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TV Day
 

Sean Rash Mike Scroggins Mike DeVaney Patrick Healey Jr.
Game 1 Game 2

Championship

 

I was preparing for this to be a pretty high scoring TV show. Mike Scroggins had lit them up all week and the other three guys had used similar strategies during match play. Playing in the same area of the lane would allow the three of them to work together and transition the lanes in a higher scoring fashion. But on TV you have to be prepared for anything.

I was surprised when I saw Pat Healey deciding to use a dull ball and take almost all of his practice shots around 18 at the arrows. I am sure he had a solid game plan but I am not sure what it was. It was not what he had done during the matches I watched him in. When he bowled Chris Barnes in the round of 16, he started around 8 and followed it left. I have experienced this strategy many times but it usually doesn't work out very well when there is a lefty on the show. It usually lowers the scoring pace on the right. This strategy forces the bowlers to move left very quickly and by the time they get to the championship game the right handers are playing left of 20 while the lefties are still playing 5. The most obvious effect is poor carry percentage and quick transition as the lay down area gets thinner and thinner the further you move left once you get on the other side of the middle arrow.

I had hoped Pat would see what Mike and Sean where doing and react by moving out with them. Sean and Mike stayed right hoping to get that part of the lane set up for easier transitions and a higher scoring pace. Pat was intent on his game plan and with about 4 minutes to go in practice I told Mike and Sean to get in there with Pat and not let him take advantage of what they were trying to do. Pat has much slower speed than Mike D. and Sean Rash and needs as much push as he can get. If he wanted it to go left we could help him real fast. With the rev rates of Sean and Mike, the fronts can transition very fast. With this pattern and the TV lights there would be no way to avoid a lot of oil down lane.

Staying right as long as they did helped hold up the lay down area a little longer. This was evident in the look Sean had in game one. Had they jumped left with Pat sooner we might have seen another lefty win because of the right handers fighting against each other. You could see how quickly the lane transitioned during the Healey/DeVaney match and by the time Sean got back out for the Championship match there was a lot of oil down lane with a lot less push than what he had in game one.

It looked like Mike Scroggins had a decent look but was not using the ball he had used during the week so I knew he was seeing something different. He was using a much duller ball.  

Game 1   Sean Rash vs Mike Scroggins    
         
Rash       Scroggins
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I really expected this to be a very tough match. Mike had such a good look all week long. Not that Sean's look wasn't good too, but Mike has been on TV a few more times. I was a little discouraged by the strategy of Patrick Healey during practice but his strategy is his own.

I wasn't worried about the first game, Sean had a really good look with the same ball he had used most of the week.

As the match unfolded Mike didn't have much of a look. I think he was expecting more friction on the gutter. Both sides of the lane were pretty tight on the gutter. He started with a different ball than he used during the week and it was sanded with 360 grit to try and get it to pick up.

Half way through the match Mike was still searching but was still in the match. By that time Sean was getting comfortable and confident with his look. And the end of the match was anti climactic.

Sean had passed the first test and was going to have the opportunity that others can only dream of.

His first show and a chance to win. 

 
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Game 2   Mike DeVaney vs Patrick Healey Jr.    
         
DeVaney       Healey Jr
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On the way over to the TV pair I told Pat and Mike they should shake Sean's hand because they should thank him for taking out the lefty. Had Sean lost to Mike I wouldn't like anybodies chances of beating Mike from left of 20 and oil down lane. You could see the transition happen during this match and it wasn't a good combination.

All week long the best way to deal with the oil down lane was slower speed. But when the break point was moved left getting soft was less of an option because you had to worry about push. If a bowler tried to get their break point further right they would have to get it through the traffic and that would not be as easy. That would force the bowlers to square up to the transition and you can't do that with as slow a speed option. Trying to use angle and slower speed would force them to get real deep and only push the mound in the middle to their break point. The trap had been built and now they had to deal with it. If either of the bowlers had softer touch skills they could have moved right but that is not their strengths.

Since Mike S. did not win the first match it was game on. May the best righty win. Do what you want with the lane now.

 
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Game 3   Sean Rash vs Mike DeVaney    
         
Rash       DeVaney
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Brunswick vs Brunswick doesn't change the fact that one was going to loose and both of these guys wanted this win very badly. Mike needs it to get back into the T of C and a victory for Sean would mean a job for next year.

I was pretty comfortable with what the guys were doing during their practice shots. But I started to get more uncomfortable when I saw Sean wanting to open up his angles through the front part of the lane.

I could tell he wanted to use the Inferno he had used most of the week and when his angles were shut down it would check on imperfect shots. He had a look with a Vapor Zone we drilled for the show but I understand the uncomfortable feeling of throwing a ball you do not know. The Inferno read earlier and smoother than the Vapor Zone so when Sean went left he opened the lane up earlier trying to use the mid lane and and earlier break point. It worked during practice and he decided to start with the Inferno and more extreme angles than I thought he should. Keep in mind that what a bowler sees from the foul line usually is not the same as what we see from further away. The instinct of opening up his angles is natural for Sean at this point in his career and will be until he is in better control of his swing plane and understands transition better. Mike seemed caught in the middle of transition. He had used an Ultimate during the late games of matches during match play but the transition was different on TV. There was a bunch of oil down lane and the breakdown was deeper. The ball that got through the pins the best was the Classic Zone but it was more sensitive on the lane. The Ultimate controlled the lane but it didn't strike as much when he got to the pocket. He had to assume the scoring pace was higher than 200. There was no reason to think otherwise. So choosing the ball that got through the pins better seemed to be the right option. Every week a bowler is challenged with making a choice between controlling the pocket or enhancing the carry. It is great when you have both but reality is that does not happen much of the time.

All week long transition was quick and drastic. Those that matched up the best used angle to create hold and slower speed and higher revs to create recovery. But that option had been wiped out during the practice session and the first two matches on TV. I thought straighter angles with arc was the right choice but when Sean decided to increase his angles with an arc shape transition was effected even further.

I really expected Mike to have the advantage when Sean decided to open his angles. Mike is TV smart and we had discussed keeping his angles shut down. I think I could have done a better job of giving them a clearer picture of the scoring pace but I got caught off guard when Seam opened up his angles. As soon as he did that I thought the scoring pace went down about 20 pins. The oil down lane and using a ball that was more speed sensitive was Mike's downfall.

There was a huge mound of oil in the middle of the lane and when you started pushing it sideways it is much harder to deal with if you are having to deal with traffic inside of the track that was going up the lane. Getting sideways to the breakdown was going to lower the scoring pace. As I look back I think Mike would have been better going with the control ball instead of the ball that got through the pins better.

Mike had the right idea when he tried to square up to the lane but when he did he jumped to the right edge of the breakdown and threw the ball too hard. That part of the lane was very dangerous. The same idea parallel left would have been the right choice. That is what he did late but it was a couple frames too late.

The emphasis with Sean this week was trying to teach him that the show is a bonus round. Don't get caught up in trying to find the perfect ball and the perfect line. Focus on getting the most comfortable ball in his hand and get it close. Things happen to quick and too drastic on TV to waste time trying to be perfect. He took it one step further. He reverted to his comfort zone with his angles when he is in that part of the lane. I did have to give him a spanking and ground him one week for using bad judgment on his angles. Of course that will take effect after we celebrate his victory.

Like I said earlier I knew I was going to feel bad for one of the guys and this week it is Mike DeVaney. The guy has come so far with his development. I remember his first stint on tour when he couldn't pick up a spare.

He sent home and came back a much better spare shooter and that development has not stopped there. I have worked with him several times in the last couple years and have found him to be more versatile than I had given him credit for and he is seeing a much clearer picture about good ball reaction.

I think I could of helped him out a little better this week on the show so for that I feel like I could have done a better job.

Oh and by the way the guy who posted on the PBA web site that said he saw Mike give a thumbs up to someone on the sidelines after his first shot of the match and thought it was to me. It was'nt. I was no where near the TV set.

 

 
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