BallReviews
General Category => USBC Tournament => Topic started by: mrwizerd on December 22, 2016, 12:45:12 PM
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I was looking at my itinerary for Nationals this year and the 1hr practice and BJI events are not going to be feasible for me this year. I have read that there are general statistics about the National's oil patterns, i.e. pattern length of 37-39 feet.
If I wanted to try and get a local house to put down a sports pattern to prepare for Nationals on, what pattern would you recommend?
I realize it won't be the same, but it would better prepare me for Nationals than practicing on a THS all the time.
Thank you for any insight.
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If I was to try to practice for Nationals, I'd bowl on a variety of WTBA patterns 38-44ft in length (not just one). Like you said, it won't be the same - try bowling on a few of these patterns to get a feel for difficulty. The best thing to do would be practicing on the patterns with your Nationals team to come up with multiple lane play strategies. You should also try to include 4 other bowlers on the pair to get a feel for sport shot breakdown over a 3 game set.
Also, don't forget to practice/bowl on a THS in the build up to Nationals. Nothing builds confidence like throwing strikes. After bowling on nothing but sports shots for 3 months straight, I forgot what it was like to strike at will...and then my THS game fell apart for a little bit. Long story short, the THS is a confidence booster like no other and will get you into a striking groove.
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Do you know when you'll be in town for the tournament? I ask, because I have on very good knowledge that they'll be laying down last year's pattern, which will be similar to this year, as well as various other sport-compliant patterns at Gold Coast. I know that when I was there on Monday, they had laid out Seoul, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Paris, and last year's USBC Nationals pattern for practice. So if you have the time outside of the scheduling that BJI and the practice session, you could try there.
Outside of that, if a local house is willing, you could lay out last year's pattern, as there shouldn't be much changes, though keep in mind that the surface will be different, though shouldn't be a significant difference.
BL.
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Do you know when you'll be in town for the tournament? I ask, because I have on very good knowledge that they'll be laying down last year's pattern, which will be similar to this year, as well as various other sport-compliant patterns at Gold Coast. I know that when I was there on Monday, they had laid out Seoul, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Paris, and last year's USBC Nationals pattern for practice. So if you have the time outside of the scheduling that BJI and the practice session, you could try there.
Outside of that, if a local house is willing, you could lay out last year's pattern, as there shouldn't be much changes, though keep in mind that the surface will be different, though shouldn't be a significant difference.
BL.
I will be there May 17-20. I am staying at the Gold Coast, I will have to see if they are still putting out the sports patterns when I get there.
Thank you for that bit of knowledge.
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If I was to try to practice for Nationals, I'd bowl on a variety of WTBA patterns 38-44ft in length (not just one). Like you said, it won't be the same - try bowling on a few of these patterns to get a feel for difficulty. The best thing to do would be practicing on the patterns with your Nationals team to come up with multiple lane play strategies. You should also try to include 4 other bowlers on the pair to get a feel for sport shot breakdown over a 3 game set.
Also, don't forget to practice/bowl on a THS in the build up to Nationals. Nothing builds confidence like throwing strikes. After bowling on nothing but sports shots for 3 months straight, I forgot what it was like to strike at will...and then my THS game fell apart for a little bit. Long story short, the THS is a confidence booster like no other and will get you into a striking groove.
Thank you for the suggestion, I will talk with my local house and see what patterns they have on file.
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Do you know when you'll be in town for the tournament? I ask, because I have on very good knowledge that they'll be laying down last year's pattern, which will be similar to this year, as well as various other sport-compliant patterns at Gold Coast. I know that when I was there on Monday, they had laid out Seoul, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Paris, and last year's USBC Nationals pattern for practice. So if you have the time outside of the scheduling that BJI and the practice session, you could try there.
Outside of that, if a local house is willing, you could lay out last year's pattern, as there shouldn't be much changes, though keep in mind that the surface will be different, though shouldn't be a significant difference.
BL.
I will be there May 17-20. I am staying at the Gold Coast, I will have to see if they are still putting out the sports patterns when I get there.
Thank you for that bit of knowledge.
That's even better. Go into the Pro shop there. That's the guy I always go to, let alone he's the regional manager of all of K&K's shops in town. He and one of the guys there are the ones laying down the patterns. They'll definitely have something for you to practice on, plus any gear you need, he'll get you set up (like I said, he's the only guy I go to there, and that's saying a lot, seeing that BowlersMart is also set up in town).
Tell him that Brad from Sacramento sent you, and he'll hook you up for both gear and the patterns.
BL.
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Do you know when you'll be in town for the tournament? I ask, because I have on very good knowledge that they'll be laying down last year's pattern, which will be similar to this year, as well as various other sport-compliant patterns at Gold Coast. I know that when I was there on Monday, they had laid out Seoul, Mexico City, Los Angeles, Paris, and last year's USBC Nationals pattern for practice. So if you have the time outside of the scheduling that BJI and the practice session, you could try there.
Outside of that, if a local house is willing, you could lay out last year's pattern, as there shouldn't be much changes, though keep in mind that the surface will be different, though shouldn't be a significant difference.
BL.
I will be there May 17-20. I am staying at the Gold Coast, I will have to see if they are still putting out the sports patterns when I get there.
Thank you for that bit of knowledge.
That's even better. Go into the Pro shop there. That's the guy I always go to, let alone he's the regional manager of all of K&K's shops in town. He and one of the guys there are the ones laying down the patterns. They'll definitely have something for you to practice on, plus any gear you need, he'll get you set up (like I said, he's the only guy I go to there, and that's saying a lot, seeing that BowlersMart is also set up in town).
Tell him that Brad from Sacramento sent you, and he'll hook you up for both gear and the patterns.
BL.
Thank you again, will definitely have to stop by there...and drop your name.
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Any sport compliant pattern you can find will help prepare you for this tournament.
Since we can't duplicate lane surface, it will just get your mindset about shotmaking where it needs to be.
It goes without saying every year.
Keep your angles up front straighter.
Practice the $hit out of your spares with a plastic ball. (unless double wood)
Practice hitting a mark and repeating shots.
Focus on fundamentals.
these couple things will prepare you for any tough shot, I would practice anywhere you can around town and when you get there. the more the better IMO
good luck!
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Considering how low scores were last year I'd try finding a place to oil last years pattern. Get as much time on it as possible.
Then try some from previous years if time allows. That will help give you an idea of what to look for this year.
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I wouldn't worry too much about the pattern. For practice, any medium pattern 3:1 or less will do. Practice using your most natural approach and release. This is what you will unconsciously go to in nervous and stressful situations. Practice consistency and accuracy.
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Some great information here - thank you to all the replies. @Bradl - might I ask you how confident you are in the pattern info?
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Some great information here - thank you to all the replies. @Bradl - might I ask you how confident you are in the pattern info?
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Some great information here - thank you to all the replies. @Bradl - might I ask you how confident you are in the pattern info?
Very confident. Saw the guys there laying out the patterns across 5 pairs of lanes as I was waiting for a Scandal Pearl, Mission Unknown, and Maverick to be punched up to go alongside my GB2 MVP and Scandal. That was around 4pm local time, and in addition to laying out THS for the other 60 lanes (70 lane house) for the 3 1st shift leagues they were running that night.
Keith Boyd (PSO) and the mechanic laying out the patterns stated that it was $9/hr for 2 hours on any of the patterns they laid out. If anything, you can always ask them to lay down last year's OC pattern. I'm more than confident it will be a big request for every house in town during the run of the tournament, especially with K&K, Logo Infusion, and BowlersMart all having shops in town.
BL.
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Some great information here - thank you to all the replies. @Bradl - might I ask you how confident you are in the pattern info?
Every Monday at Gold Coast they put out 4 different patterns to practice on
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Some great information here - thank you to all the replies. @Bradl - might I ask you how confident you are in the pattern info?
Every Monday at Gold Coast they put out 4 different patterns to practice on
Just nailed it. Monday (12/19) was the day I was there!
BL.
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Thanks guys. This is great info.
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Try to go with any sport compliant 38 to 40 foot pattern
Only time they went longer to 42 feet scores were through the roof so you wont see that again. Anything much shorter than 38 and you set them up for the guys who can play up the boards way outside
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Anything much shorter than 38 and you set them up for the guys who can play up the boards way outside
I would love a shorter pattern since playing up the outside is my bread and butter.