The "I've been out of bowling for years, and I'm back!" thread

[Eddy]

I figured this might be a good thread for those of us just getting back into it after a long layoff. We can post anything that concerns us like equipment choices, physical concerns, the mental game, or just to post how we're doing lately. Post your history of how you got into bowling, how you did along the way before you quit, why you quit, why you came back, etc. Basically anything. There is no minimum number of years you need to qualify for this thread. Heck, really there's no requirements at all. Just thought it would be nice for us people getting back into bowling to have a thread of our own.

Anyone want to start? I will post my own story soon.

[boatman37]

Well ok!

Sat out about 16 years (2002 until 2018)

I started out around 1980 in 5th grade in the school leagues. I had an 8lb Columbia Yellow Dot. Bowled all through school until graduation. 7th or 8th grade I won a trophy for highest game and series in my league (212/476). Bowled up until about 2002 (did sit out a couple of years in that span). Had a 193 average when I quit. I tore tendons in my elbow at work in 2002 and had surgery in 2003. In my teen/adult years I used a Brunswick Black Beauty until I bought a Brunswick Cobalt Rhino around 1990. I kept the Black Beauty for really dry lanes or for spares. Thinking I would have to give up bowling for good I threw everything in the dumpster when we cleaned the basement out. Went to a few birthday bowling parties and threw a few games then went to cosmic bowling with a friend and started thinking maybe I could do this again. About 6 weeks ago I called my friend (who I had always bowled with) and mentioned it to him. The next Tuesday went to the center and met the team with the intentions of being a sub for this year. Told them I would be back the following week to hang out. The following Monday my friend texted and said the one guy on the team had carpal tunnel surgery and wasn't going to bowl that week so I filled in. I have a big thumb so finding a ball that fits is pretty tough. Ended up using a teammates right handed ball (I'm a lefty). Rolled a 510 that night. Pretty happy with that considering the circumstances. The following Monday got a text from the team captain saying the one guy texted him and said he quit and asked if I wanted to be full-time. Heck yeah! The following week got a Storm Sync off a fellow lefty and rolled a 244 my first game with it. It didn't fit me well. The span was too close and the holes too big. Had to squeeze it to hold on. My forearm was sore for days after bowling. Used it again week 3 and rolled a 476 and struggled. Week 4 used a right Hammer Spike and rolled a 433...ughhhh. At the end of the night went in the pro shop and bought a new Hammer Black Widow Gold. Picked it up last night and rolled a 509. Not good but at least the ball was consistent for me.

Definitely glad I got back into it but still need work. My form is pretty bad. I never had great form to begin with. I was in a car accident when I was 4 and can't use my right arm so always had balance issues at the line so I had my own style that worked for me. I never had a slide but not sure it ever affected my game. Now I am about 30lbs heavier than I was when I quit and I don't think I am getting low enough on my release. I'm sure I can work through this but my biggest issue now is spares. Very inconsistent and having 3 or 4 opens each game. Spares used to be my strong point. A bad night was 2 or 3 opens in a series. I was definitely better with that this past week so I'm getting there. Knees are sore for a few days after each night so definitely have to work on my approach. I'm 49 now but never had knee issues until this. Right now I just feel kind of awkward at the line. Seems like I am throwing harder than I used to. Been throwing anywhere from 16.5 to 18 MPH, depending on ball. I try to slow down my approach but it messes with my timing and feels even more whacky. I need to go bowl for a few hours on an off night but my concerns with that are that I don't want to be too sore for league night then. I bowl on Tuesdays and the following Monday I'm still a little sore. Hoping the new ball helps with some of the shoulder and elbow soreness. Then I will just have to worry about the knees.

Oh, I got into bowling because my dad bowled alot. His uncle owned a bowling alley when he was a kid and he bowled all the time. He had about a 200 average in the 60's. When I was a baby he worked at the local bowling alley as a mechanic. He then worked in a steel mill and they had a league so I would go sit and watch him. As soon as I could join a league I did. He quit bowling around the mid 80's when the mill shut down.

[Phonetek]

And there it is! Thanks Eddie! I knew you'd make this post!

Well I think most already know my story from various threads as well as equipment and physical concerns. However, I can't really remember why I ever stopped bowling for 10yrs actually longer if I think about it. I went from being on multiple leagues, high stakes pot games every week and lots of tourneys and practice on a constant basis.

Things started to dwindle away slowly over a few years until I was down to one league, no practice, pot games or tourneys at all. Maybe I was burned out? Nah! I think it was more because my career was at it's peak, lots of overtime and my kids were all very young. Currently they are 16, 13 & 11 so we seemed to always have one in diapers all the time for years as they weren't spaced that far out. It was a lot to handle there for a while. So I really didn't think about bowling much if at all.

Then we moved a bunch of times and each move I got rid of more and more equipment because it was a PITA to move over 40 bowling balls each time. Hind sight I wish I didn't but I had no idea I'd be back into it today. I really thought my bowling days were behind me for good. Bottom line...Life happened and sometimes you can't avoid it. Out of the blue after this past Christmas we had friends in from out of state and bowling came up. We talked about it for a while and decided to go. Funny thing was, we went to go to a local house that I used to bowl at and they followed me. I must have drove around a half hour because I must have kept passing the lanes. As it turns out, the bowling alley is now a Salvation Army store. DOH! We almost gave up and went home. Luckily I remembered another one that was very close and it was open.

I was on the lanes in the second game and I turned to my wife and said "Boy THIS is exactly what I needed!" It was only for a good time, nobody else besides my wife was ever into bowling. It was more of putting on an exhibition for them because they were in awe that someone could actual have form and hook a ball. A new concept for my friends who really only went for the pizza and beer. I gotta say it was exhilarating to say the least.

My wife said it was the first time she seen me smile in months and even the kids noticed. My 16yr old came to me later and said "Dad, you're a great bowler. I was very proud watching you and blown away. I knew you know how to bowl but I never expected that. You GOTTA get back into it!" Now that coming from my oldest? WHOA! That was huge! Truth be told, I didn't even bowl great. I shot okay, I don't remember the exact scores but in 3 games I only had 2 opens. They were just under and just over 200. I did however pick up a 4-10 split and they were in shock. To all of them it might as well have been a 900 series. LOL

After we got home I thought about it and said "Well maybe I should sub on a league or something?" Then my 13yr old whom I've talked about it great length on here already asked me to teach him. I figured okay, I can do that and just have fun with him but I won't get into it hard core. We've went several times, he's progressing well. Suddenly, my approach is clicking, timing is spot on, my ball is rolling well despite the bad fit. I'm out there killing it with antiquated dead equipment and a bad hand.

I told my wife last night "Bowling is calling to me!" I think my best bowling is still ahead of me rather than already happened in the past. I want to coach, bowl everywhere and get into everything I can. I can't explain it. Heck, as I posted earlier today I'm going to be working in a bowling alley. LOL What's left? They say everything happens for a reason...I really don't get it to be honest. I will say that prior to this I was in a pretty serious deep depression. This is the first time I've had confidence in myself about anything in like 4 years no joke.

I feel like I can finally get my life on track because of the confidence and of course having a job. I kid you not, a few months ago I was so depressed I had anxiety attacks just leaving the house. I would be awake for 3 days and sleep for 2. It was that bad. (long story behind it, or should I say longer? Suffice it to say if I told it, it would make an onion cry.) I think the moral of the story here folks is IF YOU LOVE BOWLING....NEVER...NEVER GIVE IT UP! You will just end up creating a void in your life. If you do I hope you find something that suits you better.

It's a great game that you can always strive to get better at no matter how good you are. Nobody has ever "mastered it 100%" It's good for the mind, it's good for the body (exorcise) and good way to be out of the house in a social atmosphere. Trust me, I'm ready to go tell my therapist to go pound sand because I don't need her anymore! She sucks anyway. All that because of one night with friends out of the blue. How cool is that? Okay, so now that I've just made the War & Peace length post I'll leave it with this..... I love this game and I'm glad a part of it! Happy Bowling and thanks again Eddie for creating this thread! You should win a bowling ball!

[Eddy]

thanks again Eddie for creating this thread! You should win a bowling ball!

I can only hope. Thanks Boatman and Phonetek for starting off this thread and sharing your stories. I will bump this thread if it drifts near the bottom so others can easily see it and participate.

Anyway, here's my story:

It was around 1973/74 when I got interested in bowling, but I don't remember exactly why or how. But I do remember going to the local department store and getting a ball drilled by a store employee. Back then in wasn't uncommon for casual bowlers to get their ball "fitted" by a local yocal. Anyway, it fit my hand pretty well and I was off to the races. I joined a junior league and had a ton of fun. I was pretty good for my age (around 10) and bowled my first 200 soon after starting. I shudder to think how good I could have been if I had stuck with it throughout the years, because I really had a God given ability to pick up any sport and do well at it.

That lasted for about 2 years and then I discovered girls. Need I say more?

We have to fast forward to 1986 until I became interested in bowling again, and immediately fell in love with the sport. I bought a Columbia Yellow Dot and started on my adventure. The more I learned about bowling, the more I knew I needed better equipment and decided to go with Hammer for whatever reason that I can't remember. I got to the point that I loved bowling so much I bowled in league 6 nights a week. I wasn't great, but enjoyed it very much and averaged in the 180's. But then in '97 I suddenly lost interest, and really have no explanation as to why.

Life happened for the next 20 years, but I would occasionally think about getting back into it and do nothing about it. I think I actually posted here a few years back saying that I am going to try and get back into it, but it never happened.

Then last year while in the gym, it really hit me to get back into bowling but I still did nothing about it. Then I got a text from a co-worker that wasn't a bowler, but asked me if I bowl because he wanted to try it. I said "yes, I used to bowl a lot". That was it. I knew from that moment on that I was going to get back into it and enjoy every moment. Since August of last year, I've spent around $1,800 on equipment, including a ball spinner, 7 balls, and every accessory one could need. As you can see, once I made up my mind about bowling, I was going to go all out. If I could go back in time, I would ease up on the spending a bit, but I'm not the kind of person to have regrets or worry about it. Needless to say, I can't use equipment as an excuse lol.

After 2 months back in Sept. while on vacation I went out to do some open bowling and continue to work on my game. My last game of a 5 game set was a 299! I thought I was on my way to great things for the '17/'18 season. Not! I can't believe how hard it has been for me to at least get close to where I was in '97. (was ave. 190's) It has been a major struggle mentally and physically for me to average 175 so far this year. I guess I expected too much too soon, and got a little down on myself that I can't keep up with other bowlers and help my team more.

But I'm not gonna give up and I'll be patient. I do throw the occasional 220-250 game, so I know I can do it, but I have too many bad games for my liking. That's about it for now, thanks again to Phonetek and Boatman for kicking things off. Don't be afraid to post updates here to keep the thread alive. Maybe we can inspire other bowlers to keep trying and have fun.

[boatman37]

Geeezzzz Eddy. Sounds like my results this year. My first week I did better than I thought I would then the first game my 2nd week was a 244 so I figured I was back. Since then I struggle to break 170. And my average was about 193 when I quit 16 years ago.

Anyway, bought a new Hammer Black Widow Gold and used it this past Tuesday. Did a little better but still only manage a 183 high. I went practicing yesterday and rolled a 211/538 but my spares were much better.

[Eddy]

I have to keep reminding myself to not get pissed off at myself and give it more time. It's probably gonna take me a full year before I feel I am at least most of the way back. We'll see, bowling can be a fickle mistress at times.

[Phonetek]

Just keep practicing and it will come together. Unfortunately it seems bowling isn't one of those things you can continue right where you left off. I never even liked summer break

[EMyers]

Last bowled in 2014, last game was a 230 that would've been better if my thumb plug didn't break in the 7th. Getting back into it after recovering from some pretty major ankle surgery, heading to the pro shop to get a quote on some new gear and shoes.

[Phonetek]

Welcome back to bowling! I think when you get some new stuff and get back out there you'll really enjoy it. I see that's also your first post on here too, let me be the first to welcome you to bowlingboards.com. There is a wealth of valuable information on here. Feel free to ask whatever questions you want, lots of smart bowlers and coaches on here.

[EMyers]

Welcome back to bowling! I think when you get some new stuff and get back out there you'll really enjoy it. I see that's also your first post on here too, let me be the first to welcome you to bowlingboards.com. There is a wealth of valuable information on here. Feel free to ask whatever questions you want, lots of smart bowlers and coaches on here.

Thanks for the welcome! Huge fan of the forum already and found quite a bit of info. I'll post around for sure while I wait for league to start up in April.