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Profesional Bowlers |
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Tommy Delutz, Jr. is a professional bowler of the highest level and a very
likeable guy. I have gotten to know him from his visits to Bowler
City on Tuesdays when he comes in with Steve Tripp. The first time he came
in, he bowled 300 in his third game.
They say you can learn a lot by just watching and I watch Tommy
carefully. I decided to bowl alongside him on his second visit to
Bowler City to get a side view of his hand positions and rhythm.
This time as I watched him and bowled myself two lanes over I made a few
changes. Learning from what I was seeing, I shot a 259 game. Tommy shot 300
as we were sort of bowling together a few lanes apart. About an hour
later I bowled with my friend and shot a 792 series (246-268-278).
Thanks Tommy D.
Personally speaking, Tommy is charming, good looking and a cool young
man. He is in his early 40s and a pleasure to be around.
Tommy Delutz, Jr. has his own website so you can learn all about him and
keep up with his career and his other activities by visit him on line. Just
click here
and you can keep pace with this great bowling talent. Tommy Delutz Jr. and
his dad are listed on
The Great Action Bowlers of all time. |
Tommy Delutz, Jr. |
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Steve Tripp is on the list of
The Greatest Action Bowlers
of all time. Steve frequents Bowler City on Tuesdays recently, and
is a smooth Stroker style bowler with a great sense of humor. Steve
indicated that under today's conditions it is necessary to bowl a lot of 250
and over games to have chance in tournaments. Steve is another that is a lot
of fun to be around and a person who remembers the old times while being
very much up to the minute on the bowling world of today. I liked
Steve right away and him giving me a free bowling bowl (Double Agent
undrilled) made me like him all the more. He had won it in a
tournament and it was certainly a nice gesture from someone I had just met.
Steve competes in
local tournaments on a regular basis and is about 60 years old and can
really belt out those big games. When Steve visits Bowler City, he is
usually with Tommy Delutz, Jr. and they bowl against one another.
Tommy Jordan often joins them. On June 19, 2007 I bowled two lanes
over so I could sort of be in competition with these three powerhouse
bowlers. I may have faired well in one game in which I bowled 264 but
I was sort of in between their games. One game that I timed to make me
feel like I was bowling against them I bowled 265. Tommy Delutz, Jr.
bowled 278 and that just proved to me that I have a long way to go to get to
the really top level.
When I bowl next to
those pros, I try extra hard so as not to feel embarrassed to be bowling
next to such talent. It is something that I look forward to doing when
the opportunity presents itself.
On July 31, 2007 I was
talking with Steve Tripp at Bowler City to thank him for all the knowledge
I gain watching him and Tommy Delutz. Jr. bowl. Steve indicated that I
must be learning a lot from Tommy. I actually learn a lot from Steve
who can deliver true power bowling with grace and ease. That makes me
feel realistically confident that I might still get better and
actually become a good bowler because Steve proves that age need not slow
down a truly wonderful bowler. So here is a thank you for Steve Tripp,
one truly excellent bowler by any standards. |
Tommy Jordan, age 41, is one of the local professional bowlers who works in
the Pro shop at Bowler City drilling balls and also owns the Pro Shop. The knowledge and skill
of drilling a bowling ball is an essential part of the game, especially mine. Tommy holds the
record for a four game sanctioned series accomplished in a doubles league at
Garden State Bowl. His remarkable series was 1198 with games of
300-299-300-299 and was accomplished in 1989 when Tommy slammed 46 of a
possible 48 strikes while establishing the ABC records for a four game
series. Tommy Jordan had two strings of 23 in-a-row. That is just a very amazing achievement but Tommy
Jordan is one amazing bowler. Tommy helpful advice includes various
tips of ways to store energy for my last step and
release. He is most recent tip came on March 15, 2008 when TJ adjusted
my ball position and timing. The result of that tip was a faster and
stronger hitting ball with more accuracy. TJ's tips have made a big difference in my personal game. |
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Tommy Jordan, set a four game sanctioned record with an 1198
set bowled in 1989. The first three games of this
sanctioned record performance marked the first time any bowler had achieved
a sanctioned score of 899 for 3 games. |
On July 3, 2007 I
was had the opportunity to watch Tom Delutz, Jr.
operate the Ebonite International, Inc.
Bowlers Motion Analysis Program (M. A. P.) as he
filmed Tommy Jordan and analyzed TJ's current
bowling form. With this program Ebonite moved
into the world of digital coaching. The Bowlers
M.A.P. allows bowling coaches to measure a
bowler's game using video technology. Rev
Rates, Ball Speed and Approach and Release
Analysis studies and comparisons with other
bowlers are all able to be easily performed by
qualified program operators. TD, Jr. made the
use of the program look easy.
The computer
program which included
“DigiTrax™ which is a carefully part of the
coaching program records and analyzes a bowling
student’s profile on the lanes. Ball speed,
loft, launch angle which are all critical
components of a person’s shot and equally as
important, the ability to measure the ball
position, breakpoint board and distance and ball
path make the program state of the art for
bowling coaching, The DigiTrax program is a
great stand-alone program and was absolutely
phenomenal when paired with Ebonite Bowlers
MAP™.
On a prior visit to Bowler
City, I had asked Tom Delutz, Jr. about what
sports he enjoyed and he said that is a
professional bowler and is dedicate to his
profession when it comes to sports. TD,
Jr. is truly a professional of the highest level
and I personally enjoy being around him since I
always admire true professionalism. He
will be out on tour for 20 weeks this season and
I would expect that he will be formidable
opposition against the best bowlers in the world
since he is really among them.
The July 3, 2007 viewing of the Ebonite
Program in action enabled me to truly rethink my
game and one result is that I was able to
provide better balance for my final step and
slide as I adjusted to timing changes suggested
by Delutz for Jordan. It is said that you
can learn a lot by just watching, and I am
always striving to improve my game. So
here is an online thanks to Tom Delutz, Jr. from
a true fan, me.
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The
Friendship of Tom Delutz, Jr. and Tommy Jordan goes back to the days of
the 1983-84 Junior Bowler's Tour
The 1983-1984 Junior Bowler's Tour
had it's busiest season as the New Jersey Conference included 24
tournaments for the fifth consecutive season and the New England
Conference expanded to an 18 tournament schedule. A Thanksgiving Weekend
tournament was introduced and the Tournament of Champions brought the
season total to an all-time high of 44 events.
Tom DeLutz Jr. won three
tournaments, the point title, and finished second in average to capture
scratch Bowler-of-the-Year. Rick Graham had high average of 207, edging
DeLutz and third place finisher Tom Jordan, by less than a point. Jordan
won six tournaments during the season.
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Friends and
Excellent Bowlers at Bowler City Among
the excellent bowlers that I am friendly with at
Bowler City are Ansley Holmes and Lenny Koslov
who are certainly among my favorite people.
Both seem to have little trouble bowling 300
games and big series. On one occasion I
bowled 4 games with Ansley and after I won the
first game with a 242, Ansley proceeded to bowl
a very relaxed next three games which were
300-257-256 for an 813 total. There are a
great many high scoring bowlers these day and I
hope to eventually become one of them in time.
Meanwhile the lanes are certainly a nice place
to meet nice people.
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Ricky Warren is one of the local professional bowlers who works in the Pro
Shop at Bowler City drilling balls. Ricky truly understands bowling
balls and the game and often watches me bowl to provide guidance for what
bowling balls should be in my arsenal. Ricky has bowled 23 or more sanctioned
300 games and at least 20 sanctioned 299 games. Ricky is always providing
valuable information about oil conditions and how to move on the lanes and
his knowledge of what to expect from different balls with various coverstocks and cores is unequalled in my world. He is always helpful
and has a wonderful sense of humor. He is responsible for adding some
15 pound balls to my arsenal. |
The Best
Educational Bowling Course - Watching the Pros
(Especially when
they are as talented and nice as this trio)
On July 7, 2007, I sent an
Email to Tommy Delutz, Jr. the essence of which
read as follows:
Tommy Jordan drilled me a new Ebonite RAID
on Thursday evening. On Friday, I finished
an 8 game practice session (averaged 229.75)
with a 748 series which is just a ton for
me.
I am certainly no Tommy Delutz, Jr., or a
Tommy Jordan, but I really think that you
would kill maybe even more then you already
do, under certain conditions with this ball
and I mean really kill. It is very hard for
me to make recommendations to true
professionals but I just wanted to pass this
on to you.
On July 24, 2007 Tommy Delutz, Jr., Steve
Tripp and Tommy Jordan were once again
together at Bowler's City and Tommy D.
informed me that he had indeed drilled
himself a RAID ball and at first he didn't
like but a few days ago he bowled two 300
games with it, and the next day shot a few
games with it and averaged about 280.
Tommy D. informed me had drilled it a bit
differently then the way my ball was drilled
and I am content to know that he did indeed
kill with the RAID ball if you call a few
300 games on the same day and a 280 average
mini session on a different day, killing.
When I personally returned to bowling
after about a 43 years absence, I found that
the game had changed dramatically. For me to
able to watch and truly enjoy professionals
in action, is not only a lot of fun but also
a very educational experience. So on
July 24, 2007 I learned a lot about the
inside line and watched Delutz demonstrate
how to use the fifth arrow on an inside
line. It seemed to work fine as did
throw 14 strikes in a row. It seems
every time I watch the real deal guys
bowling, which in this case is three
EXCELLENT professionals, I realize what it
really takes to be a top notch player.
Reading lanes and playing angles is part
of the game as it is played today. This
shows me how much more there is for me to
learn. Life always seems to point out
how much more there is to learn if you have
the desire to do some learning, and my love
for bowling has provided me a new challenge.
So this is another thank you for a wonderful
educational experience provided by some guys
that are very easy to like and are the real
deal.
Oh, I also got to watch Delutz give a
lesson and I had watched Tommy Jordan give a
lesson the day before. As I always
say, you can learn a lot by just watching.
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Making Friends through
the Internet.
An Interesting Email I received about this web page: (Thanks
Kathy - Hope you don't mind me posting your kind Email):
Absolutely stumbled across your site (very nice!),
and wanted to tell you that you have befriended 3 of the nicest guys
you'll ever meet in a bowling alley. Known all three for over 20 years;
Tommy, the longest. My husband used to bowl with Tommy D. on a
traveling league in Bergen Co., with Tom J. in doubles tournaments, and
in numerous tournaments in NJ as does Steve. Please tell them I said
hello from Las Vegas.
Regards,
Kathy Scoppe
Kathy Scoppettuolo
Receptionist |
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On December 4, 2007, I was bowling at Parkway Lanes since
Bowler City was closed due to a fire near the entrance of the
establishment. Just as I was leaving two of my favorite pros, Tommy Delutz, Jr. and Steve Tripp came in to bowl on a sports pattern made on
lanes 3 and 4, especially for them to practice on. Tommy D. mastered
the pattern after the first game (which he need to just to loosen up and
warm up) and bowled 237-247-279 = 773 while bowling with remarkable
consistency of speed and angle. The ability to adjust and the
knowledge of the finer points of the game for the real pros is just amazing.
I always learn a lot by just watching and this time spent watching should
help some in the learning process of how to read lanes. As Tommy
Jordan says, "Don't get married to an arrow or a spot."
On December 11, 2007, I was back at Parkway Lanes bowling
next to Tommy D. and Steve T. and that is always a pleasure for me. I bowled
a few lanes over from them so I could also watch and learn a bit more. When
I shot 236, Tommy had the front 10 strikes for 289. I few games later
I bowled 233 and Tommy shot 300. So what else is new; it is great to
learn from the pros. For me it is like taking batting practice with
Derek Jeter. When Tommy went into New York City to do something for Toys for
Tots, I got the opportunity to have lunch at Hank's Franks with Steve Tripp.
Now that is really fine dining. Tommy and Steve are just really sensation
guys in my book and I get reminded how much I enjoyed bowling as a youth.
I sort of feel like a kid again on day like this one. |
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