He finally got humbled! LOL

[Phonetek]

Last night after a college tournament my son got off work at the pro shop and wanted to practice. I put him on a pair that they finished on. What he didn't know is that they were bowling on a long sport pattern. LOL

He's never been on sport before. Man was he complaining! "Dad! Something is wrong with my bowling balls, they won't hook! They need to be baked! There's something wrong with the lanes!" Blah blah blah. I told him to shuddup and find a way to adapt.

After six games he was able to squeak out a 210. He found his shot and continued to stay above 200 the next six and even had a 268. It was funny as heck though. I never seen him so frustrated. He was just so lost and confused why he began by shooting 140's and struggled so much.

When I put him on the lanes I totally forgot they were bowling on sport but then it occurred to me after he was complaining. I didn't say anything, I wanted to see how he do. I did when he was finished and the look on his face was priceless. He was so mad! All and all though I was impressed he was actually able to adapt not knowing and did very well in the end. There is hope for him after all.

[boatman37]

lol. First time I ever bowled on a sport pattern was about 2 years ago at a tournament and it was a 47' Scorpion. I was lost but did manage a 219 scratch with a few Brooklyns in there. But was glad I did it. I made the field that day. Apparently they had been using a THS for that tournament so guys were complaining about the high scores so the one I went to was the first one on a sport shot. When they announced the pattern about 10 people grabbed their bags and left...lol. After that night they complained the pattern was too hard. I enjoyed it. I average like 155 for the 8 games or so I bowled and I think my book average was about 185 at the time.

[J Anderson]

lol. First time I ever bowled on a sport pattern was about 2 years ago at a tournament and it was a 47' Scorpion. I was lost but did manage a 219 scratch with a few Brooklyns in there. But was glad I did it. I made the field that day. Apparently they had been using a THS for that tournament so guys were complaining about the high scores so the one I went to was the first one on a sport shot. When they announced the pattern about 10 people grabbed their bags and left...lol. After that night they complained the pattern was too hard. I enjoyed it. I average like 155 for the 8 games or so I bowled and I think my book average was about 185 at the time.

Just saw sort of the reverse of this. We just ran our Adult/Junior doubles tournament. Since we draw from both the Junior league which bowls on a mix of sport and non-sport patterns and the Adult /Junior league that uses the standard house pattern, the tournament uses the house pattern. One of our better U-15 bowlers got the top bowler from the Sport league to be his partner. The adult started with a split, three strike in a row, and then struggled to kick the corners out for the rest of the afternoon.
Meanwhile in the same block an 11 year old boy with a 140 average threw a 240 something game, and one of my fellow coaches teamed up with a 15 year old to shoot over 1400 scratch.

[Phonetek]

Just saw sort of the reverse of this. We just ran our Adult/Junior doubles tournament. Since we draw from both the Junior league which bowls on a mix of sport and non-sport patterns and the Adult /Junior league that uses the standard house pattern, the tournament uses the house pattern. One of our better U-15 bowlers got the top bowler from the Sport league to be his partner. The adult started with a split, three strike in a row, and then struggled to kick the corners out for the rest of the afternoon.
Meanwhile in the same block an 11 year old boy with a 140 average threw a 240 something game, and one of my fellow coaches teamed up with a 15 year old to shoot over 1400 scratch.

I guess you just never know what's going to happen. The tournament we had was 3 days in a row between a ton of different colleges. It filled our house. It was boys teams and girls teams. A lot of talent out there! The finals were Baker's style best 2 out of 3. I have to say it was super exciting to watch. It was the tightest competition I have seen.

The boys final match came down to one pin difference all three games. The girls just a couple pins difference first two and one pin the third. It was super quiet every ball and insanely loud after each. Lots of fun to watch. It's so great to see this new generation of bowlers battling it out! It sure beats watch league bowlers.

I cannot wait until I get to spectate as a parent and not an employee! Those days ARE coming!

[Phonetek]

I have to add that it wasn't all that long ago I came on here getting advise on my son's first ball, bag and shoes. It amazes me how far he has come in such a short time.

Just a few short years ago he was learning the four step approach in our kitchen and shooting double digits scores. Now, he's high average on his Varsity team, undefeated and shooting 700+.

He's still a little smart*** and his head is in the clouds but he has heart and I'm very proud. I keep trying to get video of him but like every teen boy guess phone is always too low on battery.