BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: xrayjay on July 18, 2014, 12:38:49 PM
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He is 10 and he kinda throws like mike miller/belmo. two fingers in the hole and two handed. also, he takes 2 or 3 steps ;D
I want him to be traditional stroker type, but he seems comfortable the way he throws. Should I let him be and wait till he gets better? he bowled since he was three years old but not often and always two handed. And as he got older, he was finding ways to bowl. He doesn't want bumpers anymore and want to use the 14lbs balls I haven't sold.
what do I do?
he has a misfit and a slingshot to start.
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So have you started berating, screaming and telling him how stupid his is? Or are you saving that for his first tournament? ;D ;D
Develop a good rhythm with their footwork first and foremost. I want to see a minimum of four steps. As for the one or two handed, he will find his style on his own.
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I would let him do whatever he wants to. Just keep him interested in the sport (oops I used the "S" word).
After a while, I would think about trying to teach him to throw at least at his spares with a one handed style. This way he may adapt into being able to have both styles at his disposal when he gets older.
If you feel it is worth it, hire a good coach and get him some lessons. Many youth programs have coaches - some good, some horrible.
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I'll let him be then...the kid isn't athletic like I was when I was his age, but he is a better bowler than I was at 10...
Also, I catch myself wanting to yell and scream, but I realized he picks up the 7 pin better than I do right now! lol
I'd like to have him join the youth league on saturdays during the summer, but he is on a swim team. So, it's open play that he gets his lane time.
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At his age, IMO, the best thing you can do is let him have fun. When he's ready to get serious about improving he'll let you know. -- JohnP
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At his age, IMO, the best thing you can do is let him have fun. When he's ready to get serious about improving he'll let you know. -- JohnP
+1
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I read a recommendation in bowlers journal or similar publication that said have them bowl with a ball weight that matches their age. So 10# at 10-years-old.
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Pretty much let him go with whatever he wants until or if he shows interest in really getting good. At that point offer to give him the help you feel you can, but never push it. 80% of success in bowling or any sport for that matter, come from internal desire and competitiveness.
Honestly not sure about the 2 handed style. My gut feel is that they are fewer people who have the talent and build to excel with that style, than for more traditional styles, but I could be wrong
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Encourage him to join the league so he makes friends in bowling. Let him have fun.
I'd be careful about him using 14 lbs. though. Two handed is fine, but with a 14 lb ball he'll likely throw it too slow for whatever rev rate he has, making any reactive ball hard to control, which may lead to frustration rather than enjoyment.
Side note: If he loves bowling, and you love bowling you'll have that common ground when he's 14-18 years old and the "rational" part of his brain is dormant, and he'll listen to any voice as long as it doesn't belong to Mom or Dad.
My son (now 30) and I could ALWAYS go bowling during those difficult teenage years, no matter how stupid he acted, and we could bowl, talk about school, life, friends, you name it... You may not have the chance to have those conversations within the walls of your home because he'll see it as "Dad lecturing" and will probably tune you out until he's a little older.
We're now the best of friends, and he's anchor on my team. I cannot imagine a father and son any closer. Looking back, bowling was very important, and I'm certain, kept both of us out of some trouble.
Best of luck to you and your son. Enjoy whatever you can together now to lay a strong foundation for your relationship. Most teens experience some difficulties in life regardless of how great their parents are. If you're close hopefully he'll come to you with his issues instead of the 10,000 other "voices" that will pull him in any other direction.
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Lots of pretty good advice in this thread
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Agreed...
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We have some really good coaches here who had a hard time accepting the 2-handed style. However, most now teach it because they'd rather see a kid enjoy himself and keep bowling than get frustrated because some adult tells them yet another thing they can't do. The 2-handed style is here, so it's best to get good coaching so the kid learns proper technique.
Try a short league session for your kid so he can hopefully make some new friends. Maybe even look at adult/youth league so you have some bonding time.
My family has had a great time this summer in sport league especially because the kids have a better chance of beating the parents. It's not uncommon for us parents to have sub-160 game with just a couple bad breaks or not getting lined up properly. I had to double in 10th last night to beat kids in second game after both beat me the first game. They had a great time teasing me. I just thought they were pretty funny. Good memories.
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I will try this season if he would like to join the youth league here. It'll be a good way too to make new friends in bowling...
(His swimming is over and he could use some other activities where I don't get sun burnt and pack up like I'm going camping once or twice a month, eating all those bbq's and chips while his coaches wave their fingers at me...lol)
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Let him have fun and there is no hurry for him to use a heavier ball.
Also make sure he is okay with this style. (Referring to him not hurting anything like joints, back, etc....).
Two handed bowling is very popular with kids today. We have had several kids try this at my center.
One kid bowls two handed very well. Scores big and is very successful in competition. He has issues with his hips after bowling a lot of games.
Another kid had to give up two handed bowling. Bowled well, but he messed up his knee.
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Hey OP.. what is your 10 year old's bowling average about?
I only ask, because I had a bowling ball shipped to my office. I was showing people my new Seismic Equalizer and the Indian guy comes over and says his nephew is youth state champion.. I wasn't sure if he was just saying that or what, so I went to ball.com and see his average is 58. I might have chuckled, but honestly I don't know if that is good or bad for a 10 year old. I was expecting the score of a state champion to be higher.
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My ten year old averages about 75 but this is her first year and she's not a state champion
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My 9 year old finished with a 117 average this past season. First year bowling league and had the highest average in his division in our association. Shocked the hell out of me. All that aside, I find it hard to believe that a 10 year old averaged 58 and was state champion. Just going by our bowling center (not even the entire association), there were a fair number in my son's division that had a better average than that. And the next division up (which includes the 10 year olds), there were even more. That said, perhaps that kid won in a handicap division and performed well. I'm not in the US, so I don't know how the state championships really work.
As for the topic, I say go with what works and make changes only when the child is really struggling or wants help. My son went from throwing two handed before joining league to throwing one handed now. He started with a one step approach and ended the season with a 3 step approach. He also swings the ball a few times and then goes. Timing is generally good. A couple of the coaches tried to get him to change a few things (like go to 4-5 step and a normal drop release), but I know he's better off going at his own pace. Anytime I try to change too much, he gets mad. Considering his results, I think it's working. And on that note, people tried to change Belmo as well.
I also agree that 14lbs is probably too heavy. I think my 14 year old was throwing 13lbs this past season. Maybe even 12. I have tried getting my 9 year old to throw 10lbs and he still thinks it's a little too heavy. So sticking with his 8lbs ball for the time being.