn movie on it

[J Anderson]

Yeah Lockwood, this sucks...
I was really looking forward to joining an adult league this year,
looks like it won't be possible.
:/

We have a bunch of Junior bowlers who are bowling in our sport league this year. I assume anything they win will be deposited in scholarship accounts. I don't know if that violates the NCAA, but it does maintain their eligibility to bowl in youth leagues and tournaments.

[75lockwood]

We have a bunch of Junior bowlers who are bowling in our sport league this year. I assume anything they win will be deposited in scholarship accounts. I don't know if that violates the NCAA, but it does maintain their eligibility to bowl in youth leagues and tournaments.

i wouldn't care about prize money, if i won it i would either not accept or put towards school.

but what about leagues that give prizes and what not? you can't exactly put a toaster in a college fund lol

[AZBowla]

Honestly I don't think anyone in the NCAA is going to suddenly find out you bowled in Bob's Bowling Lanes Lousy Bowler's Club or whatever league and got a free Budweiser bowling ball at the end of it and kick you out of school, I mean how the heck would they even know about it unless you say something? Once you actually start bowling for the college then it matters but until then you're just some kid going bowling as far as they know. I don't see how this matters all that much, so long as you just keep it on the down low. It's not like the bowling team gets all the money and press coverage anyway, it's the football and basketball teams that get the most scrutiny because everyone's watching. I bet most people don't even know that colleges have bowling teams.

[75lockwood]

Honestly I don't think anyone in the NCAA is going to suddenly find out you bowled in Bob's Bowling Lanes Lousy Bowler's Club or whatever league and got a free Budweiser bowling ball at the end of it and kick you out of school, I mean how the heck would they even know about it unless you say something? Once you actually start bowling for the college then it matters but until then you're just some kid going bowling as far as they know. I don't see how this matters all that much, so long as you just keep it on the down low. It's not like the bowling team gets all the money and press coverage anyway, it's the football and basketball teams that get the most scrutiny because everyone's watching. I bet most people don't even know that colleges have bowling teams.

being in canada, before i started researching bowling and what not i didn't know high school's had bowling teams either! :(

[billf]

Honestly I don't think anyone in the NCAA is going to suddenly find out you bowled in Bob's Bowling Lanes Lousy Bowler's Club or whatever league and got a free Budweiser bowling ball at the end of it and kick you out of school, I mean how the heck would they even know about it unless you say something? Once you actually start bowling for the college then it matters but until then you're just some kid going bowling as far as they know. I don't see how this matters all that much, so long as you just keep it on the down low. It's not like the bowling team gets all the money and press coverage anyway, it's the football and basketball teams that get the most scrutiny because everyone's watching. I bet most people don't even know that colleges have bowling teams.

A good bowling coach would check these things during the recruiting process. Nothing sucks worse than losing any team wins when a player is later disqualified. And yes, it's happened in college bowling already. As far as low value items I'm not sure. I e-mailed a couple of college coaches I know last night to see what they say.

[Tampabaybob]

I know in the past Bill is correct. I'm not aware of any new changes, but if you have aspirations of going to college, i.e., a bowling college that may have scholarships, I would be very careful. Remember all averages are recorded by your local association in a yearbook and if someone wants to find out they can.

The other thing to remember is that it's always better to be a big fish in a small pond rather than a little fish in a big pond. When I was a Junior bowler, the last day I bowled in the junior leagues, that afternoon, I shot in a New England Bowlers Association Tournament (NEBA). Had to have written permission from my parents, and was not allowed to go back to Juniors after that. I was ok with it, but I never had aspirations to go to college and there weren't any colleges with bowling programs/teams as there is now. By the way, I was 16, and the youngest member to ever join NEBA.

With the SMART program there may be some exclusions for younger bowlers to bowl in adult leagues, but as I said, I would be very careful and check with the local USBC association first before joining. If you joined an adult league first you may find yourself locked out of going back to the Juniors.

Bob

[martinezsam2495]

Bill,
what if I put into a scholarship fund, would that work?

Bob,
I haven't heard of the SMART program since middle school..
How can I contact them?

[Tampabaybob]

Bill,
what if I put into a scholarship fund, would that work?

Bob,
I haven't heard of the SMART program since middle school..
How can I contact them?

Martin, here's the link. https://apps.bowl.com/smart/index.aspx

Talk to the person running your youth leagues. They should have more info on it.

Bob