I post on a variety of bowling message boards and lurk on several more. I’ve been online for more than seven years so I’ve seen my share of just about every debate and every variation on the “I’m so great” message that teens, and especially teen bowlers seem compelled to partake in.
Now I’ll be the first to acknowledge that there is a certain chest-pounding mentality involved with all sports. I guess it seems more prevalent in bowling. Maybe it’s because for many of the bowlers, it’s the first sport they’ve excelled in, or the public’s “red-headed stepchild” perception of bowling and bowlers and the need for the teens to prove the naysayers wrong.
At this point, I usually try to soften the tone by pointing out that generally even the best pros don’t shoot 800s series after series on difficult shots, and that when the new poster competes on a more difficult shot, we’ll finally be comparing apples to oranges. And I will no doubt be told I don’t know what I’m talking about, and be told to get bent.
And that’s fine. These are the posts I forward to the juniors I coach. I point out the behavioral problems on the lanes at tournaments and on the Internet in message postings. No matter how big the world gets, the bowling world is still a very, very small place. If the Kevin Bacon game allows six degrees of separation, I seriously doubt in the bowling world I need more than one or two in the most extreme cases. Good bowling and good attitude goes far, but a bad attitude—no matter what the bowling—goes farther. But I’m the coach. And I’m 36. The kids I coach range from age 21 and down. So maybe I’m completely out of it.
And just when I think I’m sounding old, some one will come along and agree with me. When the person agreeing with me is half my age, I realize that I may be old, but I am also right. Character counts. If the "powers that be" outlawed bowling tomorrow, some of these bowlers would have nothing left but the chest pounding. Others, like the kids in my program, would put the time to good use in school, volunteerism, or some other activity. And in 15 years, they’d have other accomplishments. And not just false bravado.
The reality is that there will always be someone better, smarter, richer, and yes, someone that bowls better. If a person bases his or her entire worth on getting to the top of that heap and has nothing else to go on, once deposed, that’s it. Game over. I always hope that I encourage the kids to have fun, learn a little about bowling along the way, but also learn a lot about themselves. I may never have a Team USA member come from my program, but I know I will have a fine group of young adults and young leaders emerging from my program.
