INTERVIEW WITH JACK JUREK
February 24, 2006
Flo: What pound equipment do you use?
Jack: I’ve been throwing 15 now for probably about 4 years. I think one of the biggest reasons I dropped down, actually there’s two reasons why – the technology has gotten so much better that the extra pound of weight isn’t really necessary anymore and throwing the number of games that you could possibly throw in a day, like a day like today, if your matches go to 7 and you go all the way, you’re looking at 21 games in one day. That’s a lot of wear and tear on your wrist and elbow. So, throwing a pound lighter definitely makes it easier on a stamina standpoint?
Flo: What do you think of the tour format now as opposed to old school?
Jack: I have mixed feelings on it. There’s a lot of things I like about. I think from a spectator point of view, there’s an added amount of excitement to the elimination format that we have now. Especially if a match goes to game seven, there seems to be an extra level of excitement. But, at the same time, the one nice thing about the old format was that for most part it seemed like the guy who bowls the best and has the best reaction for the week usually got to the TV show. In a format like this, if you get hooked up with the wrong guy, you could bowl a great match and get beat and you’re done.
Flo: Advice to anyone seeking this career?
Jack: Obviously one of the biggest things is trying to learn to bowl on as many different types of conditions as possible. Today, with the scoring environment on a local level that you have, a lot of kids get throwing big scores and posting high averages real quick that they really haven’t learned how to bowl yet. I think bowling on sport conditions as much as possible or anything close to the PBA-type patterns and bowling as much tournament competition as you can.
Flo: What do you do in the off-season?
Jack: For me, I have a pro shop. I’ve had a shop for 13 years now. So, when the tour’s off, I go back to that. Unfortunately for me, when the tour’s off, it’s summertime, and the pro shop business in Buffalo is pretty slow. So, I still go out and I travel to some of the regionals during the summer to just try to keep sharp and pick up a few bucks.
Flo: Where do you see the tour in ten years?
Jack: Hopefully, still growing. I know it’s been a tough road for us with the new organization but they’ve taken steps in the right direction. Sponsorship has grown. Prize money is getting better. It’s still not quite escalating quite at the pace they envisioned or all the guys have envisioned. Hopefully, somebody big steps in and puts up the big sponsorship. I’m hoping we’re still around. I’d like to kinda follow the shoes of Tommy Baker and still be in my 50s and playing a little bit.
Flo: Do you have anything to say to the fans?
Jack: Just for continued support. This week here in Buffalo was awesome. The crowd turn out was fantastic. Even for this morning’s round today, for Friday morning. I haven’t seen this many people in the building in a long time. Thank you for all the support and please pass it on to your friends if you had a good experience with it. Tell them how much fun it was to come watch an event and keep on coming.
INTERVIEW WITH JEFF WALSH
February 24, 2006
Flo: With what company are you and how long have with them.
Jeff: Columbia Industries. Fifteen months.
Flo: What did you do before that?
Jeff: I worked for AMF’s pro shop warehouse for 5½ years as a distributor for AMF.
Flo: While you’re here for the tour stop, at what capacity do you function and what are your responsibilities?
Jeff: I support Chuck Gardner who is our tour rep. My responsibilities are to help him out, make sure that our staff guys have what they need. If they need to have a surface changed, I’ll help them with that. If they need anything for that shift, I try to help out with. Chuck and I have being this for probably 7 or 8 tour stops and he trusts what I do for the guys. And, there’s only a couple guys that I really help out.
Flo: Have you come across any unique challenges, any unique problems that you had to work through?
Jeff: At first, just the fact that I wasn’t known; people don’t know me. Couple staff guys like Bob Learn, it was much easier with him. But with Ritchie Allen, Randy Weiss a little bit with Bill O’Neill, it was a little bit of a challenge getting those guys to trust the decisions that I make.
Flo: What are you allowed and not allowed to do during competition between rounds as far as helping players?
Jeff: During their bowling we do not do anything. Not allowed to talk to them, not allowed to help them. It’s their decision. Whatever decisions they make, they make. In between rounds, we can do whatever we want. We can make suggestions. We can help do ball layouts. Most of the time, the guys that win will probably want to get a fresher surface. The patterns tend to get tighter down the lane and hook earlier so they’re gonna want something that goes through the back ends a little bit harder. That and a lot of it is damage control. These guys have egos. It’s controlling their egos. It’s letting them know that maybe they made bad decisions and next time not to make them. And, other guys just need you to listen to them vent for a little bit and pat them on the back and say, “Next week’s another week.”
Flo: How many players have made it through this round?
Jeff: So far, it looks just like Tim Criss and Bob Learn and Wes is in game 7 right now.
Flo: Where do you see the pro tour ten years from now?
Jeff: I think that’s a question that everyone’s unclear of. I think they’re looking for the corporate money. They’re looking for the right answers. I don’t believe they don’t have the right answers. I believe they need to open the field up ‘cause there’s many guys that should be out there that aren’t. Guys like Bob Learn, Jr., Del Ballard who are not here and I feel they need to have these guys out here. Again, I believe just like everybody else, they’re either gonna bowl for $25,000 a week or they’re gonna bowl for $100-150,000 week for first. And, I think that’s the way the tour’s gonna be. Their season needs to be longer and I think the PBA needs to look at other guys. It’s their tour. They’re the ones who are out here bowling and they’re the ones that are bringing people into the building. Look at Cheektowaga for example; the place is filled to capacity right now. So, they’re already talking, these are the biggest crowds. Venues like this is where they need to look at it say, “Okay, we got a good deal here. Do something with it.” So, in ten years hopefully they’re ten times better than now. I don’t believe they’re going to be, though.
INTERVIEW WITH DOUG KENT
February 24, 2006
Flo: What pound equipment do you use?
Doug: Fifteen.
Flo: The reason being?
Doug: I switched probably 10, 12 years ago to try to speed my hand up a little more; to increase my rev rate.
Flo: What do you think of the tour format now as opposed to what it was?
Doug: Well, I like it for the excitement factor. But I can honestly say that if we were using the old format right now, using the lane conditions that we use, I think that the left-handers would probably run us over every week. On that note, as far as format, the format’s good the way it is because of that.
Flo: Advice to future pros?
Doug: Don’t do it! Just kidding. Don’t take the sport for granted. Work hard at it. Learn good fundamentals. I know striking is great. You see guys on TV striking, the power players striking, but they’re not there every week. Learn good solid fundamentals before you try to come out and try to do this for a living.
Flo: What do you do in the off-season?
Doug: I do a lot of work around the bowling centers. Try to play golf a lot, backyard barbeques, relax, get away from the actual sport a little bit, little bit of traveling, camping.
Flo: Where do you see the tour in ten years?
Doug: In ten years, I see it without Doug Kent, I know that. At the current rate it’s going right now, I see it being very, very lucrative for the players. I hope it can keep going on the upswing. It’s been really good the last five years. It’s been growing. It’s a lot more exciting. Guys have a chance to make a decent living now. Just hope the trend can keep going in that same direction. I can see it being very good for the players down the road.
Flo: Do you have anything to say to the fans?
Doug: Thank you. Thank you for being good fans.
INTERVIEW WITH PATRICK ALLEN
February 24, 2006
Flo: What pound equipment do you use and why?
Patrick: Fifteen. I can’t throw sixteen anymore. It beats up my body too much and the one pound really makes a difference. Honestly, I have had more success with fifteen than I ever had with sixteen. I throw Ebonite basically because they make the best balls money can buy right now and the product manager is a good friend of mine.
Flo: What do you think of today’s format versus what it used to be?
Patrick: I think the old format is better for the, if you want the guys to the best to get on TV but obviously this format is much more exciting for the fans. The top 24 can get a little boring after a while when there’s 10 or 15 guys that are mathematically out of the woods. So, it has it’s pros and cons.
Flo: Advice to future pros?
Patrick: Get off the house condition as soon as possible. Start practicing on conditions that don’t allow you to throw it everywhere and have to shoot spares once every 2 games.
Flo: What do you do during your off-season?
Patrick: Mostly regionals; I play a lot of golf and just try to unwind.
Flo: Where do you see the tour in ten years?
Patrick: Your guess is as good as mine. It seems like it’s going in the right direction. The PTQs have been drawing unbelievable. More fans have been coming out to bowl. It seems like it’s catching on but you never know. It seems like it’s definitely going in a much better direction over the last year or two than it was five or six years ago. If we got the right people up top to market the right way, I think we can give poker a run.
Flo: What can you say to the fans?
Patrick: We appreciate their support. Yesterday we pulled in a packed house of qualifying and I don’t know the last time we ever bowled with that many fans on Thursday. Obviously today, as you can imagine, it’s been packed and crowed and a lot of people are cheering for the hometown players. Buffalo’s a big bowling town and we haven’t been here in awhile . They miss it and they’re letting us and the PBA know that they want us to come back.