Faribault Bowling Observer- Passing the Torch

 This week I was talking to Don Clayton, asking him about the current Junior Bowling circuit in Faribault. What I found out was disappointing. The High School program is still going strong but there are very few bowlers cutting their teeth at the youth level. For someone that cares about the future of the sport in our town, that should be a bit concerning. You hope that the kids in the High School program will end up as league bowlers after High School or preferably they will have an opportunity to bowl at the college level. 

The problem though, is where is the next wave of bowlers going to come from. Since most of you reading this are already supportive of the sport, there is no doubt that you're already supportive of kids that want to try to learn to bowl. But what can we do to get that kid that doesn't come from a family of bowlers to commit to being a bowler? I think it is something the school system can help with and encourage kids to try league bowling. Would schools rather have kids at home alone playing video games?  Or would they rather have them try bowling, a sport that not only takes athletic ability to participate in, but intelligence to figure out the intricacies of the game. Saying all of that, it's also a sport that doesn't discrimate. Short, tall, skinny or bigger kids can all bowl and enjoy the same success.

Coming up in the late 1980's we had youth leagues at two bowling alleys. I know we could never replicate those numbers, but to have a league where kids could learn not just bowling but social skills as they would be bowling with and against their peers, it would bode well for the future of the sport in Faribault.

Looks like the new oil pattern this week came with mixed results. We had some bowlers knock out big series, but others had trouble making the adjustments. Matter of fact we are going to see some bowlers get stars that didn't hit their average for the night. Let's take a look around the leagues and of course recognize our Three Stars for each matchup.

MONDAY NIGHT GUTTERDUSTERS

No Name defeated Low Expectations 5-2

1. Ed Gillen- No Name. 608 scratch, 680 handicap series

2. Pat Morris- No Name. 208 game, 585 handicap series

3. Noah Carlson- Low Expectations. 573 handicap series

Battle of the Lucky sees Strikes over Balls 4-3

1. Bryan Lorenzen- Lucky Strikes. 439 scratch, 616 handicap series

2. Crystal Waas- Lucky Balls. 470 scratch, 608 handicap series

3. Tracy Cortez- Lucky Balls. 571 handicap series

Gillen Farm topped Meadow Ridge 4-3

1. Matt Gustafson- Gillen Farm. 572 scratch, 686 handicap series

2. Pat Ernste- Meadow Ridge. 512 scratch, 650 handicap series

3. Mark Pearson- Gillen Farm. 592 scratch series

Fox Lake Farms swept Gillen Masonry 7-0

1. Gail Gillen- Fox Lake Farms. 498 scratch, 639 handicap series

2. Charles Kryzer Jr.- Gillen Masonry. 600 scratch, 651 handicap series

3. Amy Luckow- Fox Lake Farms. 449 scrach, 620 handicap series

(This was a tough one to do. Gillen Masonry going by handicap series could've got two of the three stars, but with Fox Lake Farms sweeping, it's tough to only give them only one star).

Monday Night Gutterduster Standings

MONDAY NIGHT CENTRAL LEAGUE

Faribowl crushed Signature 27-3

1. Erin Gillen- Bauer- Faribowl. 481 scratch, 697 handicap series

2. Donnie Clayton- Faribowl. 624 scratch, 666 handicap series

3. Rebecca Oslund- Signature. 618 handicap series

Midwest Collision defeats Our Place on 3rd 20-10

1. Missy Mechura- Midwest Collision. 521 scratch, 725 handicap series

2. Jason Norberg- Midwest Collision. 581 scratch, 692 handicap series

3. Ren Ross- Our Place on 3rd. 651 scratch, 696 handicap series

Tom's Pro Glass bowled against their average and procured 22 points

Monday Night Central Standings

TUESDAY COFFEE LEAGUE

Bowling Bags knock off IBS 3-1, Happy Gals and Returned A's split

1. Susie Voegele- Returned A's. 404 scratch, 656 handicap series

2. Kim Tiedeken- Happy Gals. 515 scratch, 638 handicap series

3. Jenny Linster- Bowling Bags. 413 scratch, 629 handicap series

Tuesday Coffee League Standings

TUESDAY NIGHT MERCHANT LEAGUE

Old Town Tavern takes 24.5 of 30 from Cry Baby Craig's

1. Dan Langer- OTT. 711 scratch series, three points

2. Colby Ordal- CBC. 644 scratch, 752 handicap series, three points

3. Erin Gillen- Bauer- OTT. 465 scratch, 690 handicap series, four points

AP Insurance defeated Depot 19-11

1. Ben Babcock- AP Insurance. 553 scratch, 715 handicap series, four points

2. Dave Swanson- Depot. 587 scratch, 704 handicap series, four points

3. Warren Babcock- AP Insurance. 464 scratch, 677 handicap series, three points

Story Equipment takes down Faribowl 24-6

1. Joey Schleis- Story Equipment. 732 scratch, 837 handicap series, four points

2. Kyle Standbley- Story Equipment. 535 scratch, 697 handicap series, three points

3. Don Clayton- Faribowl. 631 scratch, 652 handicap series, two points

Bashers defeated Nomad Adventures 22.5-7.5

1. Steve Pleschcourt- Bashers. 684 scractch, 747 handicap series, four points

2. Brian Pleschcourt- Bashers. 683 scratch, 725 handicap series, three points

3. Scott Finstuen- Nomad Adventures. 599 scratch, 668 handicap series, 2.5 points

Champion's Pro Shop dominates Tom's Pro Glass 27-3

1. Jason Kes- CPS. 711 scratch series, 741 handicap series, four points

2. Briley Haugh- CPS. 739 scratch series, four points

3. Taylor Koerner- CPS. 721 scratch series, four points

DeGroot Construction defeated Roehrick Painting 25-5

1. Kelly Kenow- DC. 547 scratch, 652 handicap series, three points

2. Jr DeGroot- DC. 622 scratch, 649 handicap series, three points

3. Del Spronk- DC. 564 scratch, 639 handicap series, three points

Mid State defeated Elk's Lodge 21-9

1. Jordan Von Ruden- Mid State. 688 scratch, 715 handicap series, three points

2. Tom Kuntz- Elk's Lodge. 447 scratch, 654 handicap ssries, two points

3. Andy Harigan- Mid State. 378 scratch, 636 handicap series, three points

Tuesday Night Merchant League Standings

Wednesday Night Mixed

Better Than Charles swept Waffle Stomp 

1. Dianna Kryzer- BTC. 541 scratch, 649 handicap series

2. Charles Kryzer Jr.- BTC. 585 scratch, 645 handicap series

3. Sheri Borsgtahl- BTC. 558 scratch, 639 handicap series

The Whoevers defeated Pin Pals 5-2

1. Colby Ordal- The Whoevers. 553 scratch, 646 handicap series

2. Richard Angell- Pin Pals. 437 scratch, 608 handicap series

3. Michael Goeing- Pin Pals 425 scratch, 584 handicap series

New Team vs. Bowl Shyt- result unknown but let's say one team is in deep Shyt

1. Terry McKillip, New Team. 493 scratch, 632 handicap series

2. Joshua McHugh, Bowl Shyt. 499 scratch, 625 handicap series

3. Kathy Hoffman, New Team. 365 scratch, 608 handicap series

One member of New Team post bowled, no results known as of press time so no updated standings this week.

NOTES:

The sign up sheet for the Super Sunday No Tap Doubles Tournament on February 12th can be found at the front counter at Faribowl.  You don't want to miss out on this tournament, a long standing Faribault tradition. Make it a day at the alley as you can come out for breakfast, bowl the tournament and then stick around for the Super Bowl.

It will be interesting to see what kind of scores we'll see this week as bowlers make adjustments to the new oil pattern. That's a unique aspect of bowling. You can't change the dimensions on a baseball field during the season. A football field remains 100 yards long, but oil patterns change on lanes a few times during the season. It makes it a thinking person's sport.

This week's video is going to go back into the 1970's. A staple of local TV back then was that every market had a locally produced bowling show. In our area it was Bowling For Dollars. It was aired on KSTP Channel 5 and hosted by local sportscaster Tom Ryther. Check out the graphics as it doesn't get more 1970's than the set for the show. Enjoy

Until next week, good luck and good shooting.