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View Full Version : How do we get more bowlers into the sport?



johncongdon
10-13-2010, 08:25 PM
I just joined a league and brought with me 3 bowlers that would not normally bowl a league. Unfortunately it is a competitive league. I guess they had problems with sandbagging before, so they have a 50 pin cap on handicap.

My two bowlers are averaging well under 147.50 which is the minimum you should to get 50 pins.

They are discouraged, and may not bowl another league. Here I am trying to bring new bowlers only to have them kind of turned away... :(

strikebo
10-14-2010, 05:47 PM
Believe it or not, the average recreational bowler, though capable of performing well on the bowling alley, may be at a total loss when it comes to being able to keeping score.
Many bowling alleys now have an automatic scoring system that does all the figuring of the scores for them. While it isn't exactly a skill that can contribute to an improved game, fully understanding bowling includes knowing how to score a game.
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Strikebo
Every winner
every winner comes with a great shirt that he should say "thank you" for because every shirt that the player puts on is a factor in his or her performance.

Coach 3G
10-18-2010, 01:24 AM
John,

The situation seems unfortunate. I've recently seen leagues going to extremes to combat sandbagging, and it in turn hurts the leagues integrity at the end of the day. Funny how that is what they are trying to prevent. To get more bowlers into leagues and in the doors I think it all starts with the youth. I was glad to see that "YES" seems like it is going to take off. It is a youth program for 8-12 year olds that will help prepare them for things like high school bowling and beyond. There is some coverage on this in the clinic section of BJI.

As for your problem at hand the only thing I could think is finding another league, or get them some coaching quick to get them up to the 150 average range (easier said than done with some bowlers, especially if they are just looking to have fun).

I may just be rambling at this point but I think there needs to be a distinction between competitive leagues and fun leagues. The feedback at year end from one of our leagues was things like "we love the competition" only to find that other teams were stating the opposite like "teams are too competitive, we just want to have a good time." I don't think finding a middle ground in most instances will work and I think there just needs to be all kinds of leagues, with all kinds of formats, lengths, and levels of competition, hopefully that every bowler can find one that suits them best.

Hope everything turns out okay and they don't get turned off from bowling.

WAC4504
10-18-2010, 10:46 PM
Hey John sorry to hear about your problem, and I can understand how difficult it must be. I have a team mate on one of my teams that has a 117 average and needs all the handicap she can get. But like the Coach said you may need to find another league. Up here in Memphis we have a wide verity of leagues, sanctioned and unsanctioned, and one even advertises in big bold print " this is a fun league". So John if you can find a fun league you might want to switch, and it would not only be moor fun, but would give your friends a chance to find out how leagues work. As far as how to get moor people into bowling, there's going to have to be some sort of entry level leagues or something. 'Cause, the word league scares the ( you know what ) out of most people that have never done it before. Good luck.

PSBA10
10-18-2010, 11:47 PM
The answer to the question of "How can we get more bowlers into the sport" is simply to ask. Typically what happens if there are openings in leagues goes something like this: Hey Joe, you don't bowl on Wednesdays. How about joining our Wednesday league. We need bowlers, and you would fit right in. This scenario happens all too often. Rather than asking someone who does not currently bowl in a league, we overburden our established bowlers to the point of burn-out.

I like and encourage all the youth programs, but they will not save our sport. When our young bowlers leave school most change priorities. They start looking for jobs, then start having families that they have to support. Again typically these young people leave bowling after school and don't come back for 10 to 15 years if ever. The youth programs of today hopefully will make it easier to recruit these former bowlers into leagues in the future.

The common denominator to both of these scenarios is someone needs to ask these people to participate. Without personal intervention the sport will never grow.

Think back to when you first got involved. Did you just walk through the door, or did someone invite you? Do the next generation the same favor: ASK. The worst they can say is no, but if they say yes.....

The Mayor
10-21-2010, 12:33 PM
Does it matter what kind of league you join at first? If you get a rush when you pick up your first split or bowl your first 200 game, you're probably going to stick with it just to feel that feeling again. Right? Sure, it can be frustrating to see people scoring very well while you're bowling 130's, but it may also make them want to strive to get to that level.

Maybe the key to keeping someone in bowling is to know something about their personality before you ask them to join a certain league. If you have a friend who is always looking for someone to reassure them of things or isn't very confident, maybe you ask them to join a fun league that isn't very serious at first. Ease them in. But, if you have a friend who is very open minded and likes a challenge, they may actually benefit from starting at the highest level. It will get under their skin enough to make them try that much harder.

Not everyone is going to stick with bowling, but maybe with the right environment our odds of keeping them will multiply by quite a bit.

PSBA10
10-21-2010, 11:47 PM
Excellent thoughts Whiskey Basin.

Anymore though, I find that people are hesitant to even ask. You are right though, knowing the league and the person's personality will ultimately make a big difference in if they stay with the sport or not.

Unclesalty
10-28-2010, 03:11 AM
Hey john,
Maybe you could get them into a 9pin No-tap league. Just to get the fundamentals down. Something with 90% OF 200?
a "just for fun league", may be less stressful for them.

richc
11-30-2010, 12:17 PM
Introducing bowlers into a league structured to accept their relative skill levels easily is the first consideration when trying to recruit new people into league bowling. It is easy to discourage new bowlers if they are "over-their heads" in skill level.

Kudos to you for trying to get more people into the game. There are certainly some good thoughts presented in other replies. Getting someone hooked on bowling is to give them reasonable challenges and group them with contemporaries. Once a bowler gets bitten by the bowling bug, usually that person will remain a loyal bowler for a very long time.