USBC Gold-level certified coach Joe Slowinski will run a clinic on Dec. 28 and 29 at Striker’s East in Raymond, NH, which will cover his 3-Point Targeting system, tiered taping, DYDS, arsenal development, lane transition, and layouts, among other topics. The full two-day program will cost $125, and $85 for a single day if pre-paid before Dec. 1 ($150/$100 after that date). Pre-payment link can be found on Joe’s website, and you may indicate whether you’re going on his Facebook event.

There’s a wedding in my family this weekend, so my brother is in Brockton all weekend, finding time to bowl yesterday. As usual, I took the opportunity to work on some things, and this one was using my stronger equipment. I had mixed results, with my brother actually winning the second game (it’s happened before) with something like a 140 when I was only in the 120s with a lot of splits and other missed spares. I did recover in the third game, throwing my only double of the session in it with my Marvel Pearl.

It should be said that, while I like bowling and the people I know from bowling, I don’t usually bowl with people I know from bowling outside of leagues and tournaments. Keeping that in mind, I got an opportunity to change that yesterday when one of my winter league mates, Missy Damas, sent out an invitation to her friends on Facebook to join her for bowling this morning. I took her up on it, and we were joined by Mary-Ellen Labelle, my former winter league treasurer.

Renting a pair of lanes for two hours, we had time for four games, and, not being a morning person, I started very slowly, actually having the low game on the pair with a 124. I did improve with each game, however, making an unconventional move after going light by actually moving in and going to my Fast after starting out with the Tropical Breeze. My last game was my best, in the 190s, but Missy had the high game each of my four games; I don’t consider that a disgrace, however, as Missy would be one of the better female bowlers in the Westgate Mixed league if she was still in that league (her real bowling friends, or at least the ones she considers her real ones, bowl in my league).

People who are familiar with the history of this blog will know that my first bowling outing with my brother in 2007 took place on June 30 of that year, with the date of my post about it, the first ever made to this blog, on July 4. This year, the order reversed, though, as I made my usual anniversary post on Sunday and went bowling with my brother tonight.

As for the actual bowling, it did seem especially during the second game that I was sending a lot of shots wide, and the only way I could seem to cure it was to bring my right foot even with my left in my stance, which closed my shoulders. I left a lot of “junk” in that second game, managing only a 135, while the bookend games were at least close to my current summer league average. My brother was at least consistent, with every game around 120.

Six years have now passed since that bowling outing with my brother that started my new bowling life. I won’t say too much except that, in the past year, my purchase of a smartphone expanded what I could do in terms of content, including more video and my first “live” blog from my winter league’s rolloff. Performance-wise, it was a sort of a downer, but I still proved myself capable of a big night a couple of weeks or so ago with a 706.

By happy coincidence, another major life event happened one year ago, as my family confirmed the identity of the person I now call my big sister. I need to note that my niece, who bowls, does so in Special Olympics, due to what was found this year as a rare genetic disorder. I wish I could volunteer in her program, but, where she bowls out of Taunton, travel to her events is difficult. I do hope to support Special Olympics financially however I can.

In closing, I’ll just say thank you to everyone who has and still support me; it is you who keep me going.

With my brother in Brockton for the holiday weekend, we made some bowling time for the first time since last August. If you’ll recall, I usually treat these as a practice session, keying on my release this time around. What was the “Aha!” moment last Saturday was finally figuring out what John Jowdy really means by leading with the ring finger, and, when I do, I do get the extra revolution I need to carry the 10. Alas, though, my complete game wasn’t there, as I was falling off of many shots and throwing across my body on others. The three game score was 518-363, with me just missing my winter league average series and my brother getting a 142 high game to end it.

Per my end of winter season custom, 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: 36.4% | 37.2%
Pocket shots: 64.0% | 66.5%
Carry percentage: 53.7% (392/730) | 54% (410/759)
Double rate: 37.2% (149/400) | 37.6% (152/404)
Average first-ball count: 8.7 | 8.6
Average first-ball non-strike count: 7.9 | 7.8

There was slight improvement in my shotmaking, but I probably left more pins when I missed the pocket, as my average first ball counts were down slightly.

Now, breaking down my spare game:

Overall spare percentage: 55.9% (384/687) | 55.7% (383/687)
Single-pin spare percentage: 68.7% (184/268) | 66.1% (162/245)
Multi-pin spare percentage: 60.9% (179/294) | 62.6% (209/334)
Makeable (non-split) percentage: 64.6% (363/562) | 64.1% (371/579)
Split conversion percentage: 16.8% (21/125) | 11.1% (12/108)
Washout conversion percentage: 16.7% (5/30) | 25% (10/40)
Percentage on single 10 pin: 53.3% (49/92) | 62.1% (59/95)
Percentage on single 7 pin: 56.3% (27/48) | 63.6% (35/55)

My overall spare rate did go down slightly, but my multi-pin rate was up. My single pin rate was down two full percentage points, however, both of my corner pin rates were up, and I did improve on making my corner pins later in the season. I probably need to just concentrate more on the easier single pins; indeed, I was under 69% on my other single pins.

I like to think I can actually support the charitable things that go on at Westgate Lanes, to wit, I made my debut in the monthly Jimmy Fund fundraiser last night. The organizer of these things is Kelly Rich, and she lit up when I went to her table, which was set up to the left of the desk, and told her I’d actually be bowling.

We had a group of about twelve, which included a classmate of mine who was visiting from the Los Angeles area. Being probably the most avid bowler in the group, I got a chance to show what I could do in the first game (of two) by stringing together a four-bagger in the middle of the game. My 178 was the high of the first game, good for a scratch ticket prize, which turned out to be a $2 winner.

The second game was another story, however, as, late in the first game, my Tropical Breeze got stuck in the back and needed cleaning up in the pro shop when it returned. I used my Fast while I was waiting for the other ball to be cleaned, and probably should have stayed with it, as I was finding the Tropical Breeze wasn’t moving as much after the cleaning, and I left at least a couple of washouts in the process. The ball probably just needs a few games on it to get the reaction back, but I still threw a 141 with it, which was the high on my lane and good for another scratch ticket (which I found out “bricked” when I scratched it at home). My first game score was beaten by someone on the adjacent lane in the second game, the screen name of whom I couldn’t remember.

The final activity was a roll-off involving one ball by everyone, with the most pins winning the last scratch ticket. I was out after a couple of people, including my classmate, threw a 9 count with me only managing 8. The tiebreaker went a few rounds until my classmate threw a strike. After photos, I thanked Kelly for doing a good job as host and told her I might do it again. As a parting note for this post, about $200 was raised this month, with a total of over $1,000 having been raised since these started.

I ended up getting general admission tickets for today’s Next Level Bowling clinic at Town Line Ten Pin in Malden featuring Norm Duke, and I had arrived late and missed the first part of the morning clinic squad. However, this wasn’t much of an issue because I didn’t sign up to bowl, so I was just content watching from the back and taking mental notes. Without spoiling stuff for future participants of Next Level’s clinics, I did ask Norm Duke about a point during the morning autograph and photo session and he said it would definitely help me with my biggest problem, my early turn.

I couldn’t stay for the more entertaining portions of the day’s festivities (the trick shot exhibition and challenge match), but I was happy they had a photo and autograph session following the first clinic squad. I had brought Norm’s DVD for him to sign, but, since they were selling them, I sprung for a bowling pin and had Norm sign that, followed before I left by PB3, who was there for the Brunswick seminar. I may post a photo or two of the pin in the future when I add more autographs (maybe sooner). Below is the photo I got with the Next Level Bowling pros (note that Mike Machuga was also there…we bowlers call him “Choogs”):

I will add that I knew several bowlers actually bowling in the clinic, and that, although I don’t think I’ve ever been in Town Line before today, the recent renovations were apparent to me, and I think bowlers in the state tournament in the coming weeks will like bowling there. 😀

The next fundraiser at Westgate Lanes for the Jimmy Fund, which has been rescheduled from tonight (Apr. 11), will take place on Thur. May 2 with registration at 6:30 PM. I saw it noted on the Facebook event that kids are welcome to bowl, so people can make it a fun family night, as well.

The Jimmy Fund fundraiser originally scheduled for Thursday (Apr. 11) will be rescheduled for a later date to be announced. My apologies if you made plans to participate.

Sorry if this wasn’t announced beforehand (I didn’t know his wishes on this matter.), but Parker Bohn III returned for a visit to Westgate Lanes last night. He was bowling on lanes 51 and 52 when I got there, and he had a large crowd gathered in the spectator area watching him. He was throwing a mix of good and bad shots, but, after a couple of the bad ones, I saw him convert first a 3-6-7-9 (lefty), then a 6-8, making the latter conversion look really easy. Junior also got on the PA at one point while Parker was bowling to joke that Parker would be subbing on Brian Gaskill’s team in the Coke league that night.

Afterward, some of our older youth bowlers got to meet and greet Parker, and he obliged with autographs and photo opportunities. Later, Stephen Major remarked to me about how he was talking to Parker while he was bowling and helped him get lined up; I complimented Steve, saying it showed that he had a good mind for the game in helping another bowler (even one as legendary as Parker), and that that was what team bowling is about.

Parker will be at Town Line Luxury Lanes in Malden on Saturday, running the Brunswick ball seminar in connection with the Next Level clinic, at which Norm Duke will be the featured pro.

There hasn’t been one in a while, but the next bowling fundraiser at Westgate Lanes for the Jimmy Fund will be held this coming Thursday (Apr. 11) with registration at 6:30 PM.

I mentioned the upcoming Gracie’s Mission event in a previous post, but Westgate Lanes will play host to another charity event on Apr. 7 with the “Bowl for Kids’ Sake” fundraiser to benefit the Old Colony YMCA’s Big Sister Big Brother mentoring program, from 10 AM to 2 PM that day. Teams of four to six are welcome, but participants are asked to raise $50 per person bowling. Teams may register by Mar. 31 by calling Allison Daley at 508-580-7786 or emailing adaley@oldcolonyymca.org. Fundraising pages may also be started by first visiting the page for the event.

For the third straight year, Westgate Lanes will host the “Pins For Pets” cosmic bowling fundraiser for Gracie’s Mission on Mar. 23 from 8-10 PM. Gracie’s Mission aims to educate pet owners about holistic medical treatments, such as hydrotherapy, acupuncture, and Reiki, and provides financial assistance to pet owners who can’t otherwise afford treatment for them. Cost for the event is $25/person.

PBA Hall of Famer Norm Duke will be the featured bowler at a Next Level Bowling clinic which will be conducted on Saturday, Apr. 13 at Town Line Luxury Lanes in Malden. More details can be found on Next Level’s website. I hope I can make plans to be there. 😀

The Brockton Bowling Association has announced on its website that Ted Trent, Ryan Yelle, and Joe Precourt will be the 2013 inductees into the Hall of Fame. Trent (elected posthumously) and Yelle were elected for bowling achievement, while Precourt was elected for meritorious service. The association will make an announcement on the Hall of Fame weekend in the near future.

Not really a NEBA note, though this note is about something that happened at the tournament. When I thought I reconnected with George Hamilton Jr. early in my return to bowling, I would later learn the man I was talking to was actually Ralph Dahlgren. Happily, though, I did reconnect with the real George Hamilton Sunday at the tournament, and I was very happy to fill him in on everything that has happened since I came back. Like his brother, Bob, George was cracking me up during the day, so I was quite pleased to get reacquainted. Just need to get George’s phone number and/or electronic addresses now. 😀

This is one of those occasions when I expand the local scope of this blog to mention a New England bowler who has made an impact nationally. 😀

As reported by the PBA, Jon Van Hees of Charlestown, RI was chosen as the supplemental player by Chris Barnes in tonight’s inaugural PBA League draft. The PBA League is the introduction of a team concept to the regular PBA Tour schedule, and will take place during next year’s Winter Swing portion of the schedule. I did get to chat with Jon on Facebook, and he told me that Barnes told him it was between him and Nathan Bohr as the last regular player, but Bohr’s Wichita State collegiate experience won out; Barnes was happy when Van Hees was still available as the supplemental selection, however.

Here’s hoping Jon sees some action in the first PBA League season. 😀