Participants from the Junior Gold Clinic held by Bowlers Connection in Manteca are panning for gold in Detroit.

The Junior Gold Clinic held in Manteca California on June 7, 2008 was a success with forty two youth bowlers in attendance. The eight hour clinic was run by Teresa Ross with lead instructors Sports Physiologist Dean Hinitz and Gold Coach Rod Ross, on lane instructors included: Mark Benavidez, Debbie, Haggerty, Leanne Barrett-Hulsenberg, Gary Hulsenberg, and assistant Gary Hafelfinger.

Twenty seven of the participants are traveling to the Junior Gold Tournament in Detroit this summer to try and win a spot on Junior Team USA 2009. The other fifteen are future Junior Gold hopefuls and a few of those will be competing in the Teen Masters tournament this year in Las Vegas.

The seminar consisted of three classroom sessions including a manual and three sessions on the lanes. The first classroom session started with Dr. Dean Hinitz motivating the students as well as how to prepare for the upcoming competition. The bowlers then went to the lanes and bowled on modified PBA patterns, Cheetah 35′, Chameleon 39′ and Shark 44′ moving every fifteen minutes so they could experience all the patterns and work with the different coaches available. The coaches shared their knowledge on the lanes to give the students insight on how to play the patterns. Three pairs of lanes remained fresh for later in the day. The bowlers also received a C.A.T.S. analysis, with a review of the report at the end of the day.

The second and third classroom session given by Rod Ross covered lane play at Junior Gold, surface adjustment for ball motion and converting spares. During the next session on the lanes with help from the coaches the bowlers were able to experiment and learn about ball reaction by changing the surface of their bowling balls using abralon pads. The final session on the lanes the bowlers worked on spare drills and different ways to convert them, also at this time the fresh pairs were put into play and the bowlers were able to put their new knowledge to the test.

With forty two bowlers bowling across the lanes during the day we were able to create a similar break- down and transition that they could possibly encounter at Junior Gold. This should have given them a better understanding on lane play and the transitions they will face. The coaches were impressed by the field and how strong it was; we believe that the bowlers are better prepared for the challenge ahead and know that California is going for Gold.

Two Florida natives – reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion Jenny Brown of DeLand and Michelle Carcagente of Palm Coast – join Emily Maier of Sparks, Nev., and Ricki Williams of Wichita, Kan., as girls team selections for the World Youth Championships, a biennial U-22 tournament being held for the first time in the United States.

Matt O’Grady of South Amboy, N.J., who competed at the 2006 World Youth Championships in Berlin, Germany, leads the boys team that also features first-time team members John Szczerbinski of North Tonawanda, N.Y., Dean Richards of Tacoma, Wash., and Adam Martinez of San Antonio, the reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion.

Assignments were made by Junior Team USA head coach Rod Ross and assistant coaches Kim Terrell and Teresa Ross as well as volunteer consultants Lou Marquez, Stephen Padilla and Mark Balter following Junior Team USA training camp, May 18-25, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“With another young, talented group to choose from, this never is an easy decision,” said Ross, a USBC Gold coach. “The players came together as one team at training camp, and not only learned from the coaches they also learned from each other. We are looking forward to some great performances this year from Junior Team USA.”

Four boys and four girls also were selected to compete for Junior Team USA at the Pan American Bowling Confederation (PABCON) Youth Championships, scheduled for Sept. 21-27 in San Salvador, El Salvador.

The boys team at the U-20 event consists of Szczerbinski, Martinez, Josh Buckhardt of Beavercreek, Ohio, and Geoffrey Young of Denton, Texas, while the girls team features Brown, Josie Earnest of Vandalia, Ill., and Sarah Germano of Rochester, N.Y., along with a player meeting the PABCON age requirement (19 years old or younger on Jan. 1, 2008) to be named later by the National Selection Committee.

Burkhardt, Young, Earnest and Germano also will represent the United States in the junior division at the Tournament of the Americas, set for July 27-Aug. 2 at Boardwalk Entertainment Center in Orlando, Fla.

By Kevin Hazaert
USBC Communications

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!

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.

The Scandinavian countries have long been setting the standard in Europe by developing great player after great player. The Finns, Swedes, Norwegians and Danes all took medals in the boys divisions and from watching the youth competition at the 2008 EYC, the Scandinavian’s still are generating many great players.

Sid Allen (center) with the Latvian Girls Doubles Gold Medal Team of Diana Zavjalova and Marija Tkacenko. The girl’s team from The Netherlands (left) took the Silver Medals and Poland (right) took the Bronze Medals which were the first medals ever for Poland. Photo Courtesy of the Finnish Bowling Federation.

But there are also some very good up and coming youth players from other parts of Europe because of solid coaching programs and Federation support. We should look forward to watching them in future European Championships and tournaments like the European Bowling Tour for many years to come.

Another item coming into place within Europe is increased equipment knowledge which is a huge part of being successful in the modern game. Until now and mostly because of language barriers, Europe as a whole has been behind the learning curve of countries where English is spoken or understood in high numbers. That however is changing and they are catching up fast as was evident by observing ball choices at this event.

The Lanes

But back to the environment, the scoring or playing environment that is. Tali Bowl is somewhat of an anomaly in the world of bowling. Built in 1972, the Finns might have known something very few knew, or at least practiced, about the installation of bowling lanes. Even after the replacement of the wood lanes to Pro Anvilane synthetic panels, all lanes at Tali Bowl consistently have a certain topographical characteristic and the key word here is “consistently.”

Many of the synthetic lanes we have checked over the years have showed very little regularity with regard to topography throughout any specific lane but not Tali Bowl, all lanes follow the same topographical features throughout the entire lane surface. When lanes are installed in as a consistent manner as they are at Tali Bowl, players have to adjust very little as they move across the center during any one block of bowling.

As Team Norway Coach Trond Syvertsen said, “Only thing we did, was not to move too much and keep the ball rolling forward.”

Just imagine not having to take one, two or even three frames to figure out how the next pair of lanes is playing in relation to the last pair and only having to concentrate on releasing the ball the same way. This adds a minimum of 10 pins to the scoring pace right off the bat.

ETBF Technical Delegates Dr. Pinchas Hershkovitz (right) and Harri Kalliokoski (center) with Kegel’s Sven Scheepers (left) inspecting lanes at Tali Bowl with Kegel’s Portable Lane Mapper.

As far as the specific topographical character of the lanes at Tali Bowl, lanes can be crowned, flat or depressed. But because it has been requested by Tali Bowl representatives to not make certain aspects of the installation public, here is how different types of topography act to a bowling ball.

Crowned lanes act like a banked curve that is falling away from the apex of the turn. You won’t see race tracks built this way but we do see many lane surfaces that are installed this way.

As the bowling ball travels towards the channel, crowned lanes decrease the pressure between the ball and the lane which also decreases friction. This decreased friction of the bowling ball keeps the ball from slowing down at the normal rate and therefore also decreases the hook potential of the bowling ball.

Basically, on a lane that is crowned the bowling bowl is rolling down a hill as it travels towards the channel and then has to climb a hill as it makes it moves towards the pocket. This topographical property also decreases pin carry because it lowers the entry angle of the bowling ball into the pocket.

Crowned lanes are also more sensitive to release variations or ‘mis-hits’ which can cause inconsistent ball motions for the less repetitious player. For right handed players, the 2-10 spare combination is a common leave on lanes that are crowned.

Flat lanes, or lanes that are in the plus or minus 10/1000 of an inch range, are very rare in synthetic lanes of today but there are actually a couple documented examples. One is the Kegel Training Center in Florida. The other is the bowling center that held the USBC 5 person team scoring record of 3905, Chacko’s Bowl in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. That record was broken in 2004 but Chacko’s is still the host to the USBC Men’s three player team series record of 2443. Flat lanes provide the most predictable ball motion for the greatest variety of styles.

Depressed lanes act like a high banked curve at a race track. Just like a banked curve helps a race car turn easier, depressed lanes help the bowling ball curve back to the pocket easier.

As the ball travels towards the channel, depressed lanes increase the pressure between the ball and the lane which also increases friction. This increased friction of the bowling ball helps the ball slow down and therefore hook into the pocket with more regularity. This not only helps with consistent ball motion, it also helps with pin carry because it increases the entry angle of the bowling ball into the pocket.

And last but certainly not least is the lengthwise levelness of bowling lanes. Lanes that predominantly go downhill from foul line to pin deck make the bowling ball slow down less and therefore decrease hook potential. Lanes that predominantly go uphill from foul line to pin deck make the bowling ball slow down more and therefore increase hook potential. As in crowns and depressions, flat lanes are the most predictable for most styles.

An example of how lengthwise level affects ball motion is a bowling center Kegel checked during their lane maintenance years on the PBA Tour. In this particular bowling center, the high end always played significantly tighter than the low end which had lanes that were added on after the initial installation.

After mapping the entire center, the difference was found to be in the lengthwise levelness of the lanes. All lanes in the high end went downhill almost two inches from foul line to pin deck. The lanes on the low end were relatively flat.

As stated in the opening paragraph of this section, the most important thing about a bowling center installation is “consistency” in lane levelness from the first lane to the last lane. For the bowling player, this gives the most predictable ball motion from lane to lane and that equals the highest scoring potential. If there is one thing we can say about the bowling lanes at Tali Bowl, they have very consistent topographical features from lane to lane.

The Pin Carry

Tali Bowl has long been known for good pin carry. The pins used during the 2008 EYC were Brunswick Max’s but it was not the pins that made the difference, it was the lane installation plus the entire pit area at Tali Bowl. The side boards (kickbacks) are tight, the pin decks are solid and the pin spotting was good.

The last 300 game bowled in European Youth Championship history in the boys division was, you guessed it, at Tali Bowl in 1994. The first and only 300 game by a European girl was last year in Thessaloniki Greece at another consistent lane installation but that bowling center has since closed down.

The Oil Pattern

Ah yes, the oil pattern. The one thing everyone likes to focus on because it is invisible and therefore open to discussion, controversy, interpretation or whatever analytical word one can come up with.

Being a mixed youth event that employed a single condition, the main goal for the 2008 EYC lane maintenance team was to provide a playing environment where many different bowling styles had a chance to succeed. In order for that to happen, it was important to provide an oil condition that complimented the lane surface.

The pattern used for the 2008 EYC was 39 feet in length as announced in Bulletin II. Standard procedure in ETBF Championship events is to announce only the distance based upon the pre-tournament inspection which is normally six to nine months in advance.

At the 2008 EYC, oil pattern information was transparently provided to the teams like never before. As usual the teams were provided the lane machine settings, the forward volume, reverse volume and the total volume of conditioner. However this time they were also provided with the front-to-back taper ratios and side-to-side ratios.

For all ratio readings, USBC Sport Bowling calculations were used which averages the unit amount of conditioner from boards 18L to 18R divided by the average unit amount from boards 3 to 7. Currently, USBC Sport Bowling has the only official guideline for competitive oil patterns in bowling and states side-to-side ratios must be 3:1 or less. The WTBA and ETBF do not have definite oil pattern specifications so the goal for the 2008 EYC was to hit the high side of the USBC Sport Bowling ratio parameters.

The front-to-back taper ratios at the 2008 EYC were 2.2:1 on the inside and 2.7:1 on the outside portion of the lane. This means in the front part of the pattern there is 2.2 and 2.7 times the amount of conditioner in those zones compared to the amount at the end of the pattern. A 3D visual of the oil pattern was also provided.

Also shown to the coaches and players were the side-to-side ratios from six different tape readings. The pattern ratios at the 2008 EYC were 2.5:1 at 6 feet, 2.9:1 at 14 feet, 3.0:1 at 22, 27 and 32 feet and 3.2:1 at 37 feet using USBC Sport Bowling calculations.

In comparison, the side-to-side ratios of the 2008 EYC pattern were the same as the 2007 PBA Greater Detroit Open and PBA Spartanburg Open. In those PBA events, the ratio at the end of the pattern was also 3.2:1 but all PBA tournaments must pass USBC Sport Bowling standards. Therefore, the 2008 EYC pattern also passes USBC Sport Bowling and was on the same difficulty level as those PBA patterns.

Conclusion

Too many people think scoring pace is all about the oil pattern. Of course the oil pattern can make the scores higher or lower but so do many other abovementioned areas of the playing field.

However, should we not just have some specific oil pattern parameters and let the scores be what they are? Bowling should not penalize a good installation and reward a bad installation because of a perceived perfect scoring pace and until now, that is what bowling has been doing.

The play and competition during the 2008 European Youth Championships was fantastic. There are many very talented youth players in Europe right now and all the record breakers and medalists should be very proud of their accomplishments because they earned it.

I also hope the players realize how lucky they were to be able to compete in an arena like Helsinki Finland’s Tali Bowl. It is arguably one of, if not the best, bowling arena in Europe. And the ETBF European Youth record book proves it.

USBC Junior Gold Championships sells out again

1/18/2008

By Lucas Wiseman
USBC Communications

For the third consecutive year, the 2008 United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships will feature a sold-out field.

All 1,728 spots have been sold for the event, which will be conducted July 5-11 at three bowling centers in suburban Detroit. The Junior Gold Championships reached capacity in record time and will be sold out for the fourth time in five years.

“The fact that we sold out so quickly is a testament to the enthusiasm out there for this event,” USBC Vice President of Tournaments Jack Mordini said. “The Junior Gold Championships is the highlight of the bowling season for many of our youth athletes and we are pleased to see this event continue to attract big numbers.”

The Junior Gold Championships will be conducted at three Detroit-area bowling centers with Sunnybrook Lanes and Sterling Lanes in Sterling Heights, Mich., and Century Bowl in Waterford, Mich., hosting the event.

This year’s tournament will also feature a revised format. The athletes will take part in three six-game qualifying blocks on July 7, 8 and 9 before the field is cut to the top 105 males and 57 females for two six-game semifinal blocks on July 10. The top 16 males and 16 females will then take part in match play on July 11.

In addition, athletes will be assigned practice sessions at each bowling center July 5-6 based on which squad they are bowling. Registration will also be conducted by squad instead of by state as in past years.

Held on USBC Sport Bowling lane conditions, the Junior Gold Championships, which is an individual competition, will feature bowlers from across the country. The competitors will battle for spots on USBC Junior Team USA as well as $100,000 in scholarship money.

USBC Youth members who average 175 or better (males) or 165 or better (females) and who are members of the USBC Junior Gold program are eligible to qualify to advance to the Championships.

For more information on the Junior Gold Championships, visit bowl.com.

Changes made to Junior Team USA selection process

By Kevin Hazaert
USBC Communications

Junior Team USA, the U.S. national junior bowling team and feeder program for Team USA, will expand to 20 players in 2009 – allowing more elite youth bowlers the opportunity to further develop their skills and represent their country.

The majority of Junior Team USA (comprised of 10 males and 10 females) will continue to be established at the previous year’s United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships, which brings together over 1,500 of the country’s best youth bowlers vying for scholarships and U.S. Junior Amateur titles.

However, new for 2009, additional players will be selected through the USBC Team USA Trials (beginning with the 2009 event), which is held annually in January to help determine Team USA.

“Expanding Junior Team USA will give more of the top young athletes in our sport exposure to the elite coaching and training they will receive in the program,” USBC Team USA High-Performance Director David Garber said. “By adding individuals from the USBC Team USA Trials as well, we will be able strengthen Junior Team USA with even more promising talent.”

Selection process for Junior Team USA 2009:

• Top four male and top four female finishers at the 2008 USBC Junior Gold Championships, which will be held July 5-11 in Detroit.
• Two males and two females, chosen by the National Selection Committee, from the pool of remaining match play advancers at the 2008 USBC Junior Gold Championships.
• Top two males and top two females who are age 20 or under as of Jan. 1, 2009, at the 2009 USBC Team USA Trials (dates and location TBD), provided they are not already on Junior Team USA 2009. These four athletes can be either USBC Youth or Adult members as long as they meet the age requirement.
• Two males and two females, chosen by the National Selection Committee, from a pool of athletes that were either match play finalists at the 2008 USBC Junior Gold Championships or who are age 20 or under as of Jan. 1, 2009, and competed at the 2009 USBC Team USA Trials (dates and location TBD). These four athletes can be either USBC Youth or Adult members as long as they meet the age requirement.

Also beginning in 2009, the Pan American Bowling Confederation (PABCON) Youth Championships (formerly American Zone Youth Championships) will be held on odd-numbered years.

“Previously, Junior Team USA members in odd-numbered years didn’t have the chance to bowl in either the World or PABCON Youth Championships since they were held in the same calendar year,” Garber said. “Now athletes on Junior Team USA will have a competition to strive for each year.”

The 2008 PABCON Youth Championships is tentatively scheduled to be held next September in Lima, Peru.