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Missing the Action?

Typically this week each year readers would be seeing posts from me and a dozen happy teens cooped up in some hotel room in some far flung corner of the country while the kids competed in the Junior Gold National Tournament (and talked about the local cuisine). This year, we're here in Southern California, wishing those athletes in attendance the very best.

Collectively we decided to stop participating for a variety of reasons, because in the end, the $2000 or so each family would have to spend could be better spent virtually anywhere else. Truthfully it was a hard decision made last year, and coupled with the new aging out announced this winter, it's a decision that became harder for some who lost their last chance to compete.

For years, we've traveled, from St. Louis, to Dallas, to Fort Lauderdale, to Buffalo, to Detroit--at a tremendous expense for West Coast bowlers. Since flight restrictions and luggage allowances are so challenging, we patiently waited for the tournament to turn west where we could be the families driving to the venue, instead of the ones flying, shipping bowling balls, and all the additional expenses and extra days brought on by time changes and flight routes. Yearly we filled out surveys asking for a West Coast venue. Two years ago, we were told by several USBC insiders that Las Vegas would be the 2009 destination. My husband was first told in 2007 by a USBC VP at a Greendale nationwide association powwow that we'd finally see a more West Coast venue, and off the record, it was definitely Vegas. Then the Junior Gold tournament coordinator told me the same thing--I would be VERY happy with the 2009 locale. When the US Youth Bowler magazine Winter 2008 issue offered an ad enticing families to plan for Vegas, I was ecstatic. I started recruiting families for the 2009 National Youth Championships, and not surprisingly, most families readily agreed--even those of six and seven year olds. Funny thing about anything related to USBC, one VP suddenly resigned, and the tournament coordinator who was THE face of Junior Gold was replaced without so much as an announcement of her departure.

The official press release was held up, well into late spring and when it was made, Las Vegas was not mentioned at all, rather a two-year deal to visit Indianapolis was heralded. Ironically, Junior Gold was held in Indy several years back. And it didn't sell out that year. Additionally, it was the only year we didn't attend with the kids we coach. I'd been to Indy back when WIBC competed there, and honestly I saw no reason to go back. USBC vascillates on encouraging families into making Junior Gold a family vacation destination and arguing it's strictly a bowling competition. As a youth coordinator who doesn't get paid to spend a week in these cities, this *is* my family vacation, so it has to be somewhere I want to go to offset the financial hardship my five-hour a week job can't possibly cover. USBC is leaning toward the destination locations with the adult mixed national tournament featuring locales like Vegas, Reno, and soon, Orlando. While some adults can swing a two-day jaunt just to bowl, packing up an entire family for a week in a hotel and several bowling centers--there has to be something to do besides JUST bowl.

More than just the sudden venue change convinced us that Junior Gold has lost its way. This year, they announced that the girls would be segregated onto separate squads after some focus groups held last year. For parents of siblings or youth coaches with several bowlers, this now means spending more than one squad in a center. Typically we'd bowl squad one, and have the rest of the day to ourselves. If we return, instead of a 3-4 hour commitment, we'd be sacrificing eight hours plus enduring the logistics of needing to be in two different bowling centers either simultaneously or consecutively. The highly touted focus groups were held at times where the few kids in our group receiving invites were bowling. Ironically, they were also the newest to the tournament, and hadn't been able to form an opinion anyway. Others who wanted to share their opinions were not invited. "Surveymonkey" type feedback for bowlers, coordinators, and families gave little space to offer constructive criticism--not that we believed they'd listen.

We were very saddened to see only 1634 bowlers turned up when 2100 slots were available. 1982 bowlers qualified, meaning that in the end, this was the first year in MANY that did not sell out, and that nearly 350 bowlers who qualified chose not to bowl. USBC doesn't offer youth coordinators credit for those unused spots, so they pocket the money ($150 times 350 spots is over $50,000). I just wonder if the damage is reversible.

Not with a Bang, but a Whimper

With all due apologies to T.S. Eliot, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the closure of Rocket Lanes in Chatsworth last weekend. This article has some serious errors in the chronology, but the reporter got the gist of things right: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_12504083

When the kids bowled City Tournament there back in March, I dreaded going back. The place looked physically the same, but the heart and soul were gone. A couple of disinterested teens manned the desk, and the parents all laughed as the same lane breakdowns the center was known for plagued our squad--a full squad with no breakdown pair. One dad took pictures of his son bowling alone in the empty center as a testament to why we left in the first place.

Zoe went on to win Doubles with her best buddy Ryan, on the same pair that they learned to bowl together on. That's as full circle/happy ending as I could make it. So when the announcement came that May 31 was their last day, I didn't go to say goodbye. Mario went to pull his 300 placard off the lane earlier in the week and that was that.

Moving to Corbin was the best decision I ever had to make. I would never have moved for me. I've seen other youth coordinators throughout the country have a disagreement with management, and use the kids as leverage. For me, however, it was always about the kids. When we announced our departure, I had no idea how many would come with us. We intentionally didn't say where we were going, and were shocked to have a line of people after our goodbye asking "So where we goin'?" I was actually surprised when Rocket lumbered beyond last May, and then slipped by August--the two nature league-ending closure dates that are the least impactful. Even a few weeks ago, other AMF centers were being assured that Rocket was still going strong, when it was clear to everyone it wasn't. Leagues had left, sublease tenants were being offered different business space, and even the leagues that stayed were being told to look at other options.

Rocket certainly whimpered at the end. It's a sad ending to some beautiful memories. So now we make new memories, a short 10-minute drive away, and when we look back, we'll remember to good times, and look forward to even more.

Corbin Mourns the Loss of Coach Colleen

The bowling community lost one of the area's great youth coaches Saturday morning.

I met Colleen Becker just over 15 years ago. I was subbing quite a bit in a Thursday morning scratch league at Mission Hills Bowl. She was a student at UCLA, a mom going back to school to get her degree and teaching credential. We were the two youngest people in the building those mornings by probably 30 or more years. I was a copy editor, and I remember proofreading the papers she was in the process of writing. We'd bowl, and she'd willingly go over to Chuck E. Cheese while my son Michael would bounce from game to game we'd talk about bowling, or City of San Fernando politics, or whatever just to kill time.

We bowled women's travel together for awhile, and as bowlers often do, my family settled at another couple of centers in Valley. A few years ago, she joined the Sport trios at Corbin where Mario was bowling, and after league, we'd often go out for "pancakes." As my daughter got to school age, sadly the after bowling breakfasts became the rare treat for the holiday breaks and summers.

Colleen was working her way through the USBC coaching certifications, and she asked if she could join us at Rocket to coach the kids. It was a fairly small program, but I welcomed her down. Since I took on the little kids still on the bumpers, and my husband had the high school and college set, she rolled up her sleeves and took on the squirrelliest ones--the junior high kids. Somehow she reached them. Her daughters were grown, and yet she returned week after week to work with the kids. And when we needed an adult bowler to match up with a stray kid in the adult/junior leagues, she'd bowl. She never cared which kid, or what they'd average, she just volunteered to be their partner.

When I had to make a very difficult decision to move the youth coaching program to a different center, Colleen presented it back to me as a no brainer. She was going where I went, no questions asked. It wasn't about us as the coaches, but what was in the best interest of the kids.

No matter where the kids were bowling, if Colleen could swing it, she'd go. Without Colleen's limousine services, there would be kids each year that couldn't travel to Pepsi. It didn't seem to matter if the center was 60 miles away, or even if the youth coordinator (me) managed to choose the first morning of Daylight Savings Time and the 9 am squad--in Bakersfield. She'd cheerfully pull up at 6:30 AM in the dark, load up, and drive off with a carload of teens. Or at City Tournament, she'd arrive a squad earlier than her scheduled time or stay a squad later to see how the kids were doing. She was there as my daughter and her best friend took their division in doubles last month.

When the distances got too much, like when the kids were bowling the far flung reaches of the country for Jr Gold, she'd root from home. My son Michael got a good amount of ribbing from Colleen after being asked to blog for USBC during the Gold tournaments, only to spend more time on all the great local food at the restaurants he found than how he bowled. I honestly believe Colleen was the only nonrelative to read the blog over the entire week and actually ask for updates.

Along with her bowling, she was very proud of that UCLA pride. And as the kids have started graduating and moving on to college, she took a certain pride in the ones who chose UCLA (and the ones who favored USC were in for a ribbing). She had the grace of considering my son an honorary Bruin, because while he was accepted to UCLA, he followed his heart to another university. I know it made her proud when he said he decided to get his teaching credential in Math.

There weren't many people who could out talk me on the issues--especially not between my two favorite organizations to be frustrated with--LAUSD and USBC. But Colleen and I could vent our frustrations, and go far beyond the black and white into all the nuances that made simple answers difficult. I'd post in a variety of message board forums, and right behind me, she'd post, backing up my often unpopular perspectives.

The bowling world won't be the same without her. Colleen, you were one of a kind, and I'll genuinely miss you.

Angel: Youth Open Team Today

Well the kids have finished with qualifying for Jr Gold, and it was definitely a learning experience for each of them. Spares were at a premium, and for those with the ability to capitalize on great shot making, they did very well. Unfortunately, our kids only had glimmers of shots, and missed key spares. There's been a lot of discussion on how "easy" the shot was this year, and the reality is scores are definitely higher for the kids who bowled well, but there are just as many kids who struggled. At least there were no parents screaming at kids on day three, unlike years past.

This morning, the kids head to Taylor, MI for the Youth Open team event, and Zoe finally gets to bowl with the bigger kids. Afterwards we'll be off to the Henry Ford Museum to see what they have going on down there.

The week is slowly winding down, and I've never been prouder of the kids as a group, or individually. We have had more new ones this year than any previous year and they've all gotten along swimmingly. Living in such close quarters we've had a few little tiffs, but for the most part, the experience has been incredible and memorable.

Gotta Split,
Angel

Michael: Early Morning Blues

We got up and bowled at Sunnybrook today. It played A LOT different than it did in practice. In practice, there was a lot more room and there was a shot from the outside. The only people I could see scoring from outside had a lot lower ball speed than me and they didn't do a lot to the ball. After fumbling trying to make that line work for four games, along with MANY missed spares, I move inside to a more direct shot and my scores were markedly better. I ended up shooting 948, but with all the spares I missed, it could have easily been 1050 or 1100. I crossed with Adam Martinez, who some may recognize as the winner of last year's Jr Gold tournament, and as it turns out, he only uses two bowling balls. He is probably one of the nicest bowlers I have ever had the pleasure of crossing with

After bowling, we went to Panera for lunch and headed back to the hotel. A lot of the parents and kids took a nap following or in place of lunch. A few of us walked over to the pool hall next door and played a few rounds. We then came back and ate "Michigan Tacos" from the hotel (hey, free food is free food).

We went to Dave & Buster's out by the side tournament we tried to bowl, and there was much rejoicing. We went, we played, we had fun, and we got prizes. Then we came back and waited for results to be posted.

--Mike

Let the Games Begin...

It's 5:40 local time, and we're already in the throes of showering and dragging ourselves out of bed. Of course, more sleep is always more desirable over less sleep, but I doubt most of them were sleeping much anyway.

I've talked about nutrition, hydration, maintaining focus, asking for help before they get too far done, and pretty much anything else that I could think of. This year the kids are probably more prepared than ever, and I know the group can work together better than ever. So as a dear Canadian-born bowler announces each week before league: Let the Games Begin.

And I'm proud of them all. Each and every one of them for different things individually and for being willing to try Jr Gold, and for representing Corbin, the San Fernando Valley, California and the country.

Ang

Dustin: Night Before Tournament Day 1

Hey all,

We've been in Detroit, Michigan for the last few days (since Friday) and just been relaxing, eating at chains that I've never eaten at, and practiced on 3 different sports shots.

As for food, we ate at Cracker Barrel, Tim Horton's, and Steak 'N Shake. Cracker Barrel was good and quite filling for the price. It was interesting that right after entering the store, it starts off with a retro candy/game store that has all the good but oldies like mini plastic coke bottles filled with colored sugar water that were around when my mom was a kid, ancient I know. Tim Horton's was good and had quite the interesting combination--soup, sandwich, coffee....and a doughnut. All around it was good and filling. But the creme de la creme was Steak 'N Shake which I had a melt that was absolutely amazing with a side-by-sided shake of Razzberry (Yes i know it's spelled with an sp but i felt like being original), and Vanilla which was bomb. Great food... gotta eat there again.

Bowling balls:
-Uranium Solid: High hook.
-Black Widow Pearl: Distance and snap at end (2nd most hooking)
-Total NV: starts up a little earlier than widow but arcs more than snap and overall hooks less
-Avalanche: low hook, small arc, and roll.
-Plastic spare ball- self explanatory

Bowling wise, I've been quite happy with myself. So far, we practiced on a medium/medium shot (42 feet with medium oil), a long/low (47 feet with low oil), and a short/high (35 feet with high oil). For medium oil, I was able to either bowl straight up 7 with the Widow Pearl or swing it from fifteen out to ten and it came back nicely after the lanes started to break down a little, or swing the Uranium, my strongest ball, from 20 to 10 and it was fine, or NV straight up 12ish. Overall, I did quite well...at least I think so. Then, on the long pattern, we bowled on a one squad used (non fresh and slightly burned out) shot. I was able to bowl straight up 5 with widow, up 10 with NV, swing 20-15 with Avalanche, or swing Uranium same as I did on the short shot. It wasn't too bad but I'm also assuming the lanes will be different when we bowl on them for tournament with more oil and a fresh shot. Finally, came the short pattern. I bowled right up 10 to start with Widow, which burned up and I moved out to 7-5 and was fine. NV was kinda iffy, but after breaking down up 10 was fine. Avalanche was swing from 20 to 13 again and came in nicely. Overall I'd have to say that I most preferred the Uranium which I was swinging from 25 out to 10 and carrying back beautifully and threw that the best. It was a fresh shot too, but again, I'm assuming that it will be slightly more oily on actual tournament.

I believe that I'm ready for this tournament and I'll do just fine. Although it's my first JR gold tournament, I just won't get too hyped up and freaked and should be perfect. All I can do is bowl and try to bowl as damn best as I can. So, as I'm now ready and it's just past midnight, I really gotta go to bed. We bowl at 8 AM tomorrow so that means getting up at 6, eating, and leaving no later than 7 to check in and turn in our ball check in cards.

Night y'all,
Dustin