First, sorry JoeBowler, this reply was not aimed at you. hahaha. I didn't know there was a member with that name!!!
Yes, Joe or Jane bowler. Didn't mean to discriminate.
Bones, good question. I suppose that was the question I was posing to the members here at BR.com. Who's responsibility is it? I think the further we go in our sport, the better we become...the more responsibility we have or should have. I started when I was 14 and went up about 20 pins per season. So by the time I turned 17 I was averaging around 200. I got there by practicing my arse off and practicing in a house where there were a lot of older (50-65 year olds) gentleman bowling. That is, I'd practice after school at about 3pm when there were a handful of older gentleman that would be in that bowling center almost every day at that time. They would often see me struggle and come over and help me. A pointer here, a pointer there, and I just kept learning more and more about the game. Had I not practiced at THAT center at THAT time of day when THEY were there...well, maybe I would've turned out differently. Maybe I too would complain about inconsistent shots and "this house sucks".
Now unfortunately, a lot of the adults, as Mr. Bones has pointed out, have gotten to the adult level without learning the basics of the game from oil patterns, why the shot might be different from week to week, lineage prices and so on. So they get to the adult level with a negative outlook, and then it seems to spread to the new bowlers that join their league and/or the junior bowlers who look up to them.
So the problem we now have seems to go something like this...About 90%-95% of the bowling population are simply uneducated about the sport, the industry, and even the history of bowling. And the trickle down effect adds more uneducated bowlers to the mix. So, I have asked and Mr. Bones has also asked...who's responsibility is it to educate these people (and I think we do need to educate them, or our sport will continue to spin its wheels as it slowly slides down the hill)? This is a tough question, because I dare say that nearly every member of this forum already does their part to help our sport along. The everyday stuff is what I'm talking about. I think we all do that for the most part.
But...what if we went a step further. What if we went to our bowling center owners and managers and asked THEM to take a more active part in the education of THEIR bowlers. Whether it be through a weekly or monthly newsletter, seminars by people they pay to come in and speak (like Dean Hinitz, Mo Pinell, or other bowling smart people), or just giving the bowlers a tour of the bowling center to show them the challenges that face the managers and mechanics every day to keep putting out a consistent shot! So much could be done. A center manager and I recently had a very nice talk, and he made the point that he feels like he spends too much time talking to lawyers and attorneys, whereas in the good ol' days you could just make a deal with a handshake and take care of your bowlers if they were hurt or something. I'm sorry, but if you're bowling in a center and you've never met the owner, or rarely see the owner, then there's a problem with that center. He/she needs to be a visible person in his/her center who can offer guidance and help to the people who pay to bowl in their building.
I suppose I tackled a lot in this thread, but these are things I think about nearly every day when operating my bowling business. I see so many missed opportunites in our sport that it really makes me sick sometimes. Not only do the bowlers need to be re-educated, but so do bowling managers! Opinions are like a-holes (everybody's got one), but there seems to be a general understanding of how things should be among the people in this forum, and the other people in our bowling community like pro shop owners and such. So I suppose I say it is OUR responsibility to take things a bit further than just discussing them in forums such as these. Perhaps it's time for bowlers to unite a bit and form bowling clubs and/or other groups of that nature where we/they work to re-educate other bowlers and even re-educate center managers!
Just something to think about I suppose. Does anybody else feel the way I do about this?
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Brian
MichiganBowling.com
http://www.MichiganBowling.comFamous Last Words of a Pot Bowler--"Ok, but this is my last game!"