February Newsletter

In this newsletter:

Membership Meeting
Hall of Fame
Save the Date
Sponsorship
Tournament Update
Coach’s Tip
High Scores

Membership Meeting

The annual membership meeting this year will be held at the Belmont II bowling center on April 9th beginning at 7:00pm. The calendar of events that was advertised earlier in the year states that this meeting is being held at Family Bowlaway. This is to inform our members that the location has been changed. All members of the Butler Area USBC are encouraged to attend having both voice and vote for this meeting. Legislation is pending membership vote and we will be electing directors to a new term of office.

Hall of Fame

This is your last chance to nominate someone for the 2025 Hall of Fame class. If you have been thinking about nominating someone, DO IT NOW.

If you would like to submit an application for someone you know, it is available online at the association web site. (67d5a6_aa6627acc7ed45dbbeaeb571784ba6b5.pdf) Deadline for application submittal is 2/15/25.

Save the Date…

Sponsorship

I’m pleased to announce that Troy-Alan of Slippery Rock has become our primary tournament sponsor.

For your automotive needs visit A Preferred Grove City, Butler, & New Castle, PA Vehicle Source - Troy-Alan Chevrolet Buick GMC in SLIPPERY ROCK

However, we are still searching for additional sponsors for our events. Sponsorship is now coupled with a targeted advertising program. Depending on the sponsorship amount, different levels of advertising are included. Advertising can include a large Banner hanging in the bowling center for all our tournaments, placement on our website, advertisement in our monthly newsletter, and a table topper with the company ad to be placed in the settee area during the tournaments. Because the Butler Area USBC is classified as a 501(c)3 charitable organization your donation may receive favorable tax treatment. For more information contact Butler Area USBC Vice President Neil Morris at neilgmorrisjr@gmail.com

Tournament Update

The results of the doubles tournament can be seen on our Facebook page (2) Facebook Thank you to everyone who participated, this tournament was a huge success.

The next tournament will be the Team Tournament sponsored by Troy-Alan Chevrolet Buick GMC in Slippery Rock scheduled for Sundays February 23rd and March 2nd at Grove City Bowl-O-Drome. Squad Times: 10am and 1pm. Applications are coming in very quickly. The first weekend of the tournament is almost full, and we have limited spots for the second weekend. If you have not entered yet, please hurry to get a spot. Check on our website for more information. Butler Area Tournaments | Butler Area USBC

The next tournament will be Mixed Doubles Tournament, one member must be male while the other must be female, held at Sherwood lanes on Sunday March 9 at 10:30am. Sponsored by Troy-Alan Chevrolet Buick GMC in Slippery Rock. Applications can be found at all bowling centers or by going to Butler Area Tournaments | Butler Area USBC
Coach’s Tip

Last month we held a contest. We posted a quiz in the newsletter asking our readers to respond to the newsletter with their answers. The names of all who correctly answer, were to be put in a hat at our February Board meeting and one winner was to be drawn. The winner would have received an individual paid entry into one of our association tournaments, Singles, Doubles, or Team. I am perplexed to state that we did not receive one correct answer. Therefore no one wins the paid entry into one of our tournaments.

I will share the correct answer.

Answers Term Definition

14 Barmaid 1 A strike when the pins appear to fall one by one

9 Belly the Ball 2 A strikewhere the pins go down immediately

17 Big Ears 3 Scoring three strikes in as row in the tenth frame

11 Broom Ball 4 Lanes that are favorable for allowing strikes

5 Fit Split 5 The type of split where the pins are close enough together for the ball to pass between them and still hit them

16 Frozen Rope 6 A light hit strike in which the pins seem to take a long time to fall

20 Graveyards 7 Getting a full count of ten

12 Jam 8 Lanes that keep a bowling ball from hooking properly

13 Kindling Wood 9 A wide hooking ball starting from an inside starting angle

15 Looper 10 3-6-10 leave

18 Mule Ears 11 When the bowling ball hits the pocket in such a way that it mimics the sweeping action of a broom

7 Pack 12 Forcing the bowling ball high into the pocket

10 Poison Ivy 13 Light pins

1 Schleifer 14 When one pin is hidden behind another pin

4 Slot Alley 15 A bowling ball released in such a way that it hooks extra wide and slowly

6 Spiller 16 A bowling ball that is rolled staright into the pocket with excessive speed

2 Splasher 17 4-6-7-10 split

8 Stiff Alley 18 7-10 split

3 Wire It 19 5-10 split

19 Woolworth 20 Bowling lanes that are low scoring

Now for the tip…

There is an old adage that states, “Trust is a must, or your game is a bust”. Truer words were never spoken, but how do you trust your game, or better your decisions during the game?
First, you can’t doubt yourself. You have to KNOW, not guess, you made a quality shot. By quality, I mean did you meet YOUR requirements for the shot.

Did you stand in the right spot on the lane,
Did you release the ball properly with a follow through,
Did you hit your target,
Did your slide foot finish in the right spot?

It doesn’t matter if you struck or not, you need to KNOW you did everything that YOU require to make a quality shot. If you can’t answer yes to each of those questions, that is where to focus your attention.
Many times, bowlers ask themselves did I make a good shot or is it the lane? Until you can answer the above for EVERY shot you won’t know for sure. You will be guessing, is it me or the lane???
Here is a scenario for you. You are up on the left lane. The ball goes high and leaves a big split that you can’t cover. You play the right lane as you have been. You leave an 8 or 9 pin and cover the spare. Now you’re up on the left lane again. Since you can’t answer the questions above you don’t move. You leave another unmakeable split. You now have 2 open frames in the last 3. Your game is toast.
Let’s reverse the scenario. For the second frame on the left lane you think, “OK, I’ll move.” You move 2 boards the way the ball is moving. (Left for right handers, or right for left handers) You throw a good shot, but this time the ball doesn’t finish, and you leave something like a 2-4-8-10. Still the same thing.
Let’s analyze the first scenario. You throw the ball on the left lane and the ball goes high and leaves the same big split. You KNOW you stood in the right place on the approach, you KNOW you released the ball properly and followed through, and you KNOW you hit your mark. What you didn’t know was that you drifted two boards more than you normally do which caused your ball to cross your mark on a different trajectory causing you to miss down lane.
Everyone has a pre-shot routine, what I suggest is adding a post-shot routine. Post your shot, after releasing the ball, don’t move. After the ball leaves your hand, you see the ball cross over your target and see where the ball hits the pins and leaves the pin deck, look down at your feet and answer the last question. Now you know you made a QUALITY shot, that can be repeated consistently. Now you can adjust to the lanes from a position of knowledge, not guesses. You won’t have to wonder any more, is it me, or is it the lane?