A Bowling Phenomenon

When I was a kid growing up in Northeast Philadelphia, my friends and I would occasionally go bowling. There were two bowling alleys within a couple miles of my house so we had places to go that were close. I never even thought about being in a league or how bowling "worked", I was just there to have fun with my friends. Even in high school, one of the go to events of the year was when a local youth group would host an overnight bowling event at one of the lanes. Of course, in high school, we didn't really bowl all night, it was kind of one big party. The bowling alley would lock their doors at midnight and discouraged us from leaving so we wouldn't break curfew. I don't think many wanted to leave anyway, it was a good time.

But I digress. . . bowling. When the kids were still fairly young, my wife got them involved in a home school bowling league. There was a little cost to join the league and then minimal fees to bowl every week. At the end of the session they did get their own bowling balls and we even had them engraved with their nicknames (which I'll refrain from revealing because I don't want to hear complaints!). I didn't really think much of the bowling league at the time, I just felt it was just another way to get them active and social with other homeschoolers.

We also found that the bowling alley closer to home also had a homeschool league. We could take the kids there and bowl for $4 a week. So my wife kept that up and they bowled there for a little while. Not too long after that, Seth wanted to join a Saturday morning league at that alley. We went for an open house and signed him up. We had 3 teammates at the time but most of the teams had five. Josh didn't seem all that interested but he went with us during one of the first weeks just to hang out. He ended up at the alley desk with the guys on the team, high fiving and cheering them on as the morning progressed. On the way home I asked him if he was sorry he didn't want to sign up. He said yes. I asked if he wanted me to see if we could sign him up. . .again a yes. Not really like him at the time, I just think he saw how much fun it could be and wanted to join in. I called the league coordinator and she said it was no problem, even put Josh on Seth's team.

Mind you, this was something that I thought would be just a waning "fancy" until something else came along. However, the boys really got into it. They had coaches at the alley and they started looking up bowling on youtube. They listened to the coaches to develop their form, but watched youtube videos to really understand the game. They learned how many boards there were on a lane, what the arrows are for, how to perfect their shot, how to line up for spares. I never even knew that there was so much to bowling!

As they progressed, a couple of teammates dropped out, one came back to a different team, but one stayed with them thoughout, he even got onto his high school team and did really well. It was really fun to see the three of them progress the way they did.

The Saturday morning league consisted of beginners and intermediate level players in a handicap league. The handicap is just a way to calculate bowling averages to try and make it fair for teams who's players aren't as adept at the game as other players. Then there were the "scratch" league players who didn't use the handicap method. The score was the score and whoever had the most pins at the end of three games won. The boys liked the scratch league much better and at that point had became really good bowlers.

They were asked to join the alley's travel league which was part of the South Jersey Youth Bowling association. Practice took place after the league on Saturday, and games were played on Sunday at different alleys around New Jersey. They also played in other tournaments to see how they matched up against other bowlers. Seth really got into the tournaments one year and did pretty well in most brackets.

Of course as we moved on through the ranks, this little fun hobby got to be quite expensive. We had the Saturday morning league, the travel league, tournaments, new bowling shoes, new bowling balls, shoe covers, ball carriers, you name it, we got it. However, we made it work and they were having fun. That was the bottom line.

Once they started college and got more into Martial Arts, it seemed that bowling took a back seat. They wanted to teach and grow their school. Bowling just wasn't in the cards anymore. I'm very happy that they had that experience though. It certainly taught them about competition, how to get better at something, and how to follow a passion. And yes, they got me into it for a little while. I was "average" at best but did bowl in a league for a couple of years. Of course, I was the youngest one in the league and by no means close to being one of the best, but I had fun too.

It was a great experience for all of us and I highly recommend bowling even if your kids are not athletic. Most alleys have kids leagues and coaches to help and it's a really good time! You might even find your own bowling phenomenon!