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Thread: Will I even have a chance to bowl in college?

  1. #11

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    Thats for the great advice everyone! I feel a lot better about my chances now, and I appreciate all of your input!
    220/300x4/761

    I only throw a hyroad

  2. #12

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    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.
    In bag: IQ Tour Pearl, Marvel-S, IQ Tour, Lights Out, Totally Defiant, HyRoad Pearl
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  3. #13

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    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.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by explorer05 View Post
    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.
    John

  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by J Anderson View Post
    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.
    220/300x4/761

    I only throw a hyroad

  6. #16
    Bowling God billf's Avatar
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    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.
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  7. #17
    Pin Crusher noeymc's Avatar
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    bill u ran a 4.3??? =O i thought my 4.4 4.5 was good
    Stroker
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  8. #18

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    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...ionships-2013/

    Thank you so much!

    Chelsea Herrera
    Twitter: @chelsbowls
    Wordpress: Bowling in Wichita

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