As I usually do at the end of my winter bowling season, I dedicate a post here to breaking down my league performance with the help of the BowlSK reports. First, the first-ball numbers (numbers before the pipe | character reflect last year’s performance):

Strike percentage: 32.2% | 32.3%
Pocket shots: 67.2% | 64.0%
Carry percentage: 45.7% (333/728) | 46.9% (322/686)
Double rate: 32.7% (110/336) | 32.0% (106/331)
Average first-ball count: 8.7 | 8.6
Average first-ball non-strike count: 8.0 | 7.9

Most of these numbers were about the same or actually improved, but I was hitting the pocket less, leaving a few less-manageable spares, which my first-ball counts confirm. However, let’s see what the numbers have to say about my spare game this year:

Overall spare percentage: 63.2% (436/690) | 55.7% (384/690)
Single-pin spare percentage: 75.8% (235/310) | 67.6% (188/278)
Multi-pin spare percentage: 64.2% (179/279) | 60.3% (185/307)
Makeable (non-split) percentage: 70.3% (414/589) | 63.8% (373/585)
Split conversion percentage: 21.8% (22/101) | 10.5% (11/105)
Washout conversion percentage: 30.8% (8/26) | 28.6% (10/35)
Percentage on single 10 pin: 68% (83/122) | 60.6% (63/104)
Percentage on single 7 pin: 70% (49/70) | 61.2% (41/67)

Clearly, my spare game suffered this year, particularly where I’ve left more than one pin on the deck, because I did leave fewer single pins this year, where my multi-pin spares, splits, and washouts went up by a noticeable number, as hitting the pocket less would indicate. My overall game needs work, and that’s why I hope to connect with Larry Lichstein in the future.

I’ve been meaning to note that Brunswick will hold a mini bowling camp, conducted by members of their pro staff, at East Providence Lanes on Sat. Apr. 4 from 10 AM to 5 PM. The camp will include classroom and on-lane instruction, and cost $225/bowler, with an upgrade including a Brunswick performance ball available for $350; however, ball upgrades must be ordered with either Jon Van Hees or Alex Aguiar at Strike F/X Pro Shops by Mar. 13 (next Friday).

I probably missed this last year, but Westgate Lanes will again host the “Bowl For Kids’ Sake” fundraiser for the Old Colony YMCA’s Big Sister Big Brother mentoring program on Sun. Mar. 22 from 10 AM to 2 PM. Bowlers are asked to raise/donate a minimum of $50, and details and registration information can be found here. The event has been placed on the calendar.

The annual Pins For Pets cosmic bowling fundraiser for Gracie’s Mission will take place on Mar. 21 starting at 8 PM. Tickets are $35/person and must be purchased in advance; there is a link to the Gracie’s Mission website in the event on the calendar (found in the “Local/New England” sidebar list), as tickets can be purchased online; alternately, flyers at the desk have a sign-up blank.

I got word tonight at the local association board meeting that Brockton Bowling Association Hall of Famer and late association manager Robert J. “Bob” Young has been elected to the Massachusetts state Hall of Fame at the last meeting of the state board for Meritorious Service. Along with serving the local association, Bob Young had also been manager of the state association. Bob will be inducted in ceremonies during the state tournament in the spring.

The voting body for the Brockton Bowling Association Hall of Fame had its election last weekend, and I am now able to formally report that Bob Hamilton and Jack Gagne were elected this year. Bob was elected in the Bowling Achievement category, and his accomplishments, particulary his recent ones, have been well-documented here. However, I need to say something about Jack Gagne, who was elected for Meritorious Service: Jack is a past president of the association, and has worked with the North Bowl junior program for over 20 years.

Details on the Hall of Fame Dinner are being worked out, and will be announced here at a future date.

Larry Lichstein will be at Westgate Lanes for lessons with the CATS system on Jan. 12-15 from 10 AM to 7 PM except for the 14th (10 AM to 6 PM that day). Two-hour lessons are available for $120, and appointments can be made in the pro shop.

Ray in the pro shop has announced that Larry Lichstein will be at Westgate Lanes with the CATS system on Sept. 15th (this coming Monday) through the 21st, and again Oct. 4th through the 12th. As a special, if you schedule a two-hour full lesson for either period, it will be discounted $40 to $120 (regularly $160). Appointments can be made with Ray in the pro shop.

I’ve been sitting on some information for a while, and, seeing the formal announcement in the pro shop, I’ll now run with it. Ray has acquired a C.A.T.S. (Computer-Aided Tracking System) system, and Westgate Lanes, starting August 18, will be the official C.A.T.S. training center in the state of Massachusetts. Ray will be offering lessons by appointment, in which the C.A.T.S. system will be used to give the bowler such information as ball speed, rev rate, target board and break point board hit, and entry angle. A two-hour lesson will cost $80, and you may call Ray in the pro shop at 508-559-2695.

The Brockton Bowling Association has already announced it on our Facebook page, but I decided to wait on the Enterprise posting to note here the passing Sunday of association Hall of Famer, and long-time secretary and manager for the association, Robert J. “Bob” Young. Among his many bowling accomplishments, he was notably the first bowler with a perfect 300 game at Westgate Lanes (and in the association), as well as, as his bio page on the association website shows, the first 200 average in the association. Also, in addition to his duties in the local association, Bob was manager of the Massachusetts state association.

I need to say that it was Bob who recommended me for the board after I came forward with the offer to start the Facebook page, and all I’ll say is that I hope to continue to serve the association with the same dedication Bob showed.

This post is coming a few days after the day I usually do it on (June 30, the day of the bowling outing with my brother that started my comeback to competitive bowling), but, where my first post to this blog was on a July 4, it falls within the “in time” range for my anniversary posts.

All I really want to say this year is that I continue to be blessed with the bowling events I get to post about here, including a couple of state records (Tyler Perry’s youth record, and Jim Lovewell’s adult state record), a couple of records in the state tournament (the singles record, and the doubles record falling twice in one weekend), and, certainly not least, Ed Roberts and Alex Aguiar’s 600 doubles game in my city tournament in April.

Thank you to the usual, and I hope to be able to make an announcement here within the next week or two.

Westgate Lanes announced on their Facebook page today that, by request, they will offer challenge shot practice on some of the lanes on Fridays and Saturdays during the summer, with the shot for this weekend being Sydney (33′ WTBA pattern). Be sure to “like” the page so you can be notified about what the shot will be every weekend.

I promised earlier that I’d make my brackets worksheet for the past season public at the end of the season, and I do that now by linking it here.

A point to remember is that one entry in a bracket usually goes to admin fees (even though Shawn in this league uses them to put himself in brackets), so, necessarily, a loss of 12.5% is to be expected. As you can see from the worksheet, I was actually on the point of nearly breaking even in mid-March, but then hit the skids, ending up with a loss of just under 27%. I can call it a bad season because this is over that “magic” 12.5%.

My bowling log is still visible (follow the link in the “Author’s links” section of the sidebar, but I’ll only have it linked there a couple more weeks), and you’ll note that I was about five pins under my average in the second game; you get nothing if you’re eliminated in the second game, so I feel I could have done better if I was better in the second game, and this will be one thing I want to improve on next season.

As I usually do at the end of my winter bowling season, I dedicate a post here to breaking down my league performance with the help of the BowlSK reports. First, the first-ball numbers (numbers before the pipe | character reflect last year’s performance):

Strike percentage: 37.2% | 32.2%
Pocket shots: 66.5% | 67.2%
Carry percentage: 54% (410/759) | 45.7% (333/728)
Double rate: 37.6% (152/404) | 32.7% (110/336)
Average first-ball count: 8.6 | 8.7
Average first-ball non-strike count: 7.8 | 8.0

I was hitting the pocket more often this year, but my carry was down precipitously. However, my first ball counts were up, meaning I was at least leaving more manageable spares, and we’ll see if that had any effect on my overall spare game below:

Overall spare percentage: 55.7% (383/687) | 63.2% (436/690)
Single-pin spare percentage: 66.1% (162/245) | 75.8% (235/310)
Multi-pin spare percentage: 62.6% (209/334) | 64.2% (179/279)
Makeable (non-split) percentage: 64.1% (371/579) | 70.3% (414/589)
Split conversion percentage: 11.1% (12/108) | 21.8% (22/101)
Washout conversion percentage: 25% (10/40) | 30.8% (8/26)
Percentage on single 10 pin: 62.1% (59/95) | 68% (83/122)
Percentage on single 7 pin: 63.6% (35/55) | 70% (49/70)

My rates were up across the board, but I also bowled fewer games than most years (because of two weeks off for the holidays), so I did some math and figured out with ratio and proportion that I was leaving proportionately more spares, but fewer multi-pin spares, so my lack of carry this season was definitely emphasized. I was leaving the 10 a lot more often proportionately (I would have left it 89 times at last year’s rate), but still made it about 6% of the time more often. This was something I definitely wanted to improve on this season, and did.

My average went up a pin (actually a small fraction, but enough to call it a whole pin over)…it’s no coincidence that my improvement on spares was a big part of that, so take this as proof that spares are important.

If you’re interested in seeing how you match up with the best in the area on a challenging lane condition, you need do nothing more than to start showing up on Sunday mornings at 10 beginning this Sunday (Mar. 16), as there will be an open scratch pot game running. $25 allows you to bowl five games against others on the Coke league condition (currently the USBC Open team event condition). $15 of the $25 will go toward prizes, with one in three being paid each game. Note: The pot games will run if there are available lanes, and keep in mind that the People’s Tournament is also running this Sunday.

It should be well-known by now that Bowlingfans.com is one of my favorite bowling websites out there (other than this one, of course). Today, the site officially joined the Facebook community with a “Like” page. If you’re interested in the site, you can search “Bowlingfans.com” on Facebook to find the page, and the “About” will have links to the site, as well as the subsidiary pages, including the associated BowlingCommunity.com forums. I also have a management role on the page, and I hope to make an announcement about the virtual league there as sign-ups for next fall’s league draw near. For now, I’m told that virtual league results can now be broadcast to the Facebook page, so users should now have the Facebook option to be alerted to each week’s results.

EDIT: The page grew enough in the first day that it now has its own URL, facebook.com/bowlingfans 🙂

The annual cosmic bowling fundraiser for Gracie’s Mission will be held at Westgate Lanes on Mar. 29 from 8 to 11 PM. Sign-up flyers are at the desk, or visit the Gracie’s Mission website for more information. The event will be added to the calendar.

As announced on their Facebook page, the Brockton Bowling Association has elected Rob Young (Bowling Achievement) and Harry Minassian Jr. (Meritorious Service) to the Hall of Fame. Hall of Fame Weekend details will be announced by the association at a later date. Congratulations to both. 😀

In recent years, as I’ve mentioned here, my brother and I have gone bowling on Christmas Day because my little sister’s job situation moves her Christmas gathering to the day after. However, that was not the case last year: I was actually mostly in bed with the flu on Christmas Day and wasn’t up to bowling.

We did return to the annual Christmas outing this year; I mentioned on Facebook that I might put my bowling on BowlSK, but decided in the end not to, mostly with me wanting not to disrupt things to start by setting up the sheet and not keep my Dad waiting until we got to his place for dinner too long.

As I usually do with these outings, I will summarize my performance: I did have three games over my league average. I actually started off with the first four, but I missed a 4 in the 5th and left a 4-6-7-9 split in the 10th to only post a game in the 190s. My second game was also in the 190s, but my only open frame in that game was a whiffed 10. We were on a pair that wasn’t used Christmas Eve, but the oil had settled enough to require me to move in during the session, eventually standing 37 looking 14 with my Marvel Pearl in the third game, in which I actually lost my carry for a bit. I had a “Big 4” for my only open of the third game, but strung no strikes together for a 177. I did also make the 10 in back-to-back frames, and I wanted to mention to my brother that I was really improving on that pin, but didn’t.

My brother, for his part, had a game in the 130s first game thanks to a double, and he had another double in the third game, but that scored lower because of open frames.

I’ve been missing posting this, but I did want to note that, through Thursday, PBA Hall of Famer Larry “The King” Lichstein will be at Westgate Lanes for meet-and-greets and lessons, so if you can swing time off for lessons this week, you may want to do so. 🙂