I've Joined the PBA . . .

Experience League!

Ok, that probably fooled no one.

This summer, for 15 weeks, I will subject myself to the humbling and mentally exhausting oil patterns of the PBA. I know for sure that this will include the five animal oil patterns: Shark, Scorpion, Chameleon, Viper and Cheetah. I also have a hunch that it will include the US Open pattern and maybe the World Championship pattern. I should have a complete list after the first night, May 10th.

This is a doubles league and one of my teammates for my mixed league, Matt, was nice enough to join me this summer. He has greatly improved as a bowler over the last year, averaging about 152 while throwing a straight ball down the left side of the lane to the 1-2 pocket. In addition, at least two other bowlers from my mixed league will be joining is, including the 210+ averaging Bruce who I have referenced before in previous posts. If you do well, there is the potential for significant payout at the end of the season. The league is also open to juniors though, so if you do poorly be prepared to be humiliated by high schoolers.

My goal for this league is to maintain my projected adjusted average which I calculated by using the chart on Bowl.com in reverse. Since I finished my fall league with a 191 average on a standard oil pattern, I am looking to throw a 174 average on PBA conditions. I plan to use my plastic ball for most, if not all, of my spares, as the complicated oil conditions can wreak havoc on your accuracy when shooting on various areas of the lane. I am also looking to improve on my accuracy at hitting my marks, throwing at consistent speeds and deliveries, and reading the lanes to adjust before there are problems.

I believe we throw two weeks on each pattern, so my second series should be better than my first on each condition. Going into the league, I know that I am there to learn and not throw high scores (though if I do that's great!). I don't plan to get frustrated when things go wrong, but I am competitive so I am sure it will shine through on occasion.

I will post a description of each oil pattern along with my plan of attack and concerns. These posts will also hopefully have an illustration of the layout so we can see how the oil is applied to the lanes. In my weekly recap, I will track my average on each oil pattern in addition to my overall league average in an attempt to get an accurate depiction of how I am bowling on professional conditions. The pattern average should show me what my strengths and weaknesses are as a bowler depending on the qualities of each pattern.

So I got my wish, to join a PBA Experience League. Let's hope the lessons learned this summer will lead to better bowling come the fall.