Sport League 1 of 2 meet and greet

[Phonetek]

I met up with my new team today, rather they met up with me. I invited them to my work for a little meet and greet, have a few drinks and to roll a few when I got off. Great group of guys, I'm going to have a good time with them for sure and we all seem pretty equally skilled more or less. Maybe 15 - 20 pins average from top to bottom? A pretty well rounded and seasoned group of guys who will do pretty good together. We figured out our lineup for the season and they eh "volunteered" me to be the anchor. Which is what I wanted anyway, I've always loved bowling anchor.

Having practiced on a sport shot with my son recently, I've never from what I can remember been on a league with it. I may have but back in the day oil pattern didn't mean nothing to me so if it was I was oblivious to it and didn't care. If there was a ton of oil I just adjusted my game accordingly I never worried or thought about the actual pattern itself. I had a few different balls but not some massive arsenal and I used what worked best. Basically I just did what had to be done and worked with what I had. I'm sure with all the tournaments I was in that it was a thing, just as I said I adjusted. When I practiced with my son on it I didn't notice some dramatic differences and major score drop. I bowled about the same all and all as I bowl where I work just without the 10 billion distractions.

So now, I am aware of oil patterns and the more technical aspects of the game than ever before. I think my game is pretty good now, I've worked very hard on a lot of things. Since that video I posted some months back I can say I'm a lot different than I was and much better. Thanks to advice given from here, another site, coaches at work, taking video doing self critique, practice drills and a ton of practice games. I'm not quite 100% tip top but I'd say high 80's - low 90's% near where I want to be for this season. I'm ready to win some $$$! What can I expect on a sport league to be different than a regular THS league?

[djp1080]

Even though I've never bowled in a sport league, my guess is that there is less oil in the middle and that the folks who are in your league pretty know how to bowl rather than who you might meet on THS. The result will be that the lanes will transition pretty quickly and you may find yourself quite a bit to the left of center sooner than later. Having a spare ball will help you to keep up and not having open frames. Not making corrections early enough will cause you to have some nasty looking spare shots to deal with.
Have fun and Good luck! I'm guessing you'll be at Fox...

[bowl1820]

Even though I've never bowled in a sport league, my guess is that there is less oil in the middle

With sport patterns it's not so much how much oil there is, but the ratio of the inside to the outside.

House shots use a high ratio like 10:1, so the outside is relatively dry compared to the inside. This is how they get the wall your ball bounces off of to come hooking back when it comes out of the oil and helps guide the ball back to the pocket.

Sport patterns use smaller ratios like 1.5:1 so the oil is flatter, you dont have that wall to bounce the ball off of or help guide the ball back to the pocket.

[Phonetek]

I'm guessing you'll be at Fox...

On one league yes, that's the 2nd Sport league. The one I'm speaking of is over at Startdust, the big center with like 80 or 84 lanes I forget. I wasn't going to bowl at Fox but Jim the GM invited me, says his guy Mike needs another guy and he thought of me. I go way back with Jim and he as nice as they come, I couldn't tell him no. Then I'm still bowling at work on the Thursday league and my boss wants me to sub on Tues nights for him. Plus my son is bowling on Wed afternoon at work and Sat morning at Fox. Then I got my Sunday regulars to shoot with. So let see...

Sunday - regulars
Monday - Sport league
Tues - Subbing
Wed - Son
Thurs- fun league
Fri - sport league
Sat - Son

Holy cow, I will be spending every day at a bowling center not including work. I didn't realize that until just now. Augh. I gotta come up with a bag quick. That's one thing I haven't replaced this year and it's shot. I'm hoping to pick up another ball next paycheck. I have a Venom Shock waiting for me and I'm going to need it. I gotta stock up on some athletic tape too.

[djp1080]

With all that you won't need to practice your bowling.
Yes, Jim is a very good man.
Athletic tape for what? I have here at least five different types of tape. Been using the smooth black tape and textured white tape in the thumb. Never liked the feeling of the white tape and have tried the Real Bowlers Tape and the new Vise Gripping Tape which I've found feels much better on the front side of the thumb hole. Use some protective tape on the back of my thumb, too, while I'm at it. Also, I believe I told you that I use a tiered tape toward the bottom of the thumb hole on each ball to keep me from grabbing at it.
Have fun and hope you'll be able to handle all that rolling the ball... :)

[Phonetek]

Ah you know Jim? You do know he don't own Fox anymore right? I guess he sold it like 3 1/2 yrs ago but he stays on as the GM. Well Big Mike is who I'll be bowling wit, I don't know him well but he seems like a great guy. I'm looking forward to it for sure.

The athletic tape is for my wrist. My hand and fingers feel great but I still get a slight twinge that shoots threw my wrist. If I tape it up I don't get the twinge. I'll also put it at the base of my ring and middle finger too. It's all for pain preventative purposes. Now that it feels good I don't want to tempt fate and screw it up. I'd rather just tape it rather than buy yet another contraption that I'll hate

For the thumb, it depends on the fit. If I'm dropping it I find one slice of white tape is perfect. If it's just a tad loose I'll use the black smooth tape to snug it up. During the course of bowling I end up fidgeting around at some point as the grip changes. Some days I'll end up with 5 pieces in there and like today I ended with none.

BTW, I'll probably still practice when I have time. Wifey is starting to feel better and she likes bowling when the Furries come. I gotta keep her included too. If I'm not working when the Furries come anyway. She and my son and daughter can still bowl with them.

[Stormed1]

If you're bowling wih Mike Nape he's a great guy. known him for probably 30 years

[Phonetek]

If you're bowling wih Mike Nape he's a great guy. known him for probably 30 years

I only know him as "Big Mike" I don't know his last name, but as it turns out I am not on his team. I found that out Monday when I got there, I was a little disappointed about that honestly. I have a good team though, great guys. Actually now that I think about it, I didn't even see Mike Monday when I was there.

[Eddy]

The athletic tape is for my wrist.

I used to use athletic tape, and switched over to kinesiology tape. It only stretches in one direction. It is more expensive than athletic tape, but it is far superior in every way. Pick up a roll and try it. I can almost guarantee you'll love it. Plus, athletic tape can be difficult to remove, but K tape comes off in seconds.