Blog

Taking it to the People

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:49:00 -0400

How do you get someone who has never bowled in a league in their entire life to join for the first time? That question has been rolling around in my head for quite some time. At the end of my thought process I always arrive at the same conclusion: you invite them.

Bowling is an attractive sport. It offers social fun with your friends on a regular basis for an affordable price and it's never rained out. With that said, why doesn't everyone do it? Well, it could be a cost issue. It could be a time commitment issue. It could be, though don't ask me why, that they just don't enjoy bowling. With all those reasons aside, I think we're just mostly guilty of not asking our friends if they want to join us.

For example, I have two friends with whom I've never bowled before in my life. My cousin and I wanted to form a team this fall but we were two people short. I asked these two guys if they wanted to bowl, and they were and are both excited about it and have agreed to be on my team. I took one of them down, got him his first ball on clearance, got it drilled, got him some shoes and a bag, then we threw five practice games. He shot a 201 on his 5th game, his best score ever, and is now even more excited to bowl this year.

In it's simpliest explination, my job is to promote and grow the sport of bowling in Oregon. I realize that this has the potential to be overwhelming. I'm going to do my part as your association manager. I'm going to start putting the sport out there statewide with radio commercials, car stickers, and other forms of advertising, all in an effort to plant seeds in people's minds that bowling is still awesome.

I'm also going to do my part as a bowler. I'm going to invite my friends to bowl with me. I'm going to teach them what I know. I'm going to help them become bowlers. Join me in my efforts to bring bowling back to the forefront of the American landscape. Join a USBC league, and bring a friend.

Summer

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:31:00 -0400

I can't believe how fast the summer comes and goes. Fortunately at this point it's still only the middle of July, but man, it is just flying by. The Open Tournament came and went, and I feel for my first year, it was a success, but there is so much room for growth.

Some of you may wonder what exactly an association manager does in the summer. I myself wondered that as well. So far I find myself doing what I hoped: seeking sponsorship for next year's tournaments and just overall trying to improve the tournaments in every way possible. I've started to look at my position as an event coordinator, though it is far from only that.

In addition to the tournaments, the first ever Oregon Bowling Summit is almost here. While I find that I'm a little nervous that I'm going to forget to do something I'm supposed to for the Summit, I'm mostly excited at the potential behind it.

For those of you reading this who don't know what the Summit is (check out the Summit page!), it is where the local and state associations get together and vote on board members and legislation to try and improve our sport. This year is special. For the first time ever, we're partnering with the Oregon State Bowling Proprietors Association in an effort to work together to make the sport the best it can be.

It seems like a no brainer to some of you that of course we would work with the proprietors, how could we not? Well some things just don't happen over night, but here we are, on the brink of some great possibilities.

As we continue to grow and change as an organization, your feedback is always welcome. If you are a member, you have a voice and I'll try to always be listening.

Bring a Friend

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:41:00 -0400

Five months into my new job and I've made a lot of new friends. If you've read my past blog posts you'll know that I think bowling is a community of people who are drawn together by the love of a sport. As I've had the chance to make new friends, I've discovered what others may have already figured out: Growing the sport of bowling really isn't going to happen through the USBC or the bowling centers...it will happen when we the bowlers start inviting our friends to start bowling with us.

The majority of people bowling today A) Have been bowling since childhood, or B) One of their friends or family INVITED them and they were hooked. There are a few out there who of course just thought to themselves one day, "Hmmm, I think I'll join a bowling league, even though I've never done it and I don't know anyone else who does either."

Bowling is different things to different people, but to all bowlers it supposed to be something fun. So why not spread the fun around? Bowling: Bring a friend.

Good. Better. Best.

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:47:00 -0400

When I took over the position of Association Manager in December, I was a bit overwhelmed. I felt as though I could understand what Barack Obama was going through as the new president, trying to figure out how to do a job he had never done before. I felt like I needed to assess the state of our union of bowlers.

What I'm finding, through my communication with bowlers, board members, association managers and everyone in between is that everyone has different expectations of how things should be done and on a lesser level, where the organization should be going.

The national USBC has gone through several changes in the last year, from its move to Texas, to its partnership with the BPAA and so on. They seem to be making a statement to the state level associations that says "We want to grow the sport of bowling, and we're going to try and make it happen."

So how does that happen? You make the good better, and the things you've done better, the best they could possibly be. A translation to real terms:

Find out what it would take to make non league bowlers, who just bowl for fun, and usher them into a new experience of league bowling.
Take exisiting tournaments, which are dwindling in numbers, and revamp the experience so it regains some of it's luster and brillance.
You utilize the resources at your fingertips, and at my fingertips is typically a keyboard. By using technology, we save money and get information to the people who need it to stay involved.
You do something new, that hasn't been done before, to catch peoples attention. For a sport that has been around so long, this can be challenging, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.

So that is where I find myself a few months in. Trying to find a balance that will lead to growth. Trying to make the good, better, and the better, the best it can be.

A Common Bond

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:29:41 -0500

We're all drawn together by something we love, bowling. The thrill releasing the perfect ball and just knowing it's going to be there, striking out in the tenth to win the game, or covering any split at all. These are things we all appreciate.

There is an underlying theme that connects as well. The feeling of being part of a team, of spending time with your friends every week, of being part of an organization that is bigger than your own score at the end of the day. It keeps us coming back even when we fail to get our averages three weeks in a row. People don't bowl for 40 years straight simply because they enjoy rolling a ball down a lane, they do it because it makes them feel like a part of something.

As bowlers we're part of this huge community of diverse people linked by this common bond. But what should be our goal? To what end do we work towards? I've always been of the mentality that life is about relationships, making new friends, and growing together as people.

As part of my job, I'm commissioned to help grow the sport of bowling in Oregon. To me, that means making new people who aren't bowlers, feel what we feel, both the obvious and not-so-obvious feelings incorporated wtih being a bowler. To me, that means making new friends.

The end goal is this blog is encouragement. I encourage you all to share your love for bowling with those around you, invite someone new to join your team next year, take a friend bowling that doesn't really know how. The only way to get new people to bowl is to make them feel welcome, and that starts with us.

Plant the Seeds

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 19:18:19 -0500

When I was hired at the end of November 2008, I told the board that I wanted to see the sport of bowling grow and that I thought I had the ability to facilitate that. As I get settled in and familiarize myself with the logistical part of being the Association Manger, I don't want to lose site of expectations that I have for myself, beyond the day-to-day operations, for the growth of the sport.

For bowling to grow and flourish, we need more participation, bowlers from every age, from five to the 105 with no gaps in between. We need kids in high school to continue bowling through college and into their 20's and 30's. We need newly married folks to join leagues and bring their friends. We need parents with young children to know that bowling is still an option for them. We need retirees to continue bowling as long as their able. We need, we need, we need.

For this to happen, all the cogs have to be in place and functioning, together. From the bowling centers, to the local associations, to the state, to USBC national in Texas. Growth is something we all want to see. There are very few people who don't want to see new faces every year at the start of leagues. New bowlers means new friends, new competition and more fun for all those involved.

The way I see it, the youth are our 1-3 pocket, where our focus and energy should be. Like the song says, "I believe the children are the future, teach them well and let them lead the way." If we can raise up new bowlers from an early age, we ensure the longevity of bowling as an organized sport.

I recently had the opportunity to enroll Oregon in a test program through the USBC that would target high school club sports to get bowling into the high school around the state. I'll continue to update how this program is working, hopefully resulting in more high school participation that may eventually lead to bowling being considered as a varsity sport.

We are very lucky to have caring and dedicated people already involved in the Youth program in Oregon, such as Directors Davis and Padilla, who were growing the Youth program before I ever showed up. I'm looking forward to working with them and the others involved the Youth program around the state to see what we can do as we combine our efforts.

When I was a junior in high school I chose to have bowling be one of the emblems on my class ring. I took a little flack for it from some of my classmates because bowling wasn't as cool as football or some of the other sports, but I'm sure now that their football days are over, but I just keep on rolling. Here's to the future and 2009!

Getting Settled In

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:05:40 -0500

It's been a little over two weeks since I took over as the Association Manager on December 1st. I've used that time so far to get settled in and try and get a firm grasp on what this position requires to be done successfully. It's been a bit of a whirlwind thus far, meeting people, trying to keep names, titles, and organizations straight, but I feel like I'm making progress.

I'd like to use this blog as a way of keeping everyone out there who is interested in the goings on of the Association updated as well as a means of holding myself accountable. On this page you'll find both written blogs such as this, and video blogs (vlogs) where I'm just speaking directly to you all, for a more personal touch.

Now that I've got an office set up in my home, which is also the new state office, I'm starting to get a little more comfortable with the tasks at hand. On Tuesday and Wednesday I travelled to Medford where I began the process of closing the old office and met with some folks on the board as well as some local center proprietors.

It's my goal to meet each and every proprietor and give them a chance to express what changes they'd like to see made, or suggestions they have to help grow the sport. I think it's a very important part of my job to act as a go between for bowlers and center proprietors.

Another part of my job is to act as the Open Tournament director. This is first experience as a tournament director and I know it'll be here before I know it. In an effort to familiarize myself with the way these tournaments work, I'm meeting with Women's Championship Tournament director Linda Scott, who also sits on the USBC Board of Directors.

I appreciate everyone's patience as I learn the ins and outs of this position and in time I hope I can successfully help grow the sport of bowling in Oregon through this position.

-Josh