16
- Aug/Sep 2017
32 BOWLING LANES - With Flashing Bumpers & computer Scoring
HOME OF THE STEVE COOK CLASSIC
GAME & VIDEO ARCADE - GLOW BOWLING with lights & music
Every Friday & Saturday Night
KARAOKE - Every Friday & Saturday Night in our sports bar & grill
(
(
916) 725-2101 * 7901 Auburn Blvd., Citrus Heights, CA 95610
(916) 725-2101
Jack Thomas Invitational Scholarship
Tournament
Team Event
Sunday, October 8, 2017 / @ 9:00 AM
Scratch Division 770-820
Handicap Division 769 & Below
6 games of Swiss format
Teams will consist of 2 Youths & 2 Adults
All Youth Bowlers will receive Scholarship Awards
Entry Fee: $160 per team
JR Gold 2018 Qualifier / 916 725-2101
Bowling Combine Rolls On For Seventh Edition in 2017
ARLINGTON, Texas –
For the seventh consecutive year, the Bowling Combine for
College Prospects has welcomed student-athletes and collegiate coaches to the
International Training and Research Center for a week of education and evaluation
Nearly 100 student-athletes and more than two dozen collegiate coaches traveled
to the ITRC this week to take advantage of the state-of-the-art facility, where student
-athletes were tested through a variety of on- and off-lane drills.
The drills help to assess a student-athletes’ strengths and weaknesses and pro-
vides them with an objective analysis of their abilities, including a Performance
Evaluation Test (P.E.T.) score. The P.E.T. score can be used to compare not only
those at this year’s Bowling Combine, but to compare student-athletes from previous
years.
The evaluation includes sport-specific skills, such as finding their release tilt and
revolutions per minute, tracking spare proficiency and the ability to manage break-
points, and repeating shots. Players also are put through activities such as the verti-
cal jump and an endurance test to determine their overall athleticism.
Alyanna Brown of York, Pennsylvania, made her second visit to the Bowling Com-
bine as she prepares for her senior year of high school. The 17-year-old wanted to
see how much she improved from her first trip to the ITRC as she gets closer to
making a decision on where she’ll further her education next fall.
“The technology available here is amazing, especially with all of the feedback I
received last year,” Brown said. “I’ve been working on those all year, and I’m excited
to see how much I have improved over the course of the year. We don’t have any-
thing like this available at home, so being able to come back again will really help
me looking ahead.”
After the evaluation on the lanes and in the classroom is complete, the student-
athletes and coaches have the opportunity to sit down to discuss how the coach’s
program and curriculum might fit into the student-athletes’ future.
“I really like being able to have the one-on-one with the coaches to learn about their
personalities, since that’s a really big thing to me,” Brown said. “I also like having the
chance to see what they have to offer. My education is the top priority, so it’s impor-
tant to see that a program has my education in mind, and not just the athletics side.”
This portion of the Bowling Combine also allows each parent in attendance the
chance to move from the sidelines into the middle of the excitement and join in the
discussion.
Brown’s mother, Cathy Johnson, took the advice from her daughter’s coach in
Pennsylvania to look into the Bowling Combine last year, and she feels the experi-
ence already is benefiting Brown’s future. “Last year, I really was amazed to watch
all of the different skill sets they were testing,” Johnson said. “We were able to go
back home and learn from it, and we wanted to come back this year to see how
much she improved. It’s great to see the interest from the different programs, too. It
shows that all of her hard work is paying off.”
Bill Holbrook is making his Bowling Combine debut this week as he prepares for his
second season as head coach at Midland University. He believes the drills and
structure of the event provide a great opportunity not only to examine a student-
athletes’ physical skills, but to also look at the mental aspect of their game.
“I really enjoy the format, and being able to see how a student-athlete moves
through and manages the drills is really informative,” Holbrook said. “When you have
the chance to watch someone do the same drill over and over, they won’t always
find success. Getting to see how they react in those situations and how they bounce
back and adjust is something you just won’t normally find after watching a few
shots.”
Holbrook and the Warriors found success during the 2016-2017 USBC Collegiate
season as both the men’s and women’s team advanced to the Intercollegiate Team
Championships. Midland senior Nick Pate was named the 2016-2017 National Colle-
giate Bowling Coaches Association Most Valuable Player as he capped his colle-
giate career with a victory at the Intercollegiate Singles Championships.
Holbrook knows each student-athlete needs to find themselves in the right setting
to grow as a competitor and a student, and he felt his time at the ITRC allowed him
to connect with the bowlers, even if they’re a year or two away from transitioning to
college. “I think this setting can really open their eyes to all of the possibilities out
there,” Holbrook said. “In the right environment, a student-athlete can really grow
and continue to get better, and having the chance to sit and talk with them lets me
see what they’re hoping to get out of it and if we can find the right balance for them.”
The Bowling Combine is open to domestic and international students who have
collegiate eligibility remaining and have completed at least their freshman year in
high school. Student-athletes must apply and get selected in order to attend the
Bowling Combine, which has sold out in each of its seven years.
For more information on the Bowling Combine, visit BOWL.com/Combine
