After 2 Seasons of Mixed League, Switching to Doubles

[Konvict1982]

TLDNR:
-Hate people who can't commit to a team for a season!
-Hate people who leave teams and don't pay their dues!
-Going to miss mixed leagues but looking forward to a solid doubles league!
-Anyone else have problems keeping team together?

This is more of a rant than a post but it goes like this ...

I started bowling a little over a year ago and last fall was my first league. A buddy of mine who started bowling at the same time as me convinced me to join a league with him and for the most part I am happy I did. We both enjoy bowling together and have progressed at about the same speed pushing each other with friendly rivalries and what not. Well last fall we bowled in a Sunday night mixed league that went 32 weeks due to that being his only available night to bowl at the time. At the first meet and greet we were paired with a couple a little older than us but seemingly nice people and the season began. First night of league we show up only to be informed that the couple could no longer commit so we needed to find new teammates or be split up onto separate teams. Later that week while open bowling we got to talking with a younger couple who were interested in bowling league and so they joined our team. Fast forward to the last half of the season the female turned 21 and all of a sudden they started missing weeks to go party and club. Then there were nights were the girl got so sloppy drunk she couldn't even walk and sometimes even started crying hysterically for no reason. We gave her a choice at that point that she could either go party and act a fool or she could bowl league with us but not both at the same time. This caused a rift and even though we managed to finish the season it left a sour taste in the end.

Come summer league we picked up a younger female who bowled for another team during the fall league and my buddies brother who had recently moved to the area. We thought this would be a solid team and we started the league in first place and held it for 3 weeks until the female missed 2 weeks and informed us she was leaving on vacation for 2 weeks and then starting a job when she got back. We told her no worries we understood but she still needed to pay for the 2 weeks prior. At this point we picked up a female sub who had also bowled for another team in our fall league and she became a full time team member. All was good until 2 weeks ago when my buddies brother quit his job for another job which had him working on league night. We told him we understood but he still had to pay his dues for the 2 weeks prior. Now we are short a member and the original female and my buddies brother have neither paid their dues and the league president informed us with the end of the season coming up that the $60 will be taken from our prize fund if not payed before the end. By this point with all of the chaos we have dropped to 10th place and likely won't see much of a payout at all.

I have made a lot of friends bowling but most have solid teams or only looking for 1 and me and my buddy want to continue bowling together since it is something we started together and enjoy pushing each other. I really enjoy the atmosphere in our mixed league nights but am so tired of all of the chaos from people who can't or won't stay committed to a team for a full season. So my buddy has convinced me that we should just bowl doubles this fall rather than look for new teammates. On one hand I am happy because we bowl good together and are both dedicated to practicing and improving while at the same time having fun, but then there is the side of me going yes but what about bettering the sport by convincing and giving new people a chance to bowl with us and experience leagues.

I definitely plan on being a sub in fall mixed leagues since I live less than 5 minutes from the alley and have a lot of people who enjoy bowling with me and have given me advice and watched me improve over this past year. However I will definitely miss seeing so many people every week on mixed league nights.

Has anyone else had this problem getting solid teams together?

[tccstudent]

Sometimes it can be tough finding teammates. Right now I am trying to put togather a team for a 5 man scratch league where my team from last year dont want to bowl this year.
right now I have 3 and just need to more
sometimes life happens and people lose jobs or switch jobs where they cant bowl anymore and thats understandable then you sometimes have a few that really want to bowl but really cant afford to and that can create problems too

[Amyers]

Yeah getting a good team together can be rough the first couple of years. After that if your good and friendly it's not so hard. I have people texting me wanting me to join their teams quite a bit now.

[tccstudent]

I am a prick and get asked all the time to bowl

[Amyers]

I am a prick and get asked all the time to bowl

Well I guess if your good enough that works too

[Blacksox1]

I am a prick and get asked all the time to bowl

Maybe you have the Gift ?

[Konvict1982]

HAHA great responses guys. I am starting to get to that point where more and more people are keeping an eye on me and I could probably find a spot on a solid team but like I said I really want to keep bowling with my buddy who started with me. So yeah we will bowl doubles over the fall and sub on the other leagues as needed/wanted. Maybe we will meet a nice couple in doubles and form a 4 man team next season or maybe we will meet some nice people open bowling. Anyway about it I am going to keep bowling my game and hopefully make many more friends over the years.

[Shaneshu87]

glad you have found a good bowling buddy, me and my best friend have NEVER not bowled on the same team, matter of fact when i took a 2 year hiatus from bowling, so did he. this fall we are making our triumphant return to mixed league 5 person teams and it's going to be EPIC, angels will sing songs of our beauty and grace as we destroy the competition and take 1st place! lol at least thats how my dreams go...

[Hampe]

That sucks dude. The 2 leagues around here are pretty stable with some teams that have been around for 30 years+. The company league I'm in even has enough teams (36) to have divisions based on average (with about 8 teams per division). You do have people changing teams for different reasons, and every once in a while a team will fold (or just change their name) because the company will no longer support them, but for the most part you have the same teams every year.

I hope you and your buddy can find some reliable teammates.

[MICHAEL]

When possible for many reasons!! ONE the oil doesn't get as scrambled as with 4 or 5 person teams. Two,,, less sitting around waiting on people.
3. I don't like most people, so the fewer to deal with the better! 4. Home much earlier! 5. Less fricken balls in the ball rack,,, doesn't take me as long to find mine. Did I say I didn't like real people much??? LOL
Keeping a team together is not nearly as difficult when you just have One other bowler!

BETTER SCORES due to ALL THE ABOVE.... ( good luck ice