Last year, Kelly Kulick could seemingly do no wrong. She enjoyed what was arguably the greatest season any bowler has ever had. I certainly can't think of a female bowler ever having a greater season than Kelly's last year when she won the PBA Tournament of Champions, the Women's U.S. Open, the USBC Queens, a PBA regional championship, the Malaysian Open, and placed high in other important national and international tournaments and led the women in virtually all statistical categories. It was a spectacular season by any reasonable person's standards.
This year has been more challenging. Kulick made it to match play but finished 49th in the TOC, made it to match play but got eliminated fairly early in the Queens, and has reported some trouble with her physical game. Yet, she still has the Women's U.S. Open ahead of her, and lest you think her best bowling is behind her, take a look at her recent performances in the 2011 Team USA Women's Pan American Trials at the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas. Kulick asserted complete dominance over her fellow Women's Team USA members on all four international oil patterns put out for them.
Now that's versatility for you and proof positive that Kelly Kulick is still a bowling force to be roundly reckoned with.
You can read the USBC's press release about the Pan American Trials here and watch videos of all four eight game blocks below.
Unless you follow bowling pretty closely, you've probably never heard of EJ Tackett. But he deserves a lot more attention in the bowling world and beyond than he seems to be getting. At least that's the point I tried to make to PBA Xtra Frame's "bowling doctor" Jeff Mark and USBC announcer Lucas Wiseman the other day as Xtra Frame and bowl.com collaborated to bring us live online video coverage of the recent Team USA tryouts for the Pan American Games.
The tryouts, which took place Tuesday and Wednesday at the USBC's amazing International Training and Research Center (ITRC) in Arlington, TX, had all eleven members of this year's men's Team USA bowling eight games on each of four different patterns to partly determine which two bowlers would represent the USA in Guadalajara, Mexico this summer in North and South America's version of the Olympics held every four years.
The competing members were PBA stars Bill O'Neill, Chris Barnes, Patrick Allen, Wes Malott, Tommy Jones, Mike Fagan, and Walter Ray Williams, along with Scott Boyle, Steven Smith, Jarret Mizo, and EJ Tackett. The top two were determined based 60% on where they finished in the tryouts, 20% on their finish in the USBC Masters, and 20% on where they finished in the U.S. Open. By virtue of those calculations, Bill O'Neill, who ran away from the field for most of the tryouts, and Chris Barnes were the top two point-getters and will represent the USA in the men's bowling competition at the Pan American Games. I can't think of two better choices, can you?
But what impressed me almost as much as these two bowling superstars during the tryouts was the performance of EJ Tackett. For much of the competition, he held his own with bowling's big guns on challenging patterns, even sitting in fourth place after 17 games, until he faltered at the end, and by virtue of his performances during the tryouts and the U.S. Open earlier this year where he finished 15th overall, he was the highest overall point-getter among the non-touring pros on Team USA, finishing behind Walter Ray Williams.
What was so impressive about this? Well, EJ Tackett is only 18-years-old and is still in high school, and he throws what looks to me to be one helluva ball. I can't imagine how gratifying it must have been for him to make men's Team USA this year, finish so high in the U.S. Open awhile back, and then bowl so well against such a stellar field of pros in Arlington earlier this week. Talk about a kid's dream come true!
Well, not quite. EJ's biggest dream is probably not to win a PBA "major" or represent men's Team USA in international competition, but to win a PGA major. That's right, EJ Tackett says he loves golf more than he does bowling, is currently a 2-handicapper, and will be attending college on a golf scholarship next year.
As I watched him bowl during the tryouts, I wrote a Facebook message to Jeff Mark and Lucas Wiseman that I was surprised they weren't paying more attention to EJ instead of treating him like just another competitor. Mark's response was that unless and until he wins a big tournament, he hasn't really done anything all that noteworthy and doesn't deserve any more attention or coverage than he's been getting.
I respectfully disagree. I think one of bowling's biggest problems right now is poor public relations. It doesn't know how to market itself to the masses in a way that gets people interested and makes them respect the sport and the players more. When a young phenom like EJ Tackett or Kamron Doyle comes along, bowling publicists should jump on the opportunity to bring them to the public's attention. How many boys and girls and young men and women, who are the future of bowling, might be inspired by the stories of young competitors such as these to take up the game and get serious about it? When guys like Jeff Mark and Lucas Wiseman take the ho-hum attitude that they do, they're just shooting themselves and bowling in general in the foot, and they're not giving superbly talented and accomplished young competitors like EJ Tackett their due.
I wish EJ Tackett well with his golf game. He's certainly right when he says there is more "opportunity" in professional golf than there is in professional bowling. But I hope he keeps bowling too. I really like his game and would love to see him shine as a star on both the PGA and PBA Tours.
Below you can watch two video stories on EJ Tackett and video of the Team USA tryouts for the Pan Am Games. And you can click here for the official USOC press release on the selections for the Pan Am Games.
~ Ryan Lingholm: The Other Side of Two-Handed Bowling -- "Jason Belmonte's exemption in the Professional Bowlers Association this season opens a new frontier in a sport that has seen as many new eras as a high school history text book. With the two-handed bowling phenomenon now in full bloom, the man known only as "Belmo" completes a trinity of two-handed specialists on the Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour this year that includes Finland's Osku Palerma and Team USA's Cassidy Schaub. But there is one two-handed bowler for whom the style is not just about 600 revs per minute and a violent collision of pins; it also makes bowling accessible to those who otherwise would never be able to compete..."
~ITRC technology dazzles Team USA in training camp -- "The International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas, played host to its first men’s Team USA Training Camp this week and the 12 elite bowlers found many tools in the new facility to help them improve their game.Among the attendees were Professional Bowlers Association Tour stars such as reigning PBA Player of the Year Walter Ray Williams Jr. as well as Chris Barnes, Rhino Page, Wes Malott, Tommy Jones and 2010 U.S. Open winner Bill O’Neill..."
~ PBA Women's Series Showdown to air Sunday on ESPN From International Training and Research Center -- "The 2009-10 PBA Women’s Series presented by BOWL.COM concludes its third season with the PBA Women’s Series Showdown at the new International Training and Research Center Sunday on ESPN with six of the sport’s top women bowlers vying for a $25,000 prize in a unique competition. The PBA Women’s Series Showdown, presented by BOWL.COM, will air on ESPN Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern..."
~ Wendy Kok overtakes the qualifying lead in 4th Qubica/AMF Open -- "Qualifying in the 4th Qubica/AMF Open 2010 continued on Thursday with qualifying squads 5 and 6 at Bowling Center Gladiator Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The top 3 players from Squad 5 cracked the 1400-bar and the top 8 moved into the top 10 in the overall qualifying standings. Wendy Kok (pictured left), Netherlands, started with games of 218, 246, 236 and 187 before she closed out her six-game block with back-to-back 150s (250, 254) for 1391 pinfall total and an average of 231.83. The Dutch national team member added 48 pins handicap, a standard for women on the European Bowling Tour, to move to the top of the leaderboard with 1439 total..."
~ Un-a "dore"ing -- "It is sometimes sad to see Rome fall, in particular when the rise to power never fully reached its potential. As a curator of bowling from a participatory and philosophical standpoint, it is important to see things as objectively as possible, despite what your head and heart tells you. This tell tale heart version surrounds the end to the Vanderbilt Commodores 2009-10 Women's Bowling season: a season that resulted in 67 wins against arguably, the nation's toughest schedule..."
~ The Rituals and Routines of Expert Coaches -- "The following article provides coaches with a guideline on effectively teaching bowlers. In addition, it can be used by bowlers in their own practice process..."
~ Bowling Lessons for Beginners: Video Series -- "Learn bowling tips and techniques for beginners, including how to pick the right ball, attire, shoes to wear, how to keep score and rules of the game, in this free online video series..."
~ Cold Rolls: How bowling cold impacts your body (US Bowler, Winter 2009-10, p.18) -- "...No matter what sport you play, warming up before launching yourself into competition is a smart thing to do. Bowling is no different..."
~ The Master of the 'Mega' (Bowlers Journal International, April 2010, pgs.24-25) -- "Megabucks tournaments may be a little short on the "mega" these days, but to Rick Miller, the luster is still there--and you can make that a double. Defying astronomical odds, Miller won both the High Roller and the Mini Eliminator on the same weekend..."
~ Rhino Page Makes Big Shots to win PBA Experience Showdown in Arlington -- "Rhino Page of Dade City, Fla., made critical shots when he had needed them most to nip Bill O’Neill of Southampton, Pa., in the PBA Experience Showdown presented by BOWL.COM at the International Training and Research Center...the Showdown was a first-of-its-kind contest featuring five PBA Experience lane condition champions (Norm Duke, Cheetah pattern; Mike DeVaney, Scorpion; Jack Jurek, Shark; O’Neill, Chameleon, and Page) along with Kevin Reuer, a USBC Sport Bowling league member from Hoffman Estates, Ill. Reuer, who bowls in the Beverly Lanes Sport League in Arlington Heights, Ill., won a national competition among thousands of USBC PBA Experience League bowlers for the right to bowl against the PBA stars. The made-for-television event required all six players to bowl a single frame on each of the five “animal patterns” and then repeat that process to complete a 10-frame game. After one full round, the field was trimmed to the two highest scores for a five-frame championship game, also across all five patterns. In sequence, players bowled one frame each on the Shark, Chameleon, Viper, Scorpion and Cheetah patterns."
~ Long road to NCAA women's bowling title worth it for Fairleigh Dickinson -- "Fairleigh Dickinson took the long road to its second NCAA women’s bowling championship, finally overcoming No. 1 Nebraska in the seventh and deciding game of the championship match on Saturday night at the Brunswick Zone Carolier Lanes in North Brunswick."
~ 2010 BEC Video #8 -- Semifinal Match between Zulmazran Zulkifli (MAS) and Rob Thurlby (ENG)-- "The remaining four players after the single-elimination rounds of the 2010 Brunswick Euro Challenge advanced to a traditional stepladder final to bowl for the title and the 13.000 Euro top prize. After defeating No. 4 Ildemaro Ruiz, Venezuela. In the opening match, No. 3 Zulmazran Zulkifli, Malaysia, faced No. 2 Rob Thurlby, England, in the semifinal. The winner advanced to the title match against the No. 1 seed, Adrian Ang, Malaysia."
~ Germany 2 wins Nations Cup at host center of the 2010 Men's World Championships -- "Germany 2 (pictured left with Germay 1) with Jens Nickel, Bodo Konieczny, Pascal Winternheimer, Kai Günther, Michael Holzapfel and Timo Schröder won the Nations Cup 2010, a test event in preparation for the 2010 Men's World Championship at the host bowling center, Dream-Bowl Palace, in Unterföhring, Germany. The Germans led the mini-tournament after four disciplines, Singles, Doubles, Team and another Singles, with 28812pinfall total or an average of 208.78. As each team was allowed six players or more, the team average decided the winner."
~ Zikes Joins 100,000 Club -- "ABC/USBC of Famer Les Zikes of Palatine, Ill., has a bowling resume filled with accomplishments at the USBC Open Championships (formerly known as the ABC Championship Tournament), and he added another milestone to his legacy at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno on Thursday night. The 75-year-old right-hander entered the 2010 USBC Open Championships needing 272 pins to become the newest member of the tournament’s elite 100,000-Pin Club, and he got there in the 7th frame of his second team game. As always, his wife, Mary Cay, was by his side, and he was joined on the lanes by his granddaughter Cathy Kipp and his son, Lyle, who covers the pro bowling beat for BJI."
~ Thought Stopping Methods -- "You’ve bowled quite well in the first five frames against a tough opponent. The match is dead even. Leading off the sixth frame, the other bowler throws a Brooklyn strike. You’re in the pocket, but leave a ringing 10. You say to yourself, “Why don’t I get the breaks?” The spare shot misses. As your stomach knots up, your inner voice says, “Oh no, here we go again. Don’t choke.”Because you keep a self-talk log and know your own tendencies, you quickly recognize the negative self-talk. What do you do next? A technique we recommend for quickly and effectively controlling negative self-talk as well as negative images is thought stopping. Let’s see how it works."
~ French Coach Eric Courault Visits International Training and Research Center -- "Bowling's global push to someday attain the Olympic spotlight has found an ally in French national bowling team head coach Eric Courault...In a whirlwind travel schedule that demonstrated Courault's tireless commitment to strengthening the Tenpin Bowling Association of France, Courault recently visited the International Training and Research Center in Arlington, Texas, just days after attending the Brunswick Euro Challenge in Paris – and then promptly left town en route to the European Youth Championships. "I am so impressed with his overall dedication to the sport and developing it further," says USBC Director of International Relations Bill Hoffman."
~ General Lane Play Guidelines -- "Here are some general guidelines on how to play the lanes, from the outside to the inside, or how-to attack the longer or shorter patterns. I encourage you to read my advanced targeting article as well."
~ Andrew's Angle: Road Trip, Part 1 -- "Road trips. Often regarded as one of the true staples of American freedom, they are also the backbone of those who choose to pursue the bowling dream. I am one of those people."
