How serious is collegiate bowling?

[Efusjon]

Like are the odds of "going pro" just as difficult as it is with any other sport?

I realize being able to bowl can reward you over a lifetime and it's a big hobby of mine. My son is as good as I am (okay, I'm not that good, 120-150 but never had a lesson in my life).

My son is 14 and starting high school and he wants to take his bowling more seriously. Before I plunk down money for lessons I wanted to understand what collegiate bowling is like? I mean, I know right now college is a long ways (4 years for my son) and teenagers change their mind all the time.

But I just want to educate myself... is there a good book I can buy?

[sparesr4sissies]

College bowling can be very serious as well as very relaxed, depending on the school your son plans on attending. Many of the collegiate teams have access to some of the best coaches in the world. Make sure you do your research on which school to send your son to before deciding that he wants to bowl in college. If he gets into a good school with a good program, some of these coaches can bring bowlers to any level that they have the drive to achieve. In my personal experience (2 years of college bowling), I've had some of the best coaching in the world, and I've been able to bring my game to a level that I would have never dreamed of a few years ago. The collegiate bowling atmosphere is one of the greatest things that I have ever experienced. I would definitely recommend bowling in college. Hopefully this helps.

Aaron
http://mybowlingblog.com

[kev3inp]

Now as you're a collegiate bowler I'm stunned that you'd pick that screen name. I don't think I've ever heard a top college coach belittle the value of spare shooting. Once the carry goes if you can't spare you're meat.

[onefrombills]

Now as you're a collegiate bowler I'm stunned that you'd pick that screen name. I don't think I've ever heard a top college coach belittle the value of spare shooting. Once the carry goes if you can't spare you're meat.

Yo kev im glad you say that cause I was about to comment that I agree on all he wrote but that name.... come on.

MORE TOURNAMENTS HAVE BEEN LOST DUE TO A MISSED 10 PIN THAN STRIKING OUT IN THE 10th

[Jord_84]

Like are the odds of "going pro" just as difficult as it is with any other sport?

I realize being able to bowl can reward you over a lifetime and it's a big hobby of mine. My son is as good as I am (okay, I'm not that good, 120-150 but never had a lesson in my life).

My son is 14 and starting high school and he wants to take his bowling more seriously. Before I plunk down money for lessons I wanted to understand what collegiate bowling is like? I mean, I know right now college is a long ways (4 years for my son) and teenagers change their mind all the time.

But I just want to educate myself... is there a good book I can buy?
Does your sons school offer high school bowling? High school bowling would be a great way to take his game to the next level without shelling out money for one on one lessons.

I had a great experience with high school bowling...I realize not everyone will have the same experience but....my coaches were wonderful, they had us in the weight room during summer, and practicing 4 days a week. I went into high school with a 150-160 average, made varsity my freshman year, and ended my high school bowling career with a 196 average.

If your sons high school offers bowling, I'd suggest investing your money in good equipment and practice games instead of one on one lessons. And if he isn't already involved in a youth league, get him started! There are TONS of scholarships to be had with bowling!

[mojojojo]

I was also wondering how serious collegiate bowling was because I'm still unsure if I want to pursue bowling in college if it wasn't serious.

I currently bowl in highschool as a junior with about a 190 average, 170 sophomore year, 140 freshmen year
ps. the first time i started bowling competitively was freshmen year

[The Mayor]

It's extremely competitive. I definitely think it's something you should pursue. If you're serious about bowling, this is some of the best competition you'll ever find.

[DucksBowler]

The odds of becoming a successful tour pro after college are probably comparable to NBA. Even if you're a really good bowler, keeping your eye on the college part of collegiate bowling is the smarter investment.

The variability between new and established bowling programs in college is huge. We started Oregon's competitive program back up my sophomore year and the competition we bowled against was an eye opener for a lot of our more casual bowlers. A few of us had high school experience (a couple of us from the Indiana/Michigan area knew other bowlers from high school) so we knew how serious the scholarship programs were. There are some solid programs out west with the likes of CSU Fresno, SJSU, Weber State, Arizona and others but the majority of the scholarship programs are midwest or east. Programs like Weber International have contracts, equipment sponsorships and some of the best practice facilities in the world available to them. They scout high school tournaments.

My best advice for someone who wants to get into collegiate bowling eventually is to be active in a high school team. Coming from three years in Indiana High School Bowling to my senior year in Oregon's high school program was somewhat of a step down in terms of collegiate bowling preparation. Indiana used the Swiss format that pretty much every college tournament uses (5v5 individual scratch matches one day, baker next) whereas Oregon does a few weekend baker practice tournaments with districts being only baker games in January and all-star points determined by strike/spare point ratios for individual qualifiers. The pattern and lane difficulties don't compare to the sport shots in college, either.

Any opportunity you get to practice on sport shots (PBA or Kegel), do it. Collegiate bowling tournaments don't use house shots (some tier 2s do occasionally, I suppose). The most important thing you have to do is know how to adjust your shot as the oil breaks down. You won't learn that precision bowling on your local house shot.

[sesch300]

hi-
I currently bowl in HS bowling, and am the best on my team. (Dont mean to brag) I am a Junior in HS looking for colleges that have bowling teams. its really difficult to find a school that has the major i want (architecture) and a bowling team. Does anyone have any advice? Another thing is how do we know if the colleges team is any good? Is there a website or...?
Thanks!

[The Mayor]

www.collegebowling.com (http://www.collegebowling.com)

[mojojojo]

alot of colleges have a "bowling club" does this mean it doesn't offer coaches?
im currently looking at washington state

[DucksBowler]

alot of colleges have a "bowling club" does this mean it doesn't offer coaches?
im currently looking at washington state

A lot of schools can have a fairly strong program and still have it as a club sport. We didn't have a traveling coach as we couldn't provide expenses to make it worth someone to come along. Some clubs have a much larger budget than we did, though.

I don't know much about WSU other than they were decent when we last bowled against them. Find out who their coordinator is and chat with them about the program to get a better idea.

http://www.collegebowling.com/teams/playerlist.asp?SchPL=S0212