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I suck at bowling
02-06-2013, 10:11 AM
Hi guys, I love bowling and like all youth bowlers, my dream is to bowl in college, and eventually get into the PBA. The problem is that I'm not very good, lol. I'm only averaging a 180 on house shot, and a 164 on a sport shot. And I see all these scratch youth bowlers that are throwing 220s every game on sport patterns, and it makes me feel like I will never have a chance with them. I turn 17 next month, so I'm kinda running out of time here, lol.

Will I even have a chance to bowl in college?

75lockwood
02-06-2013, 10:45 AM
Hi guys, I love bowling and like all youth bowlers, my dream is to bowl in college, and eventually get into the PBA. The problem is that I'm not very good, lol. I'm only averaging a 180 on house shot, and a 164 on a sport shot. And I see all these scratch youth bowlers that are throwing 220s every game on sport patterns, and it makes me feel like I will never have a chance with them. I turn 17 next month, so I'm kinda running out of time here, lol.

Will I even have a chance to bowl in college?

how often do you bowl? once, twice a week?

bowling like any sport requires a LOT of practice to get good

It has been found that it requires 10,000 hours to become and expert or pro at something, bowling in a single league for 2 hours of which you spend at least half waiting/watching won't cut it. if you want to reach your dreams you must work for it.

Dedicate yourself and you will go far.

I suck at bowling
02-06-2013, 10:52 AM
how often do you bowl? once, twice a week?

bowling like any sport requires a LOT of practice to get good

It has been found that it requires 10,000 hours to become and expert or pro at something, bowling in a single league for 2 hours of which you spend at least half waiting/watching won't cut it. if you want to reach your dreams you must work for it.

Dedicate yourself and you will go far.

I bowl, maybe 2-4 times a week, as much as I can afford, lol.

Normally one or two practice sessions of 5+ games, and then one league, and then usually one PJBT tourney.

75lockwood
02-06-2013, 11:41 AM
I bowl, maybe 2-4 times a week, as much as I can afford, lol.

Normally one or two practice sessions of 5+ games, and then one league, and then usually one PJBT tourney.

Lol fair enough, if you want to bowl more, maybe talk to the owner to see if you can help out at the ally in exchange for free bowling

TheSheibs
02-06-2013, 12:40 PM
I would suggest that you keep practicing as much as you can and maybe look into joining a adult/youth league so you can get more time with bowling in that setting. Also look into what the college requirements to be on the bowling team is. You could also check for any scholarships they might give for it, if any. Keep practicing and your game will improve. I know that when I go at least once a week to practice that when it comes time for my league night, I do better. So just keep practicing and good luck. Oh and by the way, a 180 average is pretty damn good in my book.

I suck at bowling
02-06-2013, 01:06 PM
I would suggest that you keep practicing as much as you can and maybe look into joining a adult/youth league so you can get more time with bowling in that setting. Also look into what the college requirements to be on the bowling team is. You could also check for any scholarships they might give for it, if any. Keep practicing and your game will improve. I know that when I go at least once a week to practice that when it comes time for my league night, I do better. So just keep practicing and good luck. Oh and by the way, a 180 average is pretty damn good in my book.

Thanks a lot man! I'm just gonna keep at it and see where it goes, lol.

noeymc
02-06-2013, 02:17 PM
do u have a coach in your area? not a high school coach a real certified coach? if so id go see him as much as u can afford

TheSheibs
02-06-2013, 04:42 PM
Hey, check out this website. It might help you out.

http://www.collegebowling.com/index.asp

J Anderson
02-07-2013, 06:54 PM
Hi guys, I love bowling and like all youth bowlers, my dream is to bowl in college, and eventually get into the PBA. The problem is that I'm not very good, lol. I'm only averaging a 180 on house shot, and a 164 on a sport shot. And I see all these scratch youth bowlers that are throwing 220s every game on sport patterns, and it makes me feel like I will never have a chance with them. I turn 17 next month, so I'm kinda running out of time here, lol.

Will I even have a chance to bowl in college?

What do you mean you're running out of time? I could see if you were a junior in college time might be running out, but not if you're still in high school.

Don't judge yourself by what the other youth bowlers are averaging. For most of us there is always going to be some one else who is better at a given activity than we are. There is no defense in bowling so there's nothing you can do about what they average. In the sport league that I bowl in there are a handful of youth bowlers. none of them are averaging over 180. In fact we have only one bowler over 200 and the rest of the top five are in the 190s.

I did not bowl on the college level but I would assume that its still a learning experience. I would think that coaches would be as interested in athletic ability, attitude, basic technique, etc. as they would in your average. I think that the fact that you're willing to bowl on a sport shot would bode well for being picked for a college team.

Greenday
02-11-2013, 03:03 PM
How many high school kids are actually bowling on sports shots? I don't know of any high school league around here that gives them sports shots. Only THS.

When I was in high school (Graduated in 2006), we always bowled on a THS. There were kids from a couple towns where they were always shooting 220s or so it seemed. We went to states that year and my God did they look awful. All of a sudden, the ball isn't being guided into the pocket for them anymore and they can't miss their mark so much without washouts.

I suck at bowling
02-11-2013, 03:37 PM
Thats for the great advice everyone! I feel a lot better about my chances now, and I appreciate all of your input!

Flyer41
02-11-2013, 05:02 PM
I play baseball at the college level, but I assume that bowling coaches look for the same kinds of things baseball coaches look for in student athletes. What I've found they try to find is a firm grasp of the fundamentals, and then potential for growth. My coaches don't like teaching fundamentals over and over again, they'd rather work on fine tuning things so if you can show that you can repeat shots with fairly good mechanics, it should make you much more appealing in their eyes.

explorer05
02-18-2013, 04:49 PM
I agree keep practicing. The other thing you could do is check with your local house and see if they have any practice lanes with the sport shot on it that are not being used. I can also give you another example look at Tom Smallwood, he worked at the GM plant in Detroit I believe and when he got laid off he decided to join the PBA. There are also people that didn't get into the PBA until they were in there late 20's. Plus maybe during the summer if you are at home from college when you turn 18 join a PBA experience league. My house runs them in the summer. The other thing I found out to is I did better when I bowled against better bowlers whether practicing or in league.

J Anderson
02-18-2013, 10:55 PM
The other thing I found out to is I did better when I bowled against better bowlers whether practicing or in league.

Several factors could be involved with this:
1. A certain amount of stress is good and bowling against better competition may give you that right amount of stress to focus and execute better,
2. Better bowlers break the lanes down more predictably.
3. You may be copying, either consciously or not, better bowling technique.
4. You can watch where and how the better bowlers are playing the lane and do likewise.

I suck at bowling
02-19-2013, 11:06 AM
Several factors could be involved with this:
1. A certain amount of stress is good and bowling against better competition may give you that right amount of stress to focus and execute better,
2. Better bowlers break the lanes down more predictably.
3. You may be copying, either consciously or not, better bowling technique.
4. You can watch where and how the better bowlers are playing the lane and do likewise.

The same thing happens to me. When I bowl against bowlers who are better the me in matchplay, always seems to bowl just as good as them, and try hard to keep up.

billf
02-27-2013, 07:10 PM
What college did you have in mind? Contact the coach and ask flat out what it would take to be considered for the team. Some schools have accredited bowling programs (NCAA recognized) while others are still just considered a "club" sport. I have two friends who attend Urbana University where it is considered a club sport. One is on the A team while the other the B team. They still travel for tournaments, scheduled practices, real coaches, etc. Yes, they had to earn a spot on the team also.
Another thing to do is make a video of yourself bowling. Make it a good one and include a short introduction of yourself with a one-sided interview. Tailor these to fit the school and coach you send it to explaining why you want to bowl at that school and for that coach. Stroke their ego. It sucks but worth it.
Other than ability, coaches look for bowlers who are coachable, team minded and smart enough to not lose eligibility.

PS I did the video thing in high school entering my Junior year for football. I was living south of Boston and went to a vocational school so scouts weren't abundant. It worked as my Junior and Senior year there were always scouts around to see if I really could run the 40 in 4.3 seconds at 268 lbs in full pads and bench 475 lbs. It worked as I had several scholarship offers and signed a letter of intent to play defensive end at Florida State University.
I played varsity in 4 sports, finished second in my class and worked full time. One scout asked, "What else do you do?" Turns out that some kind of community service and/or active role in a church help too. If I had known that maybe I would have helped at a soup kitchen once in awhile and been more active in church. Maybe.

noeymc
02-28-2013, 01:18 AM
bill u ran a 4.3??? =O i thought my 4.4 4.5 was good :(

chelsbowls
04-23-2013, 05:40 PM
Practice, practice, practice. And get a coach! Any one can bowl in college, but you have to help yourself depending on what program you're going to. Check out bowl.com and search for a coach certified bronze, silver or gold to help you out!

I also wanted to let anyone viewing this post or forum know about my blog, which is about college bowling and bowling in general. I just updated the blog and would love for anyone to read, comment or share the post!

http://chelsbowls.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/intercollegiate-team-championships-2013/

Thank you so much!

Chelsea Herrera
Twitter: @chelsbowls
Wordpress: Bowling in Wichita