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
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
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
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
After the entry I made last night, I'm going to try to keep this one short and sweet.
We woke up, it was past morning, so it was much better. We ate, loaded into cars, and hauled out 45 minutes NNW to Century Lanes. The shot there was the short pattern and it is probably going to give me a little trouble if I don't stay on top of it. However, it is by no means unplayable or difficult to strike on. Before the squad started, AJ and Juan walked in the doors and helped us during practice, despite running on very minimal sleep, if any.
A quick note on all three patterns from my point of view. The one tomorrow morning should be fairly playable after the first game or so for me. I'll start in the track area with either the Widow Pearl or the Fury Pearl, then either move out to about 25 or in to 10 with my breakpoint remaining at 8-10. Sterling should be a little easier for me. I plan to start around 20, and move farther in and make correct ball changes to suit the lanes as the day goes on. At Century, I plan to start in around the gutter with my Fury Pearl or Widow Pearl and make parallel moves and change balls as the day progresses. Overall, I believe this shouldn't be difficult as long as you stay on top of transitions and MAKE SPARES.
On the way back we hit Steak n Shake. I believe Gaby hit on everything that needed to be said about that. Only thing I'll add is the mocha malts are the ABSOLUTE BEST frozen dessert drink ever! Everything else Gaby said about Steak n Shake stands...maybe even twofold. We came back and went to play some more pool and go-karts. We had a big pow-wow with Juan in which he gave us a final bit of information as a pre-tournament pep-talk. The meeting was followed by Uno-playing, and dinner-ordering. Following dinner, we had a bowling ball cleaning party. YAY, PARTY! I'll refrain from any jokes regarding this, but the temptation is incredibly strong. Then we decompressed until it was bedtime. Some people hit the pool, some people went straight to bed, and I made sure everyone was prepared for tomorrow.
So, seeing as the tournament officially opens tomorrow (the important part, anyway), I wish everyone good luck, good times, good bowling, and most importantly, good eats.
--Mike
The kids bowled at Century this morning--the 35 foot pattern--and the third and final practice squad. AJ and Juan made it on their red eye relatively unscathed. The very nice people at Steak n Shake managed a lunch order for 17 people, and we returned to a hotel devoid of the loud family reunion and the "weddings gone wild" family. Some of the families have moved to quieter rooms, which with our early morning wake up manana will help them get ready for their squad.
Juan had a group meeting in the late afternoon in the lobby/breakfast room. He talked to the kids as a group about working together, and what they could do to assure making the cut. Then he worked with each kid individually in order to assure they knew their game plan for each center. The kids were presented with their Mickey Mouse ears, which we want them to wear for pictures. The idea of wearing them into the first squad and watching the other parents come unglued got a laugh. Then several of the moms coordinated a group dinner, and a quick pick up later, there was a spread of everything from pizza to wings to salads to riblets, all for $5 a person. AMAZING work, Joyce.
The kids are getting out of the pool right now, so I'll let them get started. We have an early morning, so they'e not going to be in my room long.
Gotta split,
Angel
Today was an off-day for me. While Mario dealt with the two closer centers and shuttling the kids to the practices, I only attended check in. We're trying hard to keep Zoe from spending an entire week in a bowling center when she doesn't actually get to bowl until Thursday. Check in wasn't terribly far, and the registration went amazingly quickly. The chatchkes (freebies) were pretty nice, and the clothing for this year's tournament was great. Most of the kids got something--either a polo or a name shirt that lists every one of the 1700 bowlers expected to attend. I was able to finally meet the wonderful woman in person who has helped get the tournaments done from Wisconsin. Sadly, she will not be making the transition to Arlington, and there seemed to be a real feeling that the sport is losing a bit of the "brain trust" that makes the whole sport run. The fact that this will be our last tournament as a group makes me hope I'm wrong about the direction of the sport, but I thanked the people who were so integral to the program I've built.
I encouraged everyone to stay for Rick's seminar, and it was every bit as informational as I imagined. The kids need to remember preparation, execution, and reaction. That's it. Rick is probably the most unsung hero in the sport. Instead of an infomercial for Brunswick, he offers a wealth of knowledge, and the kids in attendance learned quite a bit. Two balls were drawn for, and as Michael has mentioned, he won. Thankfully they will ship it to our driller and we'll pick it up in the OC when it's time.
The side tournament was a bit of a disappointment, since we drove out there and realized there were going to be six or more kids per lane, and that none of them had the desire to stick it out that long when we still had to get up and get rolling for the last practice squad tomorrow morning. On the way back though, we found the Dave and Busters (it's essentially Chuck E. Cheese for bigger kids), so it was worth the trek. We will end up going there tomorrow or Monday evening. What I was especially happy with from their decision not to bowl, was that the kids made a decision based on new information, and just said "no" rather than trying to make the same thing work.
Tomorrow is the practice session at the farthest center from where we're staying and then we'll just keep a low profile. The goal is to get the kids to settle down early and get them up and ready early for that 8 am squad time on Monday. We're just over one day from the actual bowling, and the excitement is mounting.
Gotta split,
Angel
Ok, so we all had to wake up early...not as early as yesterday, but early nonetheless. I shuffled down to the lobby and partook of a microwavable breakfast sandwich (surprisingly good), a danish, and a muffin along with a few cups of lemonade. After that, we all piled into several cars and drove to the first practice session. The shot at Sunnybrook, as well as the ones at Sterling and Century, is not a lion, tiger, bear, guppy, iguana, or hornet. It was simply called "Medium." Eventually, the shot, which gave me a little trouble initially, became very playable and I found a few places where I was comfortable. We came back and headed off to check-in. Following registering and get the free gifts from the various booths, we walked into the merchandise room. It was pretty much shoulder to shoulder with lines nearly reaching the doors. The products this year were MUCH better than last year's.
We saw Rick Benoit and found out he was doing a seminar at 12:30, so a few of us stayed at the host hotel to hear what he had to say. Despite being really hungry, a few of us decided to stay. Even though the seminar was conducted as an open floor question and answer format, he went over some really important information, especially regarding mental game. Sean Rash was also in the room and I heard from his mouth that bar none what makes and breaks kids at this tournament is spares. One of the best parts of the day came at the end of the seminar. Every time someone asked a question, they would get a ticket that would be put into a drawing for a bowling ball at the end. Luckily, one of the tickets drawn belonged to none other than me. YAY!
We came back to the hotel and had to rush off to the next practice squad. Since we were all still very hungry, on the way to Sterling, we hit up the local White Castle. I'm not entirely sure how to respond to their sliders. While they were not particularly delicious, I could not stop eating them. The first one was "just alright," the second was "ehhh," the third was "pretty good," and the last one was "Are there any more?" That practice squad gave me a little less trouble overall.
We headed back to the hotel and a group of us decided to bowl in a side tournament. But first, we hit the Tim Horton's down the road. It was good, but I expect nothing less from them. We came back very briefly, changed into "proper attire" (slacks, collared shirts, etc.), and headed off to Imperial Lanes. The tournament would have had three patterns over the course of six games. However, when we got there, we were told they weren't going to turn anyone away and after standing in line for a good while, I asked how many pople were ALREADY on each lane. The answer I got was there was already five on a lane, we were still a ways back and there were people behind us. The whole group of us decided that we didn't want to still be bowling at 2 in the morning.
After heading back to the hotel, a group of us walked over to the Golf, Go-Karts, and Pool Hall. The line for go-karts was long, the mini-golf wasn't the greatest, but a few of us shot pool for a while. Then we walked back to the hotel. We were going to walk to Baskin-Robbins, but found out that Gaby, Kiri, and Jordan were already at White Castle, so Stacy, Heddy, Jeremy, Leif, and myself walked over to meet them.
After returning, we wound down and dispersed to our rooms for the night.
Tomorrow will be exciting, too, since AJ and Juan will arrive in the morning, we will have another practice session and from there, I suppose we'll wing it.
--Mike
This Saturday has been an interesting experience for me. I was able to get into two of the three bowling centers to practice. However, when I went for the side tournament today, I found out that there were at least 5 people per LANE, and there were at least 70 people ahead of me in line. I therefore abandoned the idea of competing in the tournament, because staying at the alley till 2 in the morning didn't sound very appealing, especially with one more day of practice left.
I spent most of the day with my friends and teammates from Corbin Bowl. We went to the practice lanes, had lunch, and hung out together. Today I also discovered the magic of White Castle. The first two burgers were not particularly good, but after the fourth burger I could not stop eating them. It was a particularly enjoyable experience as all of us went together.
<7/04/2008> WARREN, MI--This morning was a blur for the most part. I got up, I got dressed, I walked out the door. We drove to the flyaway and we got on the 6:30 bus. Then we were at the airport and it was mostly hurry-up and wait until we got to the gate. The guy in charge of checking our bags decided to take a coffee break right before helping Heddy and Jeremy. Leif's bowling balls almost weren't allowed on the plane; he was carrying them on.
On the 757 ride to Dallas, Cory and I sat across the aisle from my folks and we watched Horton Hears a Who on the plane screens, but came to the conclusion that it was more amusing if we didn't use the audio and just made up our own dialog. Jeremy slept after the battery to his laptop or iPod or sthn died, which must have been shortly following takeoff. On the MD80 ride from Dallas to Detroit, Cory and I sat with Zoe. Her movie got a bit loud and she kept getting progressively more annoyed that we'd ask her to turn it down, and she didn't want headphones. So, I asked her to turn it off and the three of us played a few rounds of cards until I decided to get a little bit of sleep. Zoe proposed to Cory that they play Uno in my absence, so Cory got to learn how to play Uno.
When we got here and checked in to the hotel, we went to get the balls out of hock and came back and distributed them. Then we all piled into a few cars and caravaned to Cracker Barrel. I had catfish, and while it wasn't by ANY means bad, it wasn't what I would consider the best piece of catfish I've ever had either. While eating the catfish, an intrigued 'Mu leaned over, and snagged a piece off the end. To everyone's surprise, he liked it...ALOT. So then we all piled back into the cars and came back to the hotel. We all just sort of relaxed until we all decided it was time to sleep.
Forecast for tomorrow: Get up early...again, eat, practice, check in to the tournament, bowl another practice squad, then come back and find something to entertain ourselves with...maybe food...
Tomorrow, the games begin, and with any luck that means I'll work up an appetite. ^_^
--Mike
There's planes, trains, and automobiles, and in our case it was busses to planes, planes with aborted landings (another plane was on the runway...oops), and change of planes with a 45-minute stopover (shortened by 10 minutes by the aborted landing), running through DFW airport without a moment to visit the restrooms or grab a bite to eat, arriving at our gate with two minutes to spare. The dreaded white rental car almost materialized, yet we were able to defer to a gun metal grey Impala. The hotel is great, the room is just fine, and we're looking forward to practice in the morning.
Everyone arrived, a few bumps and bruises along the way, but all 'cept Jordan are present and accounted for, and Jordan takes the red eye in tonight. Coaches Juan and AJ will join us early Sunday morning in time for the last practice and the start of the tournament on Monday morning.
This is the car capital of the world, and we can see that just from every business along this road is somehow car-based: GM, Ford, etc. Very cool for a family that loves to live at the car show. We had two tables of families at Cracker Barrel, so Jeremy learned the joys of catfish. It's amazing how quiet the kids' table gets when the food actually arrives.
In the upcoming days, I'll let the kids do more of the talking, I know Dustin has volunteered and Michael is up for a few more restaurant reviews (he really needs to go work for local Chambers of Commerce). But I've now been up for the bulk of 36 hours with an hour here or there, and it's starting to show.
Gotta split,
Angel
<07/03/2008> SAN FERNANDO, CA--Welcome back to another installment of Michael Rodriguez's Guide to Eateries, Restaurants, and Other Places of Note. In this series we will be visiting scenic Detroit, MI. On top of finding what Detroit has to offer in the ways of food, fun, and entertainment, I might try to squeeze in a little bit of bowling each day...
In all seriousness, though, it is Thursday night, and we at the Rodriguez House are running final systems checks before we embark to the East. All the bowling balls have, hopefully, already arrived in Detroit, all our luggage is packed, our CDs burned, and our heads buzzing with excitement as another year at Junior Gold is about to begin. We leave LAX around 8:30 or so, which means that with security and checking our bags, we need to be at the Flyaway by 6:00 to catch the 6:15 bus. Those of you who have been following my blogs the last few years will notice that this falls into the time known as "morning," the scary time of day immediately following the sun's rise during which it is best to sleep to avoid the sun's blinding rays. I will, however, be up, not necessarily awake, moving from one stop to the next until we get on the airplane with Leif and his dad, Cory (flying solo), and the Irs to join us. Zoe has decided to be benevolent and leave the Princess Movies at home, but has decided she is bringing Gremlins and Little Mermaid. Aside from movies, I can forecast a few rounds of cards, some reading, and the occasional nap. By the time we arrive, it will be more than time to grab food, and so I will definitely report on that when the time comes.
--Mike
It's July 1st. We officially leave for Junior Gold on Friday morning. This year we officially have our "Dirty Dozen" ready to go! So to our veterans Devon, Michael and Jeremy (third year each), Tyler Kiri, and Jordan (second year) and new comers Gabriela, Dustin, Cory, Tommy, Leif, and Zoe (Youth Open only) I wish you all well. You've come so far this year, that it's really sad to think this is the end of the Gold Program. But I couldn't be prouder of you as a group, and if it has to end, this is the way a program should end--not with a whimper, but a big BANG. :)
Sadly, with all the transitions from Greendale to Arlington, USBC has decided to forgo the participants' blog. Being that I have Bowlndiva.com, I figured I'd at least let people back home know what's going on. I can't say who might put in their two cents worth, but we'll be open for business the entire week.
Our bonus is their coach, Juan Fonseca and unofficial den mother Adriana have scored the most incredible airfare and will join us by Sunday morning. Let's hear it for Spirit Airlines and their $11.11 fare to Detroit (SERIOUSLY!).
This year's event would not be possible without the generous support of Nelson Colvin and the Early Birds and Thursday Night's Fun Bunch from our previous center and the incredible generosity of league bowlers from Corbin and GM Gary Montgomery, Linds Shoes/Bowling Products, Nick Smith at Bowler's Pit Stop at Santa Clarita Lanes, and Sharon Kapsimallis from Personal Touch Pro Shop inside Corbin Bowl. The kids thank you, the parents thank you, and I truly thank you for helping create the memories of a lifetime for this group. Some I've watched grow up since early elementary school. So saying goodbye will be hard. But with the next two years announced for Indy, we've decided to just say "no" and let the kids focus on college, other activities, and allow the parents to save upwards of $2000 each.
So the next time you hear from me it will be from Detroit. I'm so ready to go! I still have to pack, but I want to scream "Are we there yet?!!!"
Gotta split,
Ang
It's hard to believe we've been home a week. I just finished the mountains of laundry today, thanks to the fact I purposely sent several loads of it home UPS. So much has happened, and we've been so busy, that now I'm faced with playing catch up for the rest of the week in Buffalo.
Tuesday we were at Transit. This was the highest scoring house. The entire group did better here. The additional oil in the center of the lane really gave the kids a little tug room, and most of the kids used that to their advantage. After bowling we walked next store to the virtual golf and restaurant called Frog Hair. The kids were forced to eat their "ceremonial bonding local cuisine" and the hot wings at Frog Hair were surprisingly mild. We were given a better place to try later in the week.
Wednesday the kids didn't bowl until 7 pm, so we spent the early part of the day at the Falls. That evening we went to what would be everyone's undoing, Airport. The house is oddly housed--constructed in segments with complete walls running between each section of building. So if you're on lane 16, you can't see what's going on on lane 17--seriously.
Thursday, as our "off" day, we returned to the Falls and killed a ton of time there to see them lit up. Without passports or birth certificates (I'm a horrible mother, I don't think to carry around proof that I delivered them), we were forced to stay on the American side. No worries, we loved what we saw. The cut was made to the top 96 boys and 48 girls. From California, Alyse McGinnes, the Jimenez sisters, and Devin Bidwell made the first cut (if I missed someone, I apologize, my memory stinks these days.
Friday, Oh FRIK (FRIK from the last names of Tyler, Michael, Jeremy and Kiri) graced the lanes at Thruway again for the inaugural Youth Open Championships. Unlike their parents who had bowled in Reno earlier in the Spring, the kids actually rocked the house. The results seem to be final and they're sitting in 6th place. Jeremy may be buying a lot of his own books because he did fairly well in All Events as well.
We drove to Pittsburgh on Saturday and flew out from there. We're in the process of looking up places to stay and things to do in Detroit for next year. It will be pretty tough to beat what we accomplished this year.
Gotta Split,
Angel
As a friend of ours so proudly proclaims when he enters the center every Monday night, let the games begin. It's 7:10, and the kids left the hotel with Mario a few minutes ago. They'll check in and they'll bowl for score at 8 am. We actually all got them to sleep early last night--thanks to an early practice session and a "last supper" with the families of some really good pizza and wings. And now as soon as another mom finishes getting ready, we'll go downstairs, get a bite to eat and then we'll be off to the center to watch the first of three squads they'll bowl.
I never care how they bowl. Of course, I want them to do well, but that's not why we come. I want them to have fun and realize they have an opportunity to represent their families, Rocket Lanes, California, and if they get really lucky, the United States. Just by trying they have done what only 1700 kids in the entire country get to do. It's an honor.
We're off, or will be soon, so wish them all luck with me. Good luck, Jeremy, Jordan, Kiri, Michael, Stephanie, Manny, Danny and Tyler.
Go, go, go. It's still difficult to believe it's been a year since we packed up and left Florida, but here we are in Buffalo, NY frenzily focusing on the 2007 Junior Gold tournament. Michael is blogging for USBC again and those updates can be found at http://www.bowl.com/articleView.aspx?i=13240&f=2
The kids have practiced at two centers: Airport and Transit, saving their priority ticket (essentially guaranteed entry) for this morning. We learned from last year and planned out which centers and when. This afternoon, they'll experience opening ceremonies at the local minor league ballpark, including a walkout onto the field. Hopefully, they'll have names on the Jumbotron, too. Tonight they'll have a quiet night before they start bowling for score tomorrow morning at 8 am sharp.
Yesterday was a tough one, we'd driven up from my dad's in Maryland, leaving at 10:30 pm. There was that family of possums that I think we probably hit, but otherwise the overnight drive gave us an extra day with family and saved us from another hotel night to pay for. We arrived just after 6 and waited until they opened at 8 to begin touring the vendor's booths and collected all the chatchkes we could finagle. Sport Bowling was handing out "collector's pins" because sadly the "step up to the challenge" of sport bowling has been eclipsed by the letters P-B-A. Chris Barnes was in town for the day, so it was nice surprise to say hi. Kim Terrell was representing Collegiate Bowling, and with her new job as head coach in Delaware, there were definitely a few people we introduced her to. In the merchandise room, we were extremely disappointed to see only polyester shirts (apparently 1974 is alive and well). But in another retro move, we purchased the logo-ed tote bag, so Michael could move lane to lane with 3 double bags and not have to worry about wheels or steps.
The hotel is a nice one--a little small, but with enough storage we're not crawling over each other. It just takes a little planning. We have other bowling families in the hotel, but not nearly as many as last year. There were just so many options in Buffalo, and very few actual suites hotels.
We have several first-timers this year, and I'm looking forward to all the kids bowling on the same squad--three for the last time as juniors. The cycle continues.
We're finally into the countdown for Buffalo.
School lets out on Wednesday and we'll spend the next two weeks getting everyone into the right mindset for bowling Junior Gold. I bought patriotic bracelets for the kids with the words "freedom," "honor," and "spirit" on them in red and blue. In the entire package of 24, there was only one "pride," so I told the kids I was taking that one because I am so proud of all of them.
Some of the kids that rarely practice are coming in to get ready. I'm just glad they're excited, too. I'm so ready to get this party rolling. Tomorrow they will release details on how to ship the bowling balls using Bowling Ball Express so we don't have to lug them around on the airplane.
The "little ones" (my 15, 16, and 18 year olds) will be the only ones bowling the National Youth Open as the older ones (terming out this year and next) have decided the schedule didn't fit their time frame. So the little ones will be bowling Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday for Junior Gold, then take Thursday off to sight see, and then Friday they will be part of the inaugural Youth Open.
I am absolutely proud of them.
So Michael joins me in the 400 club this week, officially earning $400 for his 26th place finish at the state Pepsi tournament. The Rodriguez Bowling Team did pretty well this week--my winnings will go toward the trip to Buffalo and his will no doubt be added to what he's amassing for wherever he decides to go to college. It has been such a nerve-wracking month waiting for the results--worse ever since I looked at last year's results and realized he had earned some serious scholarship, and not the $100 or so he's used to if he wins an event. Heck the first place kid received like $2500--I would never have been able to stay in the building to watch that had Michael bowled that well. I would have sat in the car and someone would have had to tell me when it was over.
In the hunt for Buffalo, we've gotten our hotel and airline tickets arranged, with a short detour to Baltimore to see my father before Michael competes. We have the kids practicing on Sport and Michael's school work is slowing down to the point that hopefully he will be able to practice and get in top form for Jr. Gold. Still need to rent a car, get the kids team shirts and we'll see from there what else needs to be done. I almost have to wait for the kids to get out of school to get the rest of this stuff done.
The big rush is on to get the Summer bowling passes out. Michael and I have already managed to get out nearly 40,000 passes out. And I'm not sure how many more are in the boxes, but I'll keep going until I run out of passes or I run out of time. Hopefully I run out of passes first.
Gotta split!
Angel
A couple of friends actually invited me to bowl a tournament this weekend, and along with getting Michael to his SATs, having all the summer leagues starting, and having our anniversary, I figured why not? The last time I bowled was two months ago at Nationals and my knee cooperated on day one but wasn't happy for doubles and singles, so I wasn't sure what to expect this time. Thankfully, I did try league on Wednesday with absolutely no after effect, so I figured I was ok.
I knew it was a fun tournament, but I cringed when they said two balls practice each lane. I knew my knee wasn't going to appreciate that, and it showed in my first game--a whopping 161. But the event was held at the center I have the worst love-hate relationship with. I love the scores I shoot there. I could be blindfolded and throw the ball between my legs and it will carry for me. This is the center I won City Singles at when I was pregnant with Zoe, and have my highest series and games there. And, yet, I hate the place. Balls come back with a hazy, "burn" mark in the track (the synthetic lanes are the earliest types from the early 80s) and I am completely I am not throwing the ball well when I bowl there.
When my friends asked me to bowl, knowing I fit under the average they could go to, I readily agreed. I had the best time bowling this weekend--better than I have felt physically and about the actual bowling in years. Essentially about half way through the first game, when I was finally comfortable with my approach and slide, the games rolled off effortlessly--never going below 200 the rest of the day. Putting my 726 handicap with my partners 731, and I am now apparently $400 richer. I now get to be one of the Rule 319 flunkies! :) In all seriousness, had I known they paid that nicely, I would have been far more nervous and would never have been able to focus on bowling. But apparently, I can bowl when I have no clue.
The Sport shot league starts tonight at Corbin and we have a few spots to fill, so I'm off to get all that paperwork ready for the summer. We're looking at a nice, solid 12-team league for summer, which is better than last summer. And that is despite the fact that several houses are all putting on "PBA experience" leagues and competing for the same bowlers we've had now for (believe it or not) seven years.
Gotta Split,
Angel
The summer solstice doesn't hit for three more weeks, but if all goes as scheduled I might have my strongest summer yet. We started a semi-private adult/junior league Wednesday night, and Thursday we started the Adult/Junior Sport shot league we call Bragging Whiners. Tomorrow the Saturday morning leagues start with Sunday's regular adult/junior finishing the week out. The Saturday kids will feature bumpers, just off the bumpers, and a truly mixed up combination of all the rest of my juniors--from elementary to college age. It started two summers ago, and now the kids won't leave me alone until I promise they're all bowling together for the summer. They are, and the funniest part is it's the littlest ones who insist on pairing up as twos and forcing the older ones to plead to be on this team or that team. Safety in numbers, I guess. The best part is that the little ones seem to be inspired by the bigger ones and the bigger ones get to be treated like bowling gods. There is something about having a bunch of little kids cheering out someone's name and pointing any time the teen gets a turkey. It's just for summer, but it's always fun for me to watch them all grow.
Gotta Split,
Angel
P.S. to my better half: Happy Anniversary!
Bundled by the 100s, counted well into the tens of thousands, it's time to start delivering the summer "free game a day" passes good at the two centers in our area. My son and I have it down to a science: passes bundled in the trunk, maps, letters of explanation, and a list of area schools. I drive, and Michael delivers. I pre-navigate to the next school and get the next set ready while he goes in and chats with the office staff. I keep lists from years prior in order to guesstimate how many each school will need.
I'm not sure how many thousands we will be able to deliver before the school year ends here (most schools are out the 19th or 20th of June), but we'll do our best a few hours each afternoon. The biggest drawback is that the gas prices always seem to leap in December and June as the passes are due to go out. But I've always gotten my most interested league bowlers from the passes (the kids that return 2-3 times a week are a sure bet they'll enjoy the routine of league bowling), and I can trace "generations" of friends back to the passes from several years ago.
And even if the kids don't turn into league bowlers now, we're getting the kids into the centers. It's a start. Now if we could only get a duckpin house in the area.
For those of you noticing the "education" spin I've been on for nearly a year, take heart. I'll be concentrating that information on my new site, LAUSDMagnetAngel.com.
For the bowlers, coffee drinkers, and the roller coaster people, BowlnDiva.com will begin to resume more normal publishing. Quick notes:
On bowling. I was invited to actually bowl in a tournament next weekend--only two months since my last attempts at bowling. It's great to be needed--horrible average I've been carrying while on hiatus. The knee is better, and the tournament is at the center I hate (it's hard to explain, I score well there, but it never matters where the ball is thrown). Michael absolutely ROCKED the house in Daly City for state Pepsi. For the kid that originally missed the cut at our regional Pepsi event by a spare, he certainly made the most of it by finishing 26th in the entire state when he became an alternate. The most sincere thanks go out to aura-providing Charlie Kennell because without his guidance the boy wouldn't have listened to advice from mom. Zoe is off bumpers officially this summer. She'll still be with the bumpers for the summer league since we merge the elementary through college kids for summer, but she and at least three other kids are *sniff* all grown up.
On coffee. Michael's attempts to get employed by Starbucks have been a bit hit/miss. He got called in immediately for an interview based on his application, but I have a hunch the under-18 thing is going to hold him back if he doesn't find a little neighborhood store. He followed up and was incredibly thorough with the store he wanted to work at, and in the end, when he returned to find out if he got the job, they were pretty rude. So they've lost a customer.
On rollercoasters. We found out that Darien Lake is no longer Six Flags, and honestly it really appears that every coaster they have is a copy of a Magic Mountain ride. So while in Buffalo, we'll go across the border but we won't be going to Darien Lake. I'd like to hit Disneyland one more time before our passes blockout, but we only have a couple of weeks. And this summer, we have a couple of free passes for Magic Mountain, so I'll spring for the ridiculous $15 parking and see if we made the right choice when we dumped the SFMM passes two years ago for Disneyland.
I'll be back more often now, and I hope that everyone is doing well.
Gotta split,
Angel
On Friday, my former manager called and told me that the bean counters and real estate moguls had finally signed the lease on the building at Rocket. I've been through so many waves of emotions over the last year that frankly when he called it seemed somewhat anti-climactic. I didn't cry, cheer, or anything really. I ran out of those emotions months ago.
The kids didn't bowl this weekend, but we did have a notap tournament so I have been letting people know as I see them, or email them, or whatever I can do to let them know.
The saddest thing is our manager is still at the other center, so we're forced to rebuild with a new leader. Hopefully he sees what I do as valuable and understands the need for a great youth program.
But the beautiful part is that with a five-year lease, my son will graduate from juniors at Rocket Lanes, and by the time we need to worry about this again, Zoe will be entering junior high. By then, I know I won't have the stomach to do it again, so either they sign the lease quickly or turn the building into a Jamba Juice, because I won't be able to relive the last few months without therapy and sedatives. I know bowling centers are going the way of the dinosaur, but it's a lot more difficult to watch as it happens to the people you know. It was harder this time than when Conejo closed. And I won't be able to do it again.
I still plan to have an "alumni" tournament this spring, but honestly it will now be a happy occasion rather than a sad one. And the Saturday kids can start planning their teams with big and little kids mixed in together. And now when I mention that Zoe and her friends on bumpers are ready to come off in June, I won't have to wonder where they'd actually be bowling those bumperless games.
So at least one bowling center this year won't be turned into a car lot, or a book store, or a grocery store, or whatever store d'jour might be.
Gotta split,
Angel
It's that day, and the bird (all 20 pounds of it) is in the oven, so I figure I have at least three hours before the first relatives show up. So with a few minutes to myself, I'll resume a long forgotten habit of writing a column giving thanks.
I'm thankful for my two little bowlers. One now looks down at the top of my head, but he'll always be my baby. And the little one is most excited to go turkey bowling on Saturday. So while we spend several days a week promoting a sport I love, I still can get both of them into the car with little more than a "Let's go!"
I'm thankful for the bowlers that despite the parade of managers and questions on the building lease still show up every week ready to roll. I'm even more thankful that they seem to understand that I'm as in the dark as they are, and I long ago stopped trying to read the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup. When someone from corporate tells me what is going on, then I'll react, but for now, it's business as usual--with a giant question mark hanging over all our heads.
I'm thankful that Mario became president of the North Los Angeles County USBC (say that three times fast). With all the push to do the actual merger, no one in Greendale seemed too worried about what came next. He's done his best to moderate a few conflicts, and ride out the storms, but I can't think of a better person for the job.
I'm thankful to be able to give back to my city as a Historical Commissioner. My passion for really old houses finally can be turned into something useful. Did I mention that one of the perks of Zoe's school is driving right through a development of Eichlers? :)
I'm thankful that I have been able to devote the time to picking the kids schools. This year it was figuring out which kindergarten for Zoe, and beginning to narrow down the college choices for Michael. We may drive old cars, and have to plan for some major purchases, but there is no greater satisfaction than spending time with my clan.
I'm also thankful that I'm able to help others with our experiences within LAUSD. I never thought the trials and errors I went through with Michael would some day benefit kids coming after him (and of course, that includes Zoe), but now hopefully families will be able to be more proactive with their educational experience.
I'm thankful that back in January, we decided to forgo the Magic Mountain season passes for Disney passes. We've had some great experiences down there, and I think Michael and I can call every cut in "Soaring over California" about two seconds before the shot changes.
I'm thankful that Michael has decided he's not going to drive just yet. I didn't want to drive until I was 17 1/2, so his being 16 and deciding that it's just not worth it is ok with me. I keep reminding myself of that while I'm driving him around to college classes and to all his water polo practices, but I know he's right.
I'm thankful that my shy little munkin has suddenly blossomed into a social creature. She has a clan of her own. And bless her teacher for getting two Zoes and a Chloe and not even blinking. I'm lovingly calling them the oo-ee-oo-ee-oos (credit Morris Day and the Time).
I'm truly thankful for all the friends I've made along the way. Some of us can't get together as much, or talk as often, since life has a way of committing people to all sorts of issues without coordinating a single schedule. Take our four schedules and try to align that with a single other family and you'll see what I'm saying.
And of course, I'm thankful for everyone's health and happiness. I know I take that for granted, but I'm calling it out right now.
So to those off to shopping (apparently there are even stores open today), good luck and good sales. To those just content to watch Twilight Zone marathons and football games, enjoy. And to anyone planning on getting up at 4:30 on Friday to hit the big sales--more power to you. You'll probably be home before I get up, but I admire your tenacity.
Gotta split,
Angel
So we're hoping to hear from the chain that owns the center sometime next week if they have indeed come to an agreement on the lease of the building. I'm a firm believer in a free market economy, and the gentleman that owns the land has every right to get every single dollar for his property and the corporation has the right to sign, negotiate for a lower price, or walk away. However, I hope that all bowling centers do not go the way of the drive-in movies in the Valley, because if I ever want Zoe to see a movie from the trunk of an SUV, we have to drive all the way to Riverside or San Bernardino County. The land is just so valuable I think people in other parts of the country get sticker shock when they see what the building is potentially worth. I can't picture Southern California without a bowling center, nor picture my life without all the people who've touched me during my time as a bowler.
After over a year in limbo, the bowlers are starting to really get tired. And frankly, I'm exhausted. Not a day goes by that someone doesn't ask me if I know the building is up for lease (yes, that's true), that the center is going to close (we don't know that and I don't believe that that will happen), and a variety of other questions that I try to answer without sounding like a Stepford wife, or worse, an idiot. Every odd thing that happens can be the "sign" that someone was looking for to prove their case that the lease won't be signed and we'll be "homeless" or the sign that the corporation will sign the lease and we'll continue as usual.
The longer it takes, though, the harder it is not to at least try to wrap my mind around the saddest outcome--the closure of another center. I don't think I ever got over Conejo's closure. There were people there that were important to me that I've never seen again. Some have even passed away.
Regardless of what happens next week, next month, and in the next year, my kids won't stop bowling, and I can hope most of the families will continue to bowl somewhere--where ever I settle or at another center. That's all I really ever wanted--to teach people about a sport I love and let them enjoy it from nearly cradle to grave.
Gotta split,
Ang
With all the chaos this summer: losing our manager, having no manager for six weeks, and lingering doubts about the building lease, I really wasn't sure how the fall season would turn out at the center. Our first week was okay, but far from blockbuster, on Saturday. The Sunday adult/junior league seemed to show some promise--way up from summer, and even up from the previous spring. Then we got to the second weekend. Not everyone shows up the first week, because with the start of school it just seems that we get a lot of people who opt to start the second week. Saturday brought us several new additions, and the house is filling nicely. There's a mix of brand new families along with the returning families that make Rocket "home." I walked into league on Sunday, assuming I'd have one amount of teams, and was blown away by several more that had shown up. We have one blind, that one of the dads thinks he can fill by next week. We'd be at 22 teams. That's probably the second largest the league has been--ever.
It really goes to show that a bowling center is not just a restaurant, a bar, a pro shop, and some lanes, rather it's a community. The people bowling there are bowling, but they come back for the people. I have several "clans" on Sunday that I can point to, where if one family bowls, literally three or four more teams bowl as well. Sometimes it's a sibling and a spouse that join the next season, but other times, it's friends from baseball, temple, church, school, or friends from other activities that these families recruit to share the experience.
I'm really fortunate to have such phenomenal families involved in my program. As they continue to bring in the bowlers, I promise to bring on the best junior bowling program in the San Fernando Valley.
Bowling ended for Michael on Wednesday, and nearly all the families from Rocket went out to dinner to celebrate. Michael and Jeremy finished about where we'd expect them to: in the bottom 10% of the 990 bowlers, but we're very proud of Michael.
For someone with a 130-some average last year and a 179 book this year, his progress has been amazing. For a bowler with mostly social aims, he took on the highest challenge available to youth bowlers and represented everything from his center to his state in the Jr. Gold Championships. He was brave enough to even blog his progress for the USBC site bowl.com.
He knows he wants to do better next year--he is adamant about bowling the tournament next year. So we'll start planning for Buffalo.
Last night was a tough one. It was the shorter house, Boca. We met some great people I've known online for years, and another friend I hadn't seen in a few years. So socially, it was a great night. Bowling wise, Michael survived the second third of this test. Michael had a 194 in game 3, but then fatigue set in. Not physical tiredness--the mental tiredness of having to stay pumped for six games in over 4 hours. He's just not used to having to stay focused for that long. He's still not in the bottom five, so he's hanging in there, and he's already talking about what to do for next year--so we'll be back. Today he'll bowl Tamarac in the afternoon--the center with the most hold in the middle.
It's early Tuesday, and I'm sorry it's taken so long to update. Michael's blogging for the tournament at http://www.bowl.com/articleView.aspx?i=11935&f=2 so I'm sharing the computer with Mario for email and Michael for blogging. And while I have been accused of having too much to say way too often, he'll sit here and pick and choose his words.
Anyway, Michael bowled the 8 am squad at University yesterday. And out of the gate shot 138. He had two doubles in there, but the problem wasn't how he threw it when he carried, rather how he threw it when he didn't strike. His first three just proved what I already knew--the morning squad was going to be the hardest for him physically and mentally. He finally started to bowl the way I know he can around 9:30, which was halfway through the squad--and he ripped off a 542 for those three. He's currently in 900 of 990 boys with a 941 series for six, but from all indications (his practice and the scores coming out of each center) he may have hit the hard one first. Jeremy faired a little better with 1010 for his six-game block and he's currently at 728. They're both content with where they're at and with the knowledge it can only go up from here--each squad and each year.
Last night was family night and we went off in search of the Hard Rock pins and the T-shirts (thank goodness for a AAA discount). We found two--one in Hollywood, Florida and one in Miami. I was totally excited about the one in Key West until I realized that was a four-hour drive--most of it on a bridge. OK, I'll forgo that one. We let the kids run around on the beach in Miami at midnight (even then parking was pretty tough), so now they have the Atlantic to compare to the Pacific.
I'm off to forage for breakfast. Everyone else is totally knocked out. I can't thank everyone enough for the love and support you're sending the kids, and for that matter, me. Michael's set to do this for 8 years--and his already talking about making sure Zoe's average is high enough they can both do it his last year. We'll see :)
In the words of a friend who walks into league every week, "Let the Games Begin!" I realize that's the Olympic slogan, but no where does it feel more appropriate than right now. We've been waiting for this for months, and then days, and then hours. We've been in Florida since Thursday and it's now Monday morning and we're on our way to University. Michael and Jeremy left with Jeremy's mom a few minutes ago, and Zoe, Mario and I are out the door. We're going to the seminars later today, so it'll be a fairly long day, but a great day :)
Gotta split!
Ang
We attempted to get into Tamarac this morning, and they were overbooked. On a hunch we drove down to University and got on the priority list since Michael's first squad is at Uni tomorrow. Good thing, because they sold out well before the 1:30 start time.
So many parents have been complaining, but I have to say Jr. Gold has been nothing but accommodating over the years. In Dallas, bowlers only were able to practice ONCE at their first center. Last year, by request of the families, they allowed bowlers to purchase additional practice section wristbands for $10 each session to bowl at the other centers. The difference with Indianapolis was the houses were three 80-lane centers. Here the largest house seems to be 64. So subtract 16 lanes with at least 3 bowlers per lane, and I get a 50 or so squad difference in the practice squads. Give 50 more bowlers a chance at each squad and I'll bet the total overflow would have been far less. I'll check tomorrow during the tournament but I suspect the turnout at practice this year also exceeded any previous year. The kids are getting the message that they need to be better prepared.
So the centers are handling the overflow. University announced a by-demand squad at 4 pm, and before we left Tamarac, my husband had negotiated that they'd have a squad after the last scheduled one for overflow. Last night, the same thing happened at Boca, and they added a 4:30 squad after the 3:30.
Next year, there could be up to 1700 athletes. The only suggestion I will have for the Gold folks will be to allow people to purchase scheduled practice session tickets for all three squads--not just the one included in their packets for their first center. The Gold folks and the centers can better anticipate demand, and then add squads if necessary--all before they leave Wisconsin.
The boys are back at Tamarac now with Mario, and they'll be back for dinner soon.
Gotta split,
Angel
Michael and Jeremy will be bowling at Tamarac and University today for practice, and then *finally* tomorrow morning far earlier than should be humane, they start the actual process.
For a kid who only got serious about bowling in the tournament about a year ago, Michael has made huge strides. We're not expecting to still be bowling Friday, but he feels pretty good about himself and about how he's throwing the ball. He looks like an entirely different person. There will be three boys from Rocket on squad 1, Michael and Jeremy and also Jared, one of the college boys in the Gold program. Mario will be there to give them any guidance. Jeremy only got serious a few months ago. Through getting his grades to the level (really high, not like just barely passing) where his mom said he could go, and taking lessons and a lot of practice, he's here for the first time too. The tournament he won on Mother's Day might be the highlight of my year as a coordinator. Where else can you get kids to agree to bowl on Mother's Day to help a fellow bowler out? Rocket has four on squad two, and one on squad four I think.
Anyway, it's off to breakfast and then off to the practice sessions. We're staying away from opening ceremonies. Something about the beach, electrical storms, very large bugs and creepy crawlie critters, and putting us in the middle of it that makes me think that might not be the best place to be tonight.
Gotta split,
Ang
Today was check in day--a chance to meet some of the folks that work at USBC and put faces to the names you see in paperwork, press releases and in USBC literature. Check-in was held in several ballrooms at the Ft. Lauderdale Convention Center. They had really great exhibits, from ball companies, to colleges, to different departments at HQ. There were plenty of free chatchkes to go around. The actual check-in was incredibly quick. I really appreciated the extra space at the convention center versus a hotel banquet room where everything's all smashed in together. Michael's been chosen to be one of the Jr. Gold bloggers, so he'll be posting on bowl.com too. Pretty cool for a first-year bowler.
Michael and Jeremy went to practice at Boca Bowl, and ended up being part of an unscheduled extra squad. With so many kids trying to get so much in, they had an overflow crowd at the site, and they bowled practice at 4:30. They observed at Tamarac, so they'll have an idea of where to play, and they'll practice there tomorrow, but they didn't get to bowl there. Last squad of practice they'll do is at University, since they'll bowl there for real on Monday morning. Big perk this year--lane graphs for all to see. Now just like the adults bowling USBC or the Women's Open, the kids and their families will be able to see how the lanes are actually dressed. Some kids can use the information, some won't, but it is available to all.
An interesting sideline--we ended up at Steak & Shake (it's probably a good thing they aren't in California..we'd be there too often), and watched a humongous thunderstorm pass through. We watched for a long while because it was coming down so hard, there was no way we were leaving the restaurant.
Starting in Orlando, we made our trek to Kegel an hour away. The people at the Lake Wales facility could not have been more incredible. I'm turning over part of this entry to Michael himself so he can explain all that went on, so I'll leave it at that . We then drove back past Orlando to Melbourne to see George Freeman. He looks great and sounds, well, just like the George we all knew and loved. From Melbourne, we went down the 95 to finally arrive in Plantation. Dumb question, folks, but why does Florida have a tollway within eyeshot of a free interstate, and why would anyone want to pay to drive? I guess my California is hanging out again. Anyway, I'm turning this over to Mixmaster Mike--yes, we've been listening to Beasties this week--and let him tell you about today and how he feels about getting this close to Jr. Gold.
Hi, my mom is making me do this, but I actually want to anyway. And I promise that no matter how we bowl, I'll actually keep writing. It's sort of dumb to promise to keep everyone posted, then give up. Good, bad, or whatever, I'll do the best I can. I decided I wanted to visit Kegel instead of Opening Ceremonies, because I thought that anything I might learn there would be more important than eating fried chicken and hot dogs in a thunderstorm. And whatever I could have guessed I would learn, multiply that by probably 100 and it might be close. I've never had the chance to bowl on three different patterns in the same place before. They noticed two of my balls weren't reacting the same way when I threw them and showed me the pitches on two of them were a little off. They slugged my finger holes and I like that I can release all four balls the same way. They ran CATS on me, and I got all my stats. I don't really care what they are, but I like that they were pretty consistent for the entire game. Oh, and the bowling center is only 12 lanes. The tables and chairs take up almost half of the area of the lanes. And the pro shop is bigger than anything I've ever seen. And I liked the nice torrent of rain that blew in....and we followed back to Melbourne. Do people really live through this every single day all summer? Big thanks to Joe Stacy and the Kegel crew. I can't say enough about my day there. Kegel had some great shirts. I got one that looked like a flag. My mom won't let me wear that with my Converse that have stars and bars. Too much of a good thing I guess.
Oh, and as of midnite, Jeremy had his bowling balls by way of Houston--thanks Southwest, you're the best.. :) Check in is tomorrow at noon, and I'll be there early. I'll be practicing at two centers Saturday, one on Sunday, and then it's time for Jr. Gold.
Mom says Gotta Split, but I'd rather have time to Spare :)
Mike
Our Southwest flight was fairly uneventful. We found out our mystery stop was in Albuquerque. So for those planning their USBC Opens, that's home of the Championships in a couple of years. So we can choose a 14 hour drive or just less than a two hour flight. With a 17 and 7 year old then, I think Southwest might have repeat customers.
We arrived at 9:30 at MCO and the Rodriguez luggage was fine, but Michael's best friend packed two balls and shipped two (as many tournaments as we bowl, we shipped them ALL). Jeremy's two balls, in a box marked Florida or Bust! must have raised some suspicions, because it apparently got all kinds of extra security and missed our 12:40 flight to Florida. For those who are new to the travelling with balls thing: Bowling balls do not play nice with the x-ray machines. So for a very heavy box where the cover scans at one visibility, and the core appears differently, your box gets a very thorough TSA hand search. Fun stuff, folks. Our taxes at work, I guess. Suggestion to those reading: Mail your stuff!
The gentleman at Southwest's baggage claim couldn't have been nicer, but it still means that Jeremy will be bowling at Kegel with two balls we shipped there directly. We have until Monday to reunite Jeremy with his "busted" balls before the tournament.
As we walked outside the airport my son made his first Junior Gold reference. He took one deep breath into the beyond muggy air and said, "Ahhh, tastes like Junior Gold." Humidity is an issue when it comes to folks from SoCal where anything over about 20% is called monsoon in Los Angeles.
It's just about 6 am here, and I've had three hours sleep. That means the hotel bed is a little harder than I'd like, and hey, I'm excited. Mom biologically to one Junior Gold bowler, and Mom emotionally to nearly a dozen more. Let the Games begin!
It's the 4th of July, and while we'll be watching the fireworks later tonight as will thousands of families across America, we're packing for a trip across the country. Saturday, my son Michael starts his journey to attempt to represent his country and bowl for Jr. Team USA.
This is Michael's first year, and he's come a long way. Of course, we're well aware of the odds that he'll face bowling against 1458 of the best youth bowlers in the country. I am amazed at the transformation he's accomplished. Growing several inches in the last few months is merely genetic and hormonal, but it came at good time for him. He's now about 5' 10" and at 15 has probably another inch or two in store. His game has transformed as well--from the ugly duckling to approaching a swan-like stance. He has Juan Fonseca to thank for that.
Michael is representing many entities: Rocket Lanes, the North Los Angeles County USBC, the state of California, and of course, his country. He's got so many different interests (from bass guitar, to his study of Japanese language and culture, his love of music and his iPod, and a gazillion other things), that it amuses me that bowling in this tournament--just to represent his country (and his bowling center) means that much to him.
No matter how he finishes up, he's come a long way in a short period of time when he announced he suddenly wanted to go to Florida to bowl. So now he's going, and he's done the work to get there. My husband, my daughter and I will be there to root him on.
So wish him luck, and wish me luck. I've taken a dozen or so kids to this event before, but never have I had to just sit there as a Mom. I'll thankfully be able to wander around and watch some of the other kids from our center, because I'd be a nervous wreck if I had to sit there the entire time and just watch.
I'll try to update this during the week, and possibly get Michael to add a few words of his own.
Gotta Split,
Angel
It's been a long time in coming, but the SMART scholarship system, collected and disbursed by USBC has gone online in a big way. For those without youth bowlers in the family, bowling is big bucks in the form of scholarships. USBC created SMART (Scholarship Management and Reporting for Tenpins) as a centralized place for a variety of organizations--youth leagues, tournament clubs, associations, and the like--to send the scholarship dollars and allow the recipients to request the scholarships. First mentioned roughly two years ago, the online portion of the program finally went live early this spring.
I became acquainted with SMART very soon after becoming a youth coordinator. A local center was going out of business and was having a scholarship tournament to disburse their final funds. My son won his first scholarship that day--in 6th grade. Soon after I started having some scholarships awarded out of my own center.
Which brings me to last Friday evening. I wanted to make a few disbursements to some bowlers as youth leagues had ended that week in my center. I pulled up the SMART webpage, entered my account and password, and up comes the website. In literally less than five minutes, I was able to award over $600 to more than half a dozen recipients. Since I was using previously unused funds in my SMART account, had any of those bowlers wanted to request their scholarships that night, they were available. Gone is filling out the paperwork and needing to look in one file cabinet for addresses and another drawer for their bowler ID numbers. I hit print to receive a confirmation print out, so no more wasting half a tree in paper making copies, and no more trips to the post office with an envelope as thick as a telephone book. SMART had the most up-to-date addresses of the bowlers that I know had moved during the season, so USBC is keeping up with the postal changes. I can now do my work on my time from home.
SMART handles all of this without charging a fee to the programs it works with. SMART earns interest on its deposits, and pays its expenses from that income including salaries for those implementing the program. Any additional interest earnings are returned to the programs to use at their discretion as well. I don't need a checking account and I don't need to pay for checks. Coming from a chain center, the hassles for requesting a check from the corporate office are even worse.
As a parent of a scholarship recipient, it couldn't be any easier, either. My son is now in high school, but he takes courses at the local community college. What used to take an email or a phone call to find out the balance and then request funds is even simpler now. At any time of the day or night, we can find out how much my son has left in his account. Currently, my son has scholarships in at least four different places with at least four different requirements for eligibility, and worse, four different rules on when the scholarships expire. And I'm sure there are bowlers with scholarships from six or eight different organizations. Only the scholarships in SMART are available online like this.
By August, SMART is going to become more familiar to a lot of families, as USBC has voted to require the use of the SMART system. While there are some issues for larger tournament clubs regarding the interest that SMART receives, having a one-stop shopping approach for families will be a big help. In addition, the consistency with the terms of the scholarships and the expiration dates will help families use more scholarships and have fewer accidentally expire. I'm fortunate to be pretty involved and presume I know what's going on, but this will be a huge bonus to families that don't spend every waking moment in the bowling community.
I may have finally had the most earth-shattering blonde moment of my life, although some might say that since I'm no longer blonde, I'll have to look for another excuse. Anyway, I received my spiffy new USBC card in the mail last week, and in the place of average, it says N/A. But I've been reading the message boards on a variety of sites, and I'm aware of the WINLABS glitch that allowed an entire batch of "membership" cards to be shipped without averages on them. No big deal. A week passes and I receive my transfer/local BA card, and there's no average on that either.
So I go to bowl.com, use the find-a-bowler feature, and come to realize I didn't book an average last year. Durrrrrr. How can someone, bowling in her 20th season miss the obvious? The simple answer is this: My adult/junior leagues are short season leagues, running roughly from Labor Day through the December holidays, the next leagues run January through May, and the summer leagues bowl from just after Memorial Day through Labor Day. This schedule gives each league from 10-17 weeks, depending on which season. Now, split the spot since I bowl every other week, alternating with my husband. And I never bowl the first week (paperwork) and I never bowl sweeper (the last week) because there's too much to do. So I ended up with 18 games twice and a variety of leagues with fewer games than that. So for the 2004-2005 season, I don't have a book. This means I'm not going to be bowling many tournaments this year--not that I've been bowling many the last few years. But this year, I can't.
Of course, no one will see me petitioning any tournament directors for papal dispensation, either. I enjoy my every-other-week situation. I've never been happier, coordinating the kids on Saturdays (Pepsi qualifying starts next week, dontchaknow), coaching Zoe through her bumper league with her posse of preschoolers and early elementary school friends, bowling every other Sunday with my son, and dealing with sport bowlers of both youth and adult divisions with my Junior Gold program and the trios league I'm secretarying for on Monday nights.
By the time Tuesday rolls around, the last place I want to be is in another bowling center. So until Zoe is off bumpers and Mario and I have to bowl full time and fill two teams of Rodrigui in the adult/junior league, I'm officially out of tournament competition and enjoying every minute of it.
The fact that I didn't even think about it when I could have done something about it speaks volumes.
And yes, I suppose that means I'll have more time for writing. Or we can always hope. :)
Gotta split,
Diva
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.
Sorry, it's been like ages since I've had the opportunity to post, but I actually bowled something myself worth reporting, so I figured I'd get back in the swing of things.
ABC Update (Michener in length)
Prelude
After a 3 year "maternity leave" I guess I had to get back on the horse sometime. And when Mario was faced with pulling together 2 teams out of nothing, guess who got drafted?
Mario recruited the center manager, head mechanic, a former mechanic now running his own center in NorCal, three Junior Gold parents, and one of Mario's friends, when one of the Internet league bowlers asked if Mario had any room. Let's see 8 bowlers, plus 2 Rodrigui, and suddenly he had his two teams.
We drove (yes, with a 13 and a 3 year old) a rented SUV 7 1/2 hours on Tuesday to bowl Wed/Thur. Zoe saw her first snow driving up, and one of our stops was to fill a paper cup with "snow" (even I know that after it's melted and refrozen that many times it's more like sno-cone than snow) but she was happy. Michael and I must have sang through the soundtrack to "Paint Your Wagon" seven or eight times, so Mario was groaning. :)
We stayed at Siena, and if that place survives, it's GORGEOUS. Right on the Truckee River, and for the first time in my life, a bed that you can actually sleep in the first night without an aching back. The linens on the bed are unlike anything I've ever seen in a hotel. Unfortunately the casino was a ghost town, so I'm doubting it will be there very long.
We were one of the last teams to get our stuff in for the tournament (overnighted to arrive ON the deadline), but we got the best squad times. 2:30 for team and 11:40 for doubles. No sleep deprivation and guess what, they started on time.
We arrived at the stadium and finally met Pat Douglas, who, aside from not liking my choice in shirts (my manager paid for them, but I picked them out) is a great guy. Note to Pat, it could have been worse, my manager, "Steven Segal" could have picked them out ;)
I was really psyched out about bowling a "real" tournament after such a long layoff. Heck, I'm only bowling league every other week these days. So for the last six weeks, I've been...what do they call that....oh yeah, practicing. Then getting my arsenal together again after 4 years, I felt pretty confident on at least having something that i could use (operator error is another story).
Chapter One team event
I wanted to start with the Crisis from outside, and in my first shot watched it sail out past the first arrow and stay there. Moved my feet, and switched to the Navy Quantum. By early 2nd game, I was coming up consistently high (after 3 frames, I knew it wasn't me anymore). Switched to the Command Zone, and switched to the Crisis by early in the 3rd game. I succeed in shooting a polish stepladder: 181-182-180 for 543. Our team, barely out of classified division, shot a 2691, putting us nearly 70 pins over the cash line. OMIGOD, my first ABC check.
We were all bowling well, but most of us were more concerned with the after bowling dinner event at Tony Roma's. We had the waitress hopping with our party of (lucky 13) but we were nothing compared to the table of antique citizens at the corner table demanding separate checks so they could use 5 coupons. Three visits from the waitress and the manager explaining they'd already been told they could NOT have separate checks didn't seem to sink in. Had I brought my larger purse, I would have offered their leader my calculator because she was breaking that bill down to the friggin penny. Of course the highlight was when the waitstaff came out and sang happy birthday to Mario (Michael's idea, and funnier than heck).
Chapter Two Doubles/Singles:
We were third shift on the doubles, so we did pretty much start out where we ended. Playing a relative house shot line at this point I fired off games of 178-210 before the wheels fell off and I shot 133 or something.
We switched pairs for singles and two things happened. My sugar level really took a dump, and so I'm up there begging a lady not to rag on me for eating crackers. And the first few shots actually came up light, so I moved back right thinking maybe they were different. I should have stayed deep, but it took me 2 games to figure that out. 140-148-190. I'll miss a check here by a few pins, but that's my fault.
I had 3 decent games and 3 that outright sucked. If I had just stayed deep, I would have been ok. But I'm looking pretty good for All Events, too...
I wasn't thrilled with being in Classified this year, but it'll get me an extra check, so I'll take it :) I'll be back bowling the JJs of the world next year assuming we can coordinate dates.
Epilogue
One of the best highlights of the tournament was knowing that some of the juniors were actually home and watching every shot on the web cam. Now when I say that I understand difficult shots, they'll believe me. The tournament was a great experience, and I'm glad I got back on the horse again. ;)
Geez, I see it's been weeks since I have been able to get back here. I hate the excuse that I'm busy, because everyone is busy. That's just life. I have trouble balancing everyone's needs and desires. I try to anticipate what every bowler will need, but eventually someone will come along and show me I'm not doing my job (pick one) well enough. I hate to say I will settle for making 80, 90 or 95% of the people happy and the rest be damned, but sometimes when I hear people out, I realize there is nothing I will be able to do to make them happy. It troubles me, because I want to make the experience great for everyone, but I'm only one person limited to 24 hours in my day. I often hear how great I am doing, but it only takes one complaint (however frivolous) to bring me back to the drawing board. I'm constantly doing a juggling act, it seems.
I'm forced to balance my home time with my "work" time. Even at home, I'm often fielding phone calls or preparing paperwork for league or a tournament. I'm thankful that my son likes bowling and my daughter is beginning to enjoy it, because the amount of time they spend at the centers is just short of qualifying as a second home. I love what I do, but I find myself getting giddy over the days off during holidays and during the end of a league. I value the time away from the center when I don't have to feel guilty about not being there. I need that time away just to remember what a Saturday night or a Monday night at home feels like, or what sleeping in on a Saturday morning means.
I'm always attempting to balance the needs of the Gold bowlers against the needs of the rest of the program. I have to encourage these kids to raise ungodly amounts of money for their trip to Dallas, so there's a lot of handholding and cheerleading going on (go team, rah! yay!). Then, many of these kids also bowl other houses and other programs, and so I'm constantly trying to match their expectations of a great program. But there are only 18 faces in that program and I know they take up more than 1/5 of my time. It doesn't bother me that they require more time, because every kid is different, and some of the other kids in the program just want to come in, bowl, and go home, but I need to know that for sure and not just assume it because it makes my life easier.
I'm always balancing the relationships with the kids who have been with us a few seasons against the time I need to spend with the new bowlers. I mean relationships, because after a few seasons, these families do become friends. I try to stay mindful for newer families that they may be new to bowling or they may be new to our way of bowling leagues, so I really do try to keep on top of how we're meeting their expectations. And the families that have been around for ages are pretty easy to read too, because I've been able to sit down and get their philosophy, and they know they can come to me. Sometimes where I miss are in the families who survive the first season, and yet haven't been there forever. Or the ones who just bowl one league, and I might not touch base with because they bowl and go home.
I try to balance the needs of the serious bowlers versus the here-to-have-fun types. I have kids that winning means everything, and I have kids who be-bop in and out and I would have no idea without looking at the recap whether they shot their highest series or if they lost all four points that morning. I can pass out all the information about city tournament, or state tournament, or Pepsi, but whether I made a connection or they think it's too big a deal for them to bowl, I never know until they build a team or say no thanks.
And of course, the part I tend to ignore. I have to balance the requirements of a corporate center with the needs of the families of 100 kids. While I should be grateful for the employment, I guess, the real reason I do it is for the kids. So I'm often put in the position of having to advocate for the kids and showing the corporate types that certain times you give a little to get a lot. Unfortunately with a big corporation, I feel I do most of the giving, and they just accept what they get. And for me, that's fine. But when the corporation doesn't listen to the needs of their bowlers, I do have concerns. There are too many centers and too many programs for the kids to stay in one that doesn't appreciate their business. Can I, alone, make it clear the bowlers are appreciated? I try.
And finally, I'm still trying to find the right balance between my being a coach/coordinator and my own bowling. Right now, with everything going on, including a 2 1/2 year old and my spending 3 1/2 days in a bowling center already, the odds of me wanting to bowl more are slim and none. Hopefully some of the other fires will go out and I can address this one in time. In the mean time, juggling seems as good a sport as any.
Zoe's been bowling since the day she turned 13 months (hey, it was MY birthday present to myself, thankyouverymuch), so that hardly qualifies as news. I had planned on letting her start leagues this September, but the age of the other kids is SO young that I decided I couldn't really give her the attention she'd deserve and it would take away from the experience for the other kids if I tried.
Then there was the added argument she had not completed a full game alone yet. Now anytime anyone is practicing (Mario, me, Michael, or half a dozen of the kids or adults we might be watching), at some point Zoe mooches in a couple of shots with assistance. But that is not bowling, yet.
Just a couple of weeks ago, though she pulled out two, separate one-game stints. Her first game was at Rocket (as it should be, since she recognizes when we're going there from 3 blocks away), and her score was a nice, even 40. Later, at Corbin she managed a 53 or something close to that. The nice thing about Corbin is they have the ball speed monitor and Zoe comes in at a blistering 2.6 mph. Yes, she uses bumpers. Can she carry the ball herself? She can, but since it's more than 20% of her bodyweight, I prefer she not. She kneels at the foul line and away it goes. Slowly. If we had fingers drilled in it, there would be that distinct "wah wah" as it rolled over the thumb hole. But for now, there's no audio accompaniment.
Her current ball of choice is a 6 lb. Power Puff Girls Viz-A-Ball, but she will use a house ball or one of Daddy's 16 lb. monsters if she can get a shot in with it.
So she will no doubt be ready for league when we decide to put her in, but I'm not gonna rush it.
The PBA Tour started this week in Omaha, Nebraska. And with the start of the tour, came the return of Fantasy Bowling at http://www.bowlingfans.com/fantasy. After the Banquet Open, I'm in second, woohoo!
The concept is simple on the surface, because players merely pick five bowlers--three titleholders and two nonchamps. Before they hit the send button, however, they have to use a little strategy. WRW is an obvious choice, but he seems to be a favorite with nearly everyone who plays, so if he makes a show, there are a LOT of players getting the same points. For me, it ends up being a balance between guys I think will make the show, guys I enjoy watching, and at least a couple of lesser knowns that will let me jump in the standings if they make the telecast.
It gives you a little more to root for each week, especially with the new bracket format where half the players exit after each round. The best part of Fantasy Bowling is it's FREE. Winners gain the respect of the other fantasy players, but there's no money on the line. So if you're interested, pop on over and see if you can predict the future.
This year, the Junior Gold league consists of 18 bowlers. Although, I suspect we might have a couple of tournaments along the way to allow some of the kids who wanted to bowl but had either time conflicts or are away at college to compete in Dallas. Yep, Dallas. Hold me back.
I can not begin to describe how proud I am of the athletes that went to St. Louis for Junior Gold 2003. They raised money, helped each other out, and represented the program, their families, and themselves with DIGNITY. Kids who actually made the team were not disciplined for kicking things, punching things, and screaming profanities. Thankfully, the Rocket bowlers saw how sad these kids looked (complete with parents applauding poor behavior), and came home with a renewed sense of how to conduct themselves. I've said before, I sincerely doubt that most of these kids will make the team. For them, making the cut was the goal. Seeing them realize they CAN beat some of these kids some of the time in person was definitely worth spending my family vacation inside bowling centers.
We have our work cut out this year. The hotel chain we stayed at last year has some nice outlets, but we apparently found one of their less than desirable properties. So we're looking for nicer digs, which will cost more--which means MORE fundraising. And all 18 bowlers are intent on going.
I am impressed with the new outlook the kids all have, and despite our misadventures, the declarations all begin "Next year, I'm gonna do _______ differently." To me, that means success.
Special thanks to the major fundraisers, Emil and Kevin for leading the way, and thanks to Donkee for their endless support. Thanks also to Barry Asher's Embroidery for outfitting the kids with such short notice.
Everything since summer has been a big blur, between family and my extended family at the center. I will be making a concerted effort to get everything caught up and posted and definitely updated.
We have eighteen kids ready for Dallas for Junior Gold in July 2004. And in my program at Rocket, I have finally grown to over 100 bowlers.
And if you ask my son what's new and exciting, he will tell you it's less than a month until Starbucks releases the holiday drinks so we will be able to be Gingerbread Latte folks once more.
Stay tuned!
I always hear how scratch bowling is dead across the country. Even sanctioned Sport Leagues are handicapped, go figure. Call me a throw back, but I've always encouraged kids to bowl scratch as soon as they were able to. That said, I also don't believe is sending a kid to the sharks totally unprepared. I feel like you have to groom them--letting them graduate one step at a time.
Around every holiday weekend, I usually throw a no-tap tournament. The junior leagues take the weekend off, and it allows the kids who don't go away (more and more in the post-September 11th world) an opportunity to do something fun. Fourth of July weekend was no different. We had a no-tap tournament and a tie dye party afterwards to get rid of a bunch of T-shirts with the bowling center logo. I give the kids divisions: Bumpers (self-explanatory). On the other end, I have the Junior Gold kids. They average head and shoulders above the Saturday morning kids, and each of them is capable of shooting 800 no-tap, so they're separate. In the middle, though, is murkier. I have a scratch and a handicap division. The kids who belong in the handicap are clear--the newer kids, the kids who average under 100--heck even under 120. But because the top of the scratch division is in the 160s based on the Saturday morning crew I have, some of the kids from the younger league who bowl in a handicap league are in a grey area.
Saturday morning, I approached one of the boys (he's 10) about bowling scratch. His 149-average gives him great no-tap scores, but he often loses out by the handicap. He's complained in the past, and I put a stop to it, but at the same time, I always want to groom them for more. Being "allowed" in the scratch division was all he needed to hear, he jumped. But as I'm writing up the score sheets, one by one, the other 11- and 12-year-olds start rushing up to the table I'm at. Before I knew it, all of the boys 10 and up, averaging 118 and up were bowling scratch against the 160-average boys. It was pretty funny, and the parents were all amused, but I realized they've crossed into another realm. If they win, they wanted to earn it, not have it handed to them.
It worked out really well, as two of the lower average boys made the rolloff in the scratch division. And some of the newer handicap bowlers were relieved not to have to beat the usual suspects in the tournament. I rate the day an entire success, but not because of anything I did, rather just what the kids decided to do. I had 26 entries: 13 handicap, and 11 scratch. Amazing.
We're packing our bags, we've practiced our last practice, and I've already said "See you in St. Louis!" to most of the kids I won't see before Saturday. After 11 months of planning, 30 weeks of league, 3 months of intense practice, and visits to every car rental, airline, hotel, and visitor's bureau website I could think of, the Junior Gold tournament is actually here!
Trying to get all my league sheets and other stuff taken care of before we leave is another matter, and I'm sure I'll be in a panic as soon as the plane takes off. But the reality is, this is the trip of a lifetime.
I've always tried to delegate and teach my job to others, but everyone I've taught it to is among the 15 bowlers going to St. Louis. Next time, I'll have to think of some of the more mundane tasks a sooner.
I'm looking forward to this trip like a little kid. Even better because I don't have to bowl, I just get to cheer. Woohoo! :)
While we'll be in St. Louis for nearly 5 days for the Junior Gold National Championships, we're actually flying in to Chicago and making the drive down. While I'm futzing around today online, I realize there's not only a Six Flags park in St. Louis, but another one in Chicago. I need to talk to the boys we're traveling with, and see if they want to hit another ball park or another amusement park.
The opening ceremonies for Junior Gold will be held at Busch Stadium, so I get to add to my very small but growing ball park count. Last time we were in the Midwest bowling the Hoinke, we saw the Cards play the Reds in 2001. And we hit Cedar Point in Sandusky. Now we get to see the Cards play at home. Unfortunately, while we could feasibly add 3 ball parks to our count this summer, with the All Star Game there, and the fact we have to be at the registration hotel by 5 pm Saturday, the chances of seeing the Cubs are slim and none (they don't play at home the weekend we return to Chicago). But depending on how the boys do, we could be done in St. Louis by Wednesday evening, and leave early Thursday morning for Chi-town.
That leaves us plenty of time for a trip to the Six Flags park there (Great America) and either the Thursday night or Friday night White Sox game. I'm not gonna get all anal and go out of my way to experience every amusement park within hours of every jaunt I make, but at 35, I'm realizing I've got more roller coastering behind me than in front of me, and I would like to hit a few of the parks before I'm left with the purses and strollers.
And of course, if the guys do really great, we might have to stick around longer in St. Louis, which is fine too. That's why we are making the trek and it's the experience of a lifetime.
I'm really getting excited waiting for the announcement of next year's Gold site, but in the meantime, I'm also thinking about the possibilities of Reno in October. Baseball is out by then, but with any luck there are a few amusement parks up the coast we could hit near San Francisco.
I'm having this little love-in with the league sheets that I am running thanks to the software from CDE. I'd been after my manager forever to replace the tired old dot matrix league sheets with something that was at least 20th century, when he finally got the ok to buy the software for the junior leagues. I managed to convince him to broach his boss, the district manager, with the idea that it would take me fewer hours to do the league awards, and let all the junior leagues run their points the way they wished. Honestly, I was just tired of the sheet service complaining about me allowing bowlers to makeup rather than prebowl.
Back in December, I started with the Junior Gold league. It was very cool. By January, I had rolled all the new Saturday morning leagues into CDE. The parents love the league sheets, and even more of the kids like getting their standings posted to the website. I adore it because there are people out there catching my mistakes (there aren't many, but it's so hard to proof yourself), so that by the time I print out the sheets, I am virtually error free.
More than just the league sheets, though, I am in love with the awards printouts (that go right to YABA and get fulfilled a week later), the Pepsi qualifier section (I did it on paper, too, this year, but next year I'm sure I will be confident enough to let the machine handle it) , the great reports I can create for phone lists and the like, and the customer service is phenomenal.
I can't believe I waited this long to convert from Mac to PC, solely because I couldn't believe anything could be worth defecting. Well, I was wrong. CDE is worth ditching the Mac forever. If I say it has given me back 3-4 hours a week (when I really only clock in for 8-10 to begin with) I mean it.
My only wish was there was more of a manual. I must run the goofiest leagues in the world, because I almost always have to ask how to get them started. But the guys at CDE answer right away, and we're off and running again. To quote Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come." I'm not sure who it applies more to, the people at CDE or to my program. But sky's the limit since I can run anything they ask.
Well, here it is, June 12, 2003. One month to the day until our trip. The seniors finally graduate next week, and summer vacation starts for the rest of the kids. And what do I get in my email today? A little note from American Airlines telling me that my flight information has been changed.
It was early, and pre-coffee, so I didn't think much of it. But when I came to my senses, I needed to check, because we're traveling with my two kids and two teens from the program (who had booked a different flight). I check, and find that the nice reservation people put my family in 3 different rows. Mind you, with a 2 year old and a 12 year old. Ummm, no. Now we're in at least the same row, although there is some poor sap sitting right between us. With any luck, he or she will move. And it turns out that the boys are now on the same flight with us, so if there are bowling ball issues, we can claim the luggage as ours to keep anyone from paying too much.
The rental SUV will no doubt be a squeeze from Chicago, but we'll make it work. A friend just bought the same Explorer we're renting, so I'm envisioning my son sitting on top of a bunch of luggage in the third row. One long drive through Illinois, and then crossing the river into St. Louis. I think I'm finally getting excited.
We've planned and worked together on this trip to Junior Gold, and it's finally nearing a reality. I can't wait.
Congratulations to Jason Dutcher, California State Pepsi Scratch division winner. Jason shot an unbelievable 1527 for six, including an 802 back three games. Jason bowls all over, but finds time to bowl the Junior Gold Singles league at Rocket Lanes Saturday nights.
Congrats also to Patrick Dougherty for his outstanding performance in the handicap division.
