Derek Eoff SportBlog
July 20, 2006 SportBlog from USBC Junior Gold Championships
Youth bowling is alive and well. This past week I was at the USBC Junior Gold Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., promoting the USBC Sport Bowling program. Sport Bowling had a booth at registration and I gave a couple of seminars about Sport Bowling and discussing lane graphs and lane play.
I was very encouraged to see the amount of youth bowlers eager to learn more about the sport of bowling and wanting to challenge themselves on tougher Sport Bowling oil patterns.
Since I was only there until Tuesday evening, the Monday afternoon and evening squads were the only chance I had to watch any of the bowling. I wanted to visit each center to observe how the lanes played and how some of the bowlers were attacking the patterns.
When I first walked into Boca Raton Lanes and saw some bowlers on the first few pairs, I was pleasantly surprised. There were many young bowlers who threw the ball very well and several very raw bowlers who could benefit from a coach. Boca Raton applied the short (36-foot) pattern and it appeared to play like a typical short pattern should, outside toward the channel. I watched a lot of kids trying to play inside and throw it out to the channel. Every few shots would strike but the shots that did not either washed out or left something going Brooklyn. The few kids I did see play the correct part of the lane (going right up the outside boards) bowled well.
After leaving Boca Raton I was pleased with what I saw: a fair pattern with a lot of good young bowlers testing their skills.
Monday evening I drove over to University Lanes, the host center for Junior Gold. This center had the medium length pattern (40 feet) and could be attacked from multiple angles. I witnessed some kids playing in and some playing out and doing well. When I first walked in I saw even more kids who threw the ball well. Spares seemed to be an issue, but aren't they always with youth bowlers? I know I could not make a spare when I was younger, even though I thought I was the best spare shooter on the planet at the time.
After visiting University Lanes, I drove over to Tamarac Lanes to watch some bowling on the long pattern (44 feet). I wanted to watch some of the good young bowlers and just witness how they were attacking the pattern and some of the adjustments they were making. The pattern played inside and if you made good shots, you were rewarded.
I really enjoyed my time at Junior Gold and wish I could have witnessed the finals. I am very encouraged about bowling's young generation. I saw a lot of very good young bowlers who were very raw and eager to learn.
Congratulations to those who made USBC Junior Team USA and good luck next year.
Youth bowling is alive and well. This past week I was at the USBC Junior Gold Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., promoting the USBC Sport Bowling program. Sport Bowling had a booth at registration and I gave a couple of seminars about Sport Bowling and discussing lane graphs and lane play.
I was very encouraged to see the amount of youth bowlers eager to learn more about the sport of bowling and wanting to challenge themselves on tougher Sport Bowling oil patterns.
Since I was only there until Tuesday evening, the Monday afternoon and evening squads were the only chance I had to watch any of the bowling. I wanted to visit each center to observe how the lanes played and how some of the bowlers were attacking the patterns.
When I first walked into Boca Raton Lanes and saw some bowlers on the first few pairs, I was pleasantly surprised. There were many young bowlers who threw the ball very well and several very raw bowlers who could benefit from a coach. Boca Raton applied the short (36-foot) pattern and it appeared to play like a typical short pattern should, outside toward the channel. I watched a lot of kids trying to play inside and throw it out to the channel. Every few shots would strike but the shots that did not either washed out or left something going Brooklyn. The few kids I did see play the correct part of the lane (going right up the outside boards) bowled well.
After leaving Boca Raton I was pleased with what I saw: a fair pattern with a lot of good young bowlers testing their skills.
Monday evening I drove over to University Lanes, the host center for Junior Gold. This center had the medium length pattern (40 feet) and could be attacked from multiple angles. I witnessed some kids playing in and some playing out and doing well. When I first walked in I saw even more kids who threw the ball well. Spares seemed to be an issue, but aren't they always with youth bowlers? I know I could not make a spare when I was younger, even though I thought I was the best spare shooter on the planet at the time.
After visiting University Lanes, I drove over to Tamarac Lanes to watch some bowling on the long pattern (44 feet). I wanted to watch some of the good young bowlers and just witness how they were attacking the pattern and some of the adjustments they were making. The pattern played inside and if you made good shots, you were rewarded.
I really enjoyed my time at Junior Gold and wish I could have witnessed the finals. I am very encouraged about bowling's young generation. I saw a lot of very good young bowlers who were very raw and eager to learn.
Congratulations to those who made USBC Junior Team USA and good luck next year.