FEBRUARY 2014 -
31
Bowling Combined
Scheduled for July 22
Terry Bigham
ARLINGTON, Texas – For young bowlers looking to
compete at the collegiate level, the Bowling Combine
for College Prospects has become a premier summer
event to attend. College bowling coaches also have
found it to be a great place to evaluate bowlers.
Applications now are being accepted for the 2014
Bowling Combine, which will take place July 22-26 at
the International Training and Research Center, the
home of Team USA. The annual event was developed
to bring together youth bowlers who want to compete
at the collegiate level and college coaches looking for
bowlers who might fit into their programs.
Student-athletes who have collegiate eligibility re-
maining and have completed at least their freshman
year in high school can submit an application. Space is
limited, and the application deadline is April 26.
―We expect to have another great pool of applicants
this year,‖ said Rod Ross, head coach of the ITRC and
Team USA. ―The student-athletes selected to partici-
pate will receive a great evaluation of their skills, plus,
they will have the opportunity to meet with some of the
top collegiate coaches in the country.‖
The Team USA coaching staff uses the state-of-the-
art tools at the ITRC to evaluate the skills of the stu-
dent-athletes through tests such as shot repeatability,
release ratio, spare proficiency, breakpoint manage-
ment, vertical leap and balance.
The student-athletes receive an objective analysis of
their skills that includes a Performance Evaluation Test
(P.E.T.) score that can be used to compare all student-
athletes who have attended a Bowling Combine. The
bowlers also receive a recruiting kit that includes video
shots, bowler variables measured and a detailed report
of personal data collected at the Bowling Combine.
Last year, coaches from 30 collegiate programs took
part in the Bowling Combine. Gary Sparks, who led
Vincennes University to a runner-up finish at the 2013
National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)
Championships, said three of his six incoming players
for the 2013-2014 season were at the 2012 Bowling
Combine.
―I go to a few other camps and clinics and obviously
watch bowlers at tournaments, but this gives me a per-
spective of a tryout atmosphere,‖ Sparks said after last
year‘s Bowling Combine. ―We don‘t get a chance to
see that in any other type of setting. You get a chance
to really see the players, know who they are and get a
one-on-one situation with them.‖
Coaches in attendance receive an evaluation of each
bowler, plus have the opportunity for one-on-one con-
tact with prospective student-athletes. Coaches must
register and attend to receive the evaluations.
College coaches and athletes interested in the Bowl-
ing Combine can visit BOWL.com/Combine or
bowlingitrc.com for more information and to register.
PBA Billy Welu
Memorial Scholarship
The Professional Bowlers Association Billy Welu
Scholarship is awarded annually, recognizing exem-
plary qualities in male or female college students who
compete in the sport of bowling.
The scholarship winner receives $1,000. To be eligi-
ble candidates must be amateur bowlers who are cur-
rently in college (preceding the application date) and
maintain at least a 2.5/4.0 GPA or equivalent.
Applications must be postmarked by June 15.
The scholarship was established to annually recog-
nize a college student who combines outstanding bowl-
ing talents with academic excellence. The late Welu
was best known for his expert analysis alongside leg-
endary ABC broadcaster and PBA Hall of Famer Chris
Schenkel on the
popular
"Pro
Bowlers
Tour"
series. Welu was
a two-champion
PBA Tour cham-
pion and was a
member of the
PBA Hall of
Fame‘s inaugural
induction class in
1975.
by
Ford Driving Skills for Life (Ford DSFL), an initiative
to promote safe driving, has teamed with the win-
ningest player in Professional Bowlers Association
history, Walter Ray Williams Jr., to help create aware-
ness and hopefully reduce automobile crashes among
newly licensed drivers.
Automobile accidents are the No. 1 killer of teenag-
ers in America, and inexperience and distracted driving
are major factors in many crashes. As such Ford Driv-
ing Skills for Life (Ford DSFL) was established in 2003
by the nonprofit Ford Motor Company Fund, the Gover-
nors Highway Safety Association, and a panel of safety
experts to teach newly-licensed teens the necessary
skills for safe driving beyond what they learn in stan-
dard driver education programs.
―Being familiar with bowling and always looking at
innovative ways to reach teens and parents, I found
that being a good bowler and a good driver have a lot
in common,‖ said Jim Graham, manager Ford Driving
Skills for Life Program. ―Both concentration and focus
are keys to championship bowling, and the same skill
set is needed to avoid potentially deadly crashes on
the highways. What better person displays these skills
than one of the greatest bowlers of all time, Walter Ray
Williams Jr.
―Through a series of public service announcements,
talking to young people and their parents at events and
clinics, and an upcoming promotion, Walter Ray can
help educate and guide parents and teens to the award
-winning curriculum offered by Ford Driving Skills for
Life. For example, the PSA‘s were shown for the first
time to a group of 400 parents and young drivers who
attended hands-on events in Phoenix and Tucson in
November, and they received rave reviews. That is
great for Ford DSFL and the PBA.‖
Training is conducted in both hands-on and web-
based curriculum. The entire program is available at no
cost. Training conducted under the Ford Driving Skills
for Life program addresses both the inexperience fac-
tor as well as issues surrounding distracted driving.
The web-based training called The Academy and a list
of hands-on events taking place across the country are
available at
.
―A lot of people might not know that the No. 1 killer of
teens is car crashes, so I‘m proud to be associated
with Ford Driving Skills for Life to bring awareness to
this serious issue,‖ Williams said. ―One thing bowling
has in common with Ford is that young people are a
foundation for our future, so we need to do what we
can from an awareness and education perspective to
keep them safe.‖
Williams will wear special ―Ford Driving Skills for Life‖
jerseys when he bowls, and will be involved in addi-
tional activities in support of the project.
Graham said 10 to 15 hands-on Ford Driving Skills for
Life events are planned for 2014, with additional pro-
grams being conducted around the world. Complete
information on the program including valuable training
tools can be seen at
UC Davis Bowling Team
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