This section will be used to discuss the weeks strategies.
I was very anxious to see the Shark pattern because I believed
our new cover-stocks where going to make a difference in our
performance. Through out the years the longer patterns with no
hold have been our weakest pattern. We have always been able to
control the pocket but when the scoring pace is high our carry
suffered late in the blocks.
Shark pattern is about the ability to create a lateral window at
a spot further down the lane. There can be several ways to
create this but the number of ways to create this changes when
the field of bowlers have a large percentage of high speed high
rev players. The longer patterns play dramatically different
depending on the styles of players making up the field. This is
also a consideration when going from qualifying to match-play.
The format of this week will change strategic plans as well.
The strategic plans will also be effected by the use of Absolute
Control on an older synthetic lane surface. The results of this
tournament would be different if the surface and oil where
changed.
Where ever the field starts we will see rapid transitions.
The week is over and I am flying to Baltimore if that tells you
how far behind I have gotten. I am a full tournament behind but
that is the way it goes. I never know what the work load will be
like. The last two weeks have been close to my Brunswick home so
I have been blessed with Brunsfamily and friends. I also had one
of my sons and a bowling friend of his to enjoy the holidays
with. My son and his friend love bowling and look for every
opportunity they can to experience more challenging conditions.
They get bored of bowling on league walls and aspire to
challenge themselves with a different course.
The week was a real hit. I was talking about the challenge this
pattern as been for us and the results were fantastic. Bring it
on the deep water killers we have the ammunition we need to reel
em in.
The Pearl Fury and Twisted Fury are just what the doctor ordered
and makes me welcome the late games in any block. I have the
choice of symmetric and asymmetric in covers that don't slow
down through the traffic in the front part of the lane and the
sludge that seems to gather at the breakpoint.
Take a look at how Parker performed this week. Parker has become
Mr. 33rd on the Shark pattern. He tells me he has finished first
out on the Shark pattern 5 times in the last 2 years.
For the most part the tournament played out as expected. The
track area blew up very fast and bowlers were forced one
direction or the other. With this field of bowlers most are
going to go left and they had to go in a hurry. Because Absolute
Control oil goes down the lane so fast I liked the idea of
starting deep on the fresh to keep the break point closer to the
pocket. It doesn't matter where you start the oil is going to go
down the lane quickly and I would rather the break point be
closer to the pocket than further. A bowler would see less fresh
transition if he chose to play deep on the fresh and then chase
it back towards the track by the second or third game.
Once the early transitions mellowed out you would see everybody
creeping left gradually because Absolute Control is a very
volatile oil. That doesn't mean it is bad it just means you have
to react quickly because it doesn't stay put very long.
You got to witness this on the show. Don't believe all the BS
about crooked play by the players that forced the bowlers to the
left gutter. It was very predictable considering the style and
order of the players on the show. Notice the two bowlers that
seemed to be in the most control of their ball reaction. They
wore a Big B on their chest. Oh and the winner of the tournament
is an extended family member of ours.
Robert Smith is going to be very dangerous with the Elite
bowling balls. I like the cover/core combinations Nick and his
team are putting together.
Bowler development
The invisible course in bowling can be as easy or as
difficult as desired.
This invisible course is what makes bowling so unique when
compared to other sports. The playing surface in all other
sports is either regulated to very tight specs for consistency
across competitive environments...or the course challenges are
visible to the human eye. Bowling is an obstacle course that
bowlers must use their physical skills and probing tools to
challenge their opponent.
Many bowlers deal with the invisibility in different fashions.
The first thing I teach my students about the game is that
bowling is...always has been...and always will be about
transitions of this invisible course. What other sport can boast
the skills required to deal with an invisible course.
Imagine playing any other sport with the invisible challenges
bowling deals with...it will bring a smile to your face.
Football, Baseball, Basketball, Golf, Hockey, or any other sport
you can imagine would take on a totally different look if they
had to deal with a constantly changing environment that is
invisible to the human eye.
A bowler is required to use a combination of repetition,
versatility, creativity, feel, observation skills, knowledge,
experience, and a type of mental thought process that separates
our sport from any other.
A bowler is challenged to commit their strategy and execution in
an environment of constantly changing obstacles. Bowling has a
recreation is quite simple but bowling as a sport is not a game
for the mentally weak.
The bowler with physical skills is at an elementary level of our
sport and unless he or she realizes what the sport of bowling is
about they will plateau. There are a lot of bowlers who get to
this level and simply do not fair well when they are challenged
with what sport bowling is all about.
Great bowlers are artists with the ability to see, feel, and
trust what their senses are telling them. The creativity and
feel of a great bowler is a product of the development in their
human senses. This requires a level of focus and confidence in
human senses that rivals that of any sport. Bowlers who have
reached this stage of development get feedback that is then
processed through the mind to develop strategic Game Plans.
As a bowler moves up the competitive ladder he or she will find
that being physically better then their opponent is much more
difficult. At the elite level of our sport bowlers learn to
appreciate the mental challenges or are sent home looking for
answers. Some minds just do not deal with a constantly changing
invisible environment very well.
The uniqueness of a great bowler is easier to identify by their
mental makeup than their physical makeup. Confusion is the
number one enemy of a bowler. Sorting through information and
making decisions with commitment is a common trait of a great
bowler.
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