AboutWarren Friedl Expertise 20 Years Pro Shop Owner/Operator, 17 Years Bowling Center Operator (Manager/General Manager), Certified Coach since National Bowling Council and YABA days. Also Dick Ritger and USA Bowling Bronze certified. International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association (IBPSIA) Charter member, IBPSIA Certified, IBPSIA "On Lanes" Certified, 2 Time Member of the IBPSIA Board of Directors and Past Secretary/Treasurer, Small Shop columnist "Pro Shop Operator" Magazine, contributor to "Bowlers Journal International" magazine, editor of IBPSIA NET NEWS weekly e-newsletter, editor of "The Bowling Tree" blog and webmaster of www.revbowl.com.
Experience 20 Years operating Revolutions Pro Shops in 2nd Largest bowling ball market in the country, Chicagoland.
17 Years in Center operations as Marketing Director, Asst. Manager or General Manager, becoming GM in every Center I worked.
Organizations American Bowling Congress/USBC Member since 1976, bowling 50 years.
International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association (IBPSIA) Charter and continuing member (18 years), 2 time member of IBPSIA Board of Directors, former Secretary/Treasurer.
US Bowling Coaches Association (Bronze Coach)
Bowling Writers Association of America (BWAA)
Publications “Bowlers Journal International” and “Pro Shop Operator” Magazines.
Chicago Bowler, Windy City Bowling News, Centennial Lanes.com, The Bowling Tree Blog, IBPSIA.com and IBPSIA Net News (e-newsletter).
Education/Credentials IBPSIA Technically Certified. Multiple Seminars from AMF, Brunswick, Columbia, Circle, Ebonite, Hammer, Mo-Rich, Storm, Track, Dexter, Etonic, and others. Kaploe and Davis Bowling Marketing training.
Certified with the Young America Bowling Alliance (YABA) and the National Bowling Council (NBC) as a coach in 1982. Other coaching credentials include: Dick Ritger Level One, Dick Ritger Coaching Coaches, and USA Bowling Bronze Level.
Awards and Honors Created and executed Promotions highlighted in Bowlers Journal Magazine and included in the “150 Promotions for Bowling Centers” organized by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America (BPAA).
First Pro Shop featured in Bowling Industry magazine, for customer service and merchandising, October 1996.
Identified “One of the best ball fitters in the country” by then Track, Inc. President Del Warren, September 2005.
Tournament Promotions lead to top performance in center, or for center hosted events including: Chicago City Championships, US Open Qualifiers, Amateur Bowlers Tour.
Past/Present Clients Presenter at the IBPSIA National Convention.
Presenter at Bowling Proprietors Association Management School
Question I have an old 12 lb reactive ball I am getting drilled for my son, age 11. He really wants the ball drilled so it hooks. It has a 1 1/2 pin and 3 oz top weight. Should I still get it drilled conventional and at what age should kids get a finger tip ball? Also, is it okay to put finger grips in it?
Answer Don,
Each case is different, but generally when providing a performance ball to a child, I like the child to have some control of what is about to happen. If your son is moving up from a more basic ball and rolls the old one OK, I'd put very little help into the layout.
He's (assuming here) changing weight, grip style (to finger tip), and moving to a ball with performance potential. It is a challenge to learn to control a ball if any ONE of the above is changed. He'll struggle with all three.
My 26 year old son still rolls the ball with a conventional grip, and out hooks most of the planet. A finger tip grip isn't magic.
Keep him conventional (less strain on a growing hand). He's young and learning. If he want's to hook it, he'll learn to. Finger grips are helpful little tools for us old guys who want a little more finish at the pocket.
When kids get performance bowling balls they stop learning to hook the ball, because everything the do is accentuated by the ball. When Jason Belmonte (the Aussie two hander) won his first tour event, he used a plastic ball to help control the hook on one of the lanes he was bowling on. Balls are tools.
A kid must learn to control the performance of a ball, when the ball is no longer a neutral tool. If you are limited by what you throw, you are limited. Belmonte developed his ball speed and rev rate because of his bowling environment. If he grew up with performance bowling equipment when he was a kid he never would have needed to develop his style, so it wouldn't have developed.
Thanks for the questions. Good luck to your son, and good bowling.
