The steps to sweet success: there's no easy path, but taking the right turns on your bowling journey could result in a successful career in the sport - Lane Logic

Bowling Digest, Dec, 2002 by Kim Adler

MANY BOWLERS HAVE ASKED me over the years, "What does it take to become a pro?" While it's a complicated question to answer--a top professional has so many layers of experience that have been built upon over many years--if you're wondering how you can start on the same path, here are some of my guidelines.

START AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE

Just like in so many other sports, children have a developmental advantage over adults. They can learn the basics quicker, their muscles are more resilient, and their brains are not filled with the baggage of negativity ("I can't because ...").

When starting children out in bowling, there are only a few hazards. Children can learn about the pressure to perform way too early if parents push them too quickly. I have seen examples of this premature pressure many times competing in junior pro-ams, both as a junior and a pro.

A child with potential is a wonderful sight. A child with potential, constantly looking to his parents for approval after every shot, leads me to question why he or she is bowling.

I was lucky in this area, even though I was one of the children looking back to her dad after each shot. At age six, I cried when I made a great shot or a bad one. To be honest, I cannot believe my parents didn't pull me out of bowling at that age, with such reactions. To a stranger, I never looked like I was having any fun--but my father knew I was driven by competition, and competitive drive was something we shared.

A second hazard would involve equipment. I occasionally see wrist devices on young arms, and old grips on fast-growing children. Many times, if a bowling glove is used before the muscles can build and get stronger with growth and age, it will be needed unnecessarily in the future. Early reliance on devices becomes a crutch that can never be discarded. Also, when children outgrow a grip or ball weight, they are cast adrift. A solid foundation of basics cannot be built in a child who has relied too heavily on outside aids, and bad habits can creep in.

Again, I stumbled into some luck here from the ages of six to nine. I used the same plastic ball, with maybe one grip change, even though I was growing. I also did not fit into a pair of bowling shoes until I was nine. During third grade, not only did I get a new ball with a new grip, but I also slipped into my first bowling shoes, and my 123 average shot up to a 154.

My biggest advantage was good junior coaching, which let me build a solid bowling foundation: the four-step approach, spares, playing angles, and concentration basics such as looking at a target.

Do you have no hope of becoming a pro if you're no longer a child? Are you out of luck if you are just "young at heart?" Of course not. But you must learn to think like a child. Check your ego at the door and accept that you have much to learn. Enjoy the small successes, and know that there is not only one way to reach your goals.

While I've outlined some developmental suggestions above, this was not my exact path. Learning to bowl is like learning English: There are many rules, but even with all the rules, there are many exceptions.

EXPERIENCE TOURNAMENTS AND LEAGUES

Simply put, bowl. Bowl as much as you can. From the ages of nine to 22, I bowled everywhere and every way I could: Saturday morning junior leagues, city and state tournaments, the Junior Bowlers' Tour, practice with Dad, practice with friends, practice by myself, junior bowling camps, weekend women's scratch tournaments six hours away from home, three adult leagues per week, U.S. Open and Team USA qualifiers, ABTs, 600 club tournaments, Women's All-Star Association tournaments, PWBA regionals. You name it, I bowled in it.

It was expensive, yes. I come from a working-class background, and bowling ate up all my income. But I loved it. I worked in two bowling centers to get in some free practice. I worked two jobs at once to allow me afternoons to practice with my coach.

The more you bowl, the more experience you pick up. You experience different lane conditions, waiting through long tournaments, the pressures that come with stringing many strikes together, and encountering many, many people with many, many philosophies on how to succeed as a bowler.

You might think that I just tasted success after success from age six on, and off I went to become a pro. But that wasn't the case. Along the way to professional success, I opened in the last five frames to lose my first U.S. Open qualifier, had an entire season or two of regionals when I did not even come close to making money, and many tearful, six-hour car rides home with my coach from disappointing tournaments. I was only good enough to bowl in the handicap division of Junior Bowlers' Tour tournaments, but I bowled them all the same.

Practice on all lanes at all times of the day, because even in your home center, there is a time when every lane is at its absolute lowest-scoring. Practice passionately! Learning to string strikes is important, but what I see from newcomers on the PWBA tour is a lack of experience on the more difficult conditions.