|
JS: Thanks for interviewing me, Steve SP: For years you have been an avid supporter and frequent competitor of scratch bowling events in Southern California and Nevada. What motivated you to take the big step to compete with the Big Boys and Girls at a PBA Tour National Event? JS: Yes, i have competed in a lot of events and done well in pressure cooker situations in the past but with the very best in the world i wanted to see how my game (mental & mechanical) would hold up. Was i in for a surprise!! SP: Have you bowled in PBA events before? JS: This was my very first event SP: Why did you choose to bowl the Cheetah Open in Fountain Valley? JS: It was close to home and featured a pattern which is my strongest of the PBA animal patterns SP: I'm sure you have had opportunity to bowl on all of the PBA animal oil patterns. Is the Cheetah your favorite pattern? JS: Yes, of course i have and the Cheetah is my favorite. Last year i won the Cheetah Pattern 6 Gamer at Mira Mesa Lanes and that gave me some confidence on the pattern SP: How did you prepare for the event? Did you spend time with your coach? Drill any new equipment? Work on any particular facets or strategies in your bowling game? JS: Two weeks prior to the event i worked with former PBA touring pro Mark Baker in the areas of PBA tournament lane etiquette, ball selection, review of mechanics, etc, etc. In preparation i also drilled a Frantic and Warning Sign SP: Was there a meeting for tournament guests to explain rules and procedures? What was that about? JS: Prior to the practice session on Friday, first timers were given a 30 minute class on PBA rules and regulations. There were about 5 or 6 bowlers in the meeting. We talked about lane etiquette, equipment which could and could not be used, score card management, grooming, etc, etc. SP: Your first exposure was likely the pretournament practice session. Tell us about that experience. JS: Very relaxed atmosphere in which bowlers are given one hour to roll as many balls possible on any lanes desired. It was interesting to see and hear the seasoned veterans talking about the weather, football and other conversational matters. Kind of like the chit chat in any office before the work day begins SP: I was that you were scheduled in the A squad starting early in the morning. How did you prepare that morning? JS: I arrived about one hour before the 8:30 am roll call. I basically stretched a little bit and mainly tried to focus on getting rid of some nervous feelings about the day ahead. I have bowled many tournaments but never experienced the way i felt that morning in past tournaments. The closest i had felt to that morning was in 2008 before the start of the Championship Match at the California State Masters SP: What kinds of bowling balls did you take to the lanes with you for the event? JS: I only brought 5 bowling balls and a spare ball to the tournament. The balls were the Mission X, Warning Sign, Nano Pearl, Frantic and the One Pearl. I used the Natural Urethane Pearl for the single pin spares SP: What other bowlers did you cross with on your lanes? JS: That was interesting in the fact that i crossed with Dave Wodka who i bowled against in the Semi Final match at the 2011 California Scratch Classic in Fresno last September. He is a class act and i felt really comfortable with him. I also crossed with my good friend Tony Knuth of Oceanside who did very well in the event. SP: Do you wish to comment on any of the other bowlers you met, observed or bowled with in the event? JS: I came away from the tournament with a very high respect for all of the pro bowlers which i observed and talked to during the two days. They are wonderful and friendly people who encourage and welcome new members to the events. SP: When qualifying started - what was the first shot you made? Were you comfortable? Was your swing loose? Were you feeling at all nervous? JS: Interesting question. I was feeling numb when the practice session ended and realized it was time to start. I was very nervous and the first shot i made produced a split which i did not convert. I was not comfortable and felt tight and was sweating profusely. This went on until the beginning of the 2nd game when i loosened up and started rolling the ball. In this kind of competition you cannot afford that much time to get a hold of things. I actually went in and out of those moments throughouth the qualifying SP: How did the first game end up? JS: Well, i strung some strikes towards the end of the game and managed a 184 SP: How did the lane conditions change as the day progressed? What kind of equipment and delivery changes did you make in response to these changes? JS: For me some pairs were over/under and some were very smooth to the pocket but my speed during the day varied so at times it was hard for me to get a proper read. My 2nd game of 221 and games 4-6 (227,226,214) were all the games which i used the Frantic pin down and was very comfortable with my push foot/plant foot. The other games, including the 150 in the 2nd game was due to an inability to fully concentrate and post my shots SP: Can you provide a critique of your own performance in the event? What did you do well? What did you have problems with? In hindsight, what might you have done differently? JS: Considering the shot was pretty easy i would give myself an F score. I know i can do better than this and will in my next PBA event. I really only performed well in 4 of the 9 games. My biggest problem was repeating shots and feeling the pressures of the moment. My mental game had been improving for some time but this PBA event brought it back down due to not mentally preparing for this event in the proper fashion. In hindsight, like i stated earlier, fixing the mental aspects of my game in order to think only about the bowling and leaving the excess baggage at the front door of the bowling center. SP: What did you learn from this experience that you will take with you to the next tournament you compete in - PBA tour or otherwise? JS: A tournament of this magnitude simply humbles bowlers. It makes you stop and think of how much more work it takes to keep up with the best in the sport. I know the experience humbled me to realize that i can get better and work harder to improve. SP: Any final reflections on your experience bowling as an equal among the greatest bowlers in the World? JS: Well, out of 143 participants i ended a lowly 136th but did manage to beat out 3 lefties in that group. Not a good result in this one but i will work harder in preparation for the next one and it will be BETTER!!!! Thanks, Steve |
|
|
| |
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||