Collegiate 2007-08 All-Americans

Bandy becomes third to win NCBCA’s top player award multiple times

By Kevin Hazaert
USBC Communications

Pikeville senior Kayla Bandy and Saginaw Valley State junior Dan MacLelland were named Most Valuable Players for the 2007-08 collegiate bowling season by the National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA).

Bandy and MacLelland were honored along with the rest of the All-Americans at the “Night of Champions” banquet held Wednesday in conjunction with the 2008 United States Bowling Congress Intercollegiate Team Championships, presented by Storm, which open Thursday at Northrock Lanes.

They also were named 2007-08 Bowling Writers Association of America Collegiate Players of the Year at Wednesday’s event.

This marks the second straight MVP and Player of the Year award for Bandy, a Danville, Va., native who helped lead the Bears to the Chattanooga (Tenn.) Sectional title and their seventh consecutive championships appearance. [Read more]

First International Silver Conference

Level 1, Bronze and Silver Level seminars to be held at Paeng’s Midtown Bowl May 2-7

Philippine legend Paeng Nepomuceno will conduct United States Bowling Congress Level 1, Bronze Level and Silver Level Coaching Accreditation Seminars in conjunction with the 6th Euro-Med Storm International Masters Challenge at Paeng’s Midtown Bowl in Manila. The tournament which promises to have many participants from Asia and overseas, runs from May 7-13, 2008.

“I am looking forward to conducting the seminars, especially since this will be the first time that a USBC Silver Level Coaching Accreditation Seminar will be given outside of the United States,” said Nepomuceno.

Nepomuceno was one of the 21 international coaches, who received their USBC Silver Coach certification during an exclusive International Coach/Instructor Training seminar hosted by the United States Bowling Congress in February 2008. [Read more]

Slow Motion Camera Test

We currently are testing a new camera that can record 300 frames per second, in fact can go up to 1200 frames per second.

Our program BowlersMAP Gold can take a normal DV video camera and create 60 frames per second for motion analysis, so having 300 frames per second for analysis has us excited.

This is our first test using the camera, and we used it hand held with no additional lighting. The flicker you see with the strike ball is the florescent light pulsing. The bowler release is an lady with 165 average that was taking a lesson at our facility on the day I was testing the camera. In fact, the strike was the first and only shot I recorded on the pins, and she nailed it on the first try on a PBA pattern!

Select Quicktime for a High Quality version, however the file is large (28 MB) and will take some time to download. With the Quicktime version you can control the video frame forward and back or slow play forward / back by using the left and right arrow keys on the keyboard.

Four Teams Remain

By Kevin Hazaert
USBC Communications

OMAHA, Neb. – Four teams remained alive Friday at the 2008 NCAA National Collegiate Women’s Bowling Championship at Thunder Alley: a defending champion with resolve, a runner-up proving it wasn’t a one-year wonder, a Division III powerhouse taking the next step and an upstart newcomer that continues to impress.

Defending champion Vanderbilt, which suffered a quick 4-0 defeat to Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first round of the best-of-7 Baker games, double-elimination match play, fought back to the semifinals where it beat the same undefeated Hawks, 4-2, to force another semifinal match between the teams Saturday.

“We never say die,” said Vanderbilt sophomore Josie Earnest, Most Outstanding Player of last year’s championship. “We know we are better when our backs are against the wall. We’re fighters. We’re trying to repeat.” [Read more]

Junior Gold Clinic Sold Out

Back by popular demand, the 2008 Junior Gold Clinic is now scheduled!

A one day clinic featuring Sports Psychologist Dr. Dean Hinitz, USBC Gold Coach and Head Coach of Junior Team USA Rod Ross and USBC Silver Coach and coach for Junior Team USA Teresa Ross has been scheduled for Saturday June 7^th 2008 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Bowlers Connections Training PIT located inside the Manteca Bowl.

Assisting with this All Star Clinic are USBC Silver Coaches Debra Haggerty, Mark Benavidez, Leanne Barrett-Hulsenberg as well as PBA Regional Champion Gary Hulsenberg.

Attendees will train on three different sport patterns while receiving instruction and tips from the coaches. Sports Psychology, Lane Play, Spare Shooting along with Equipment Analysis and adjustments will be covered. A manual will be included along with either a CATS or DigiTrax analysis for each student.

For more information flyers and handouts can be viewed and printed from the download section of our site. Space is limited, to hold your spot sign up now. Cost is $75.00 for pre-register, and if space is available $90.00 the day of the clinic. (Note: SMART Funds can be used for this clinic, see handout for more information)

For more information use the contact us section of the website, or if you are ready to sign up click the Add to Cart button below to pay by credit card using PayPal to reserve your spot.

Sorry, the clinic is Full!

European Youth Championships

When everything comes together

By Ted Thompson

The 2008 ETBF European Youth Championships at famed Tali Bowl in Helsinki Finland showed what can happen in the modern bowling environment when all parts of the scoring environment are predictable and at a high level.

During the Championships, 12 of 15 girls scoring records were broken and 11 of 15 boys scoring records were broken. There were also five 300 games during the Championships.

However, the closer you look and dissect the possible reasons why those records were broken and scores were achieved, the less anyone should be surprised.

The Players

The youth players of Europe are more knowledgeable than ever and the overall level of coaching is at an all time high. Add to the fact that eastern European countries are increasing in participation numbers and they are treating bowling as a sport. Even world renowned coach Sid Allen has been attracted to Europe being hired as head coach of Latvia. This proved to be a great move on the Latvian Federations part as it helped them achieve the country’s first Gold Medals in Major Championship events. In fact Latvia won a total of five medals during the Championships, 1-Gold, 3-Silver and 1-Bronze. A fine testament to what a solid coaching program can bring to a Federation. [Read more]