1. The good people of BallReviews.com. This has been a place to get questions answered, advice, hear other people's experiences and hear about what *doesn't* work, which is just as important as what does.
2. I'm going to leave some people out here, I know -- but azguy, D Scott Johnson, JohnP, tenpinspro, novawagonmaster, Mike Austin, JustRico, BrunsNick and others primarily in the Drilling & Layouts section that I went to for advice in starting my backyard "pro shop," which is really just me drilling for me. Having that resource now makes it easy to experiment with pitch changes, equipment and change the surface on my stuff.
3. Coaches like Ron Clifton and Chris Jones (Chris may not post here anymore but he used to be under the name baldmancj) who answered questions and worked with me patiently in person, especially since I'm a tough student to work with, as I naturally suck.
4. Jeff Carter and Pete Weber. While I didn't seek either out directly for advice (aside from asking Jeff about drilling thumbholes), once Ron C. told me what my stats were, I realized that I could most easily emulate their style of bowling (albeit with fewer revs and less results). That helped me narrow my focus of what I was trying to do in my limited practice time.
5. The support of the people on the Lane #1 forum for suggesting layouts and surface preps for my Lane #1 stuff. I frequent nearly all the equipment forums, since I use a variety of stuff, and the Lane #1 forum is one of the most helpful on the site. My Christmas wish for those folks is to have to deal with fewer agitators next year (it's actually a problem on all the equipment-specific forums to some degree and it's neither amusing nor does it make the agitators look smart).
6. Joe Slowinski at Bowling This Month for his "Quiet Eye" targeting system, and my wife for letting me spend some of my family's hard-earned cash on a subscription to that magazine. I've always known about BTM's extensive ball reviews, but the rest of that magazine is highly worth your money.
7. The folks at The Gathering last summer that I swapped info with, especially BigWillyStyle and janderson, who both (probably unknowingly) helped me decide on equipment and drillings and lane play strategies.
Just so I can quantify what's going on here, as of tonight, my average is up to 194. I set a goal prior to the season of 195 and as long as I don't slump, I might actually get it. Tonight's league performance was my fourth 600+ series in seven weeks and the eighth straight week above the previous week's average. Given that I've been hurt for most of the past four years (repeated wrist injuries), this is a major accomplishment for me. I know some of you would think your world had ended if you dropped below 200 but I'll take my victories where I can find them.
Only once before did I threaten 200, and that was when I was bowling in Smyrna, Tenn., on a total cake shot. I averaged 200+ for 34 weeks and then shot back-to-back series in the low 400s to drop to 198 at the end of 36. At the time, I thought it was no big deal, that I'd be back in short order. In the years since, I've been mired between 175-187 (I did average 210 for 15 games on another cake shot in Florence, Ala., in a summer league, but didn't have enough games to qualify). And given my current house isn't a total cakewalk, it makes it even better.
I'm a member of a dozen websites, most of them sports-related, and visit many others. This place is top 3, easily. Thanks to everyone for your help and friendship.
Jess
