When I encounter bowlers and talk about lane conditions, I like to get a feel for how each bowler sees the lanes. This can be geared towards Team Bowling in League, City, State, even National tournaments. So this week I would like to write about some things I see happen with team bowling and some of the causes and affects of how each bowler on the team attacks the lane conditions they are faced with.

Team bowling, at any level, is a great rush of excitement. Whether you are trying to work together to win a league, City, State, or National team event, many things come in to play. Mental focus, Communication, Adrenaline, and team work. When bowling as a team, a successful team should have a plan of attack, team strategy, and open lines of communication. Having these tools make a team more effective, and it gives them a better chance of success. Let’s look at the Nationals, there are teams that work together, and then there are teams that bowl each individual bowler’s style. Which ones do you think are most successful? Sure, the second example can have there day in the sun, but to do it year in and year out and be successful, you have to become one. Team work is defined as a group of individuals working together to achieve a common goal. So with that definition, do the teams that have 5 different styles and plans of attack become more or less likely to succeed? Do you think teams that are communicating, working together, and stick to the game plan become more successful? More often then not they do. Look at the teams that are consistently in the top at the USBC Nationals year in and year out. Do they practice and work together? Sure they do! Do they keep great lines of communication? Sure they do! Do they have a game plan and stick with it? You betcha! So if this has been proven to work year in and year out, then why do so many teams not follow the regiment? One thing I can think of is ego. So many bowlers have an ego that they can’t get around. They think they know everything that they need to know, and usually do not like change. And these types of bowlers worry more about the short term goal for themselves, then the long term for the team. You have anyone like that on your team? I can honestly admit that in my younger days bowling I was one of those bowlers. I was more worried about what jackpot I could win, then what the team could do. As I have gotten wiser, I realize that old saying is so true: “There is no I in TEAM!”  Team play comes with great lines of communication, and lane play. If bowlers work together on the lanes, and play the same zones, scores do happen. Let’s look at the technical side for a second. If you have five different styles of bowlers, crossing five different lines on the lane surface, what happens to the lane conditions? They get funky, is the only way to describe it. If you have a bowler playing the outside portion of the lane, and a couple inside of that person, and a couple people inside of those bowlers, what do you think happens to your breakpoint down the lane? Well let’s break that down. If you have a bowler playing from the outside, they are displacing oil from the outside and transferring it to the back end. If you have a couple guys playing inside of them, they are displacing more oil from the center portion of the lane and transferring it down the lane and further outside. If you have bowlers inside of that, they are doing the same thing but a greater area of displacement. So by not working together on the lane surface, the breakpoint for the bowlers has become smaller in stature to hit the dry portion, and have made the bowling ball reaction more unpredictable. If there bowlers work together and play in a specific zone, that breakpoint area becomes larger in stature, and becomes easier to maintain more predictable ball reaction. In that sense, your scores will increase, and your team will bowl more consistent. Just think, if you do it the first way, do you see a trend of scores that fluctuate from game one being good, to game two score going down, to the third game getting very touchy and inconsistent. Now teams that work together, usually there team scores show a lower first game, better second game, and even better third game. Why is that? They worked together to create a more effective way of scoring. By managing the lane condition and sticking to a game plan, they put the short term satisfaction aside, and focused on the long term vision.

So remember bowlers, when going out to any team event, have a game plan, an open line of communication, a vision for the long term goal, and you shall be successful.

T.J. Yeip is the Manger of GLC Bowling and lead technical advisor. He is an advanced certified IBPSIA member and a Certified USBC Coach. You can email your questions to him directly at thomas.yeip@glcbowling.com