Often when bowlers over the age of 35 get together and chat the words “the good old days” will be on the lips of more than just a couple of people. At times it evens turns into a conversation about when men were men and even more frequently we will hear somebody opine that you had to know what to do with the ball in those days, you simply could not just take another ball out of the bag.
It was this type of thinking that contributed to Delphos Bowling and Recreation holding its first PBA Senior event, now Mel Westrich Memorial PBA50 Central/Midwest Regional, 11 years ago.
One could easily argue that the efforts of Bruce and Lisa VanMetre as well as their children Alex and Brittany, now Rahrig, eased the PBA into the community. It certainly made the PBA well aware of how inviting this region is to the bowlers.
Brian Kretzer echoed those sentiments after becoming the first individual to capture the tournament in back to back seasons.
“This has become a premier event for the PBA50. The fact that so many of the better bowlers in our division bowl here is proof of that. We really want to thank Bruce and his family. Each year they go above and beyond to make us feel welcome.”
VanMetre who also competes in this division echoed the words of Kretzer. ‘We are a brotherhood. We certainly enjoy the competition but it also about the opportunity that we have to get together and have fun. We are one big family!”
The comments of Bruce took me back some to the remarks of EJ Tackett after winning the Storm Xtra Frame PBA Cup in Coldwater when he stressed the importance not only of the competition but the time that the PBA members spend away from home and the relationships that are formed on the tour.
“Like I said the competition is really tough out here. Take for instance (Henry) Sullins who is a member of about every Hall of Fame except the PBA Hall of Fame.”
Kretzer who now has six PBA 50 regional titles, continued, “I still feel like I am one of the top 40 as I was a couple of years ago but it is getting tougher to win on the ‘Kids Tour.’ “The game has really changed a great deal. It doesn’t take any time for the bowlers with a high ball revolution rate to tear down the shot.”
It was very interesting chatting with Kretzer and Jeff Zaffino who entered into the conversation about the change in the nature of the game as well as the changing trends in the game to include the new lane patterns coming the next season.
The names will stay the same but clearly they will be taking on a different appearance.
Zaffino pulled the patterns up on his phone and was enlightening to hear the two professionals discuss the changes and their impact. Paraphrasing somewhat what Zaffino shared, ‘The changes will go into effect for not only the PBA tour but also regional and PBA50 competition. In essence the units of oil on the lanes will be less and they will play even shorter.’
This may well make things more favorable for those that turn the ball and the two handers and more difficult for those who are more angular in their approach to the game. One example of this for those that witnessed it was the difficulty that the veteran Walter Ray Williams had in the Coldwater tournament.
Kretzer and the fourth place finisher Zaffino were insightful and were indicative of why more individuals who want to learn about the game need to make it to more regionals. The pros are available and willing to talk post match.
The aforementioned Sullins finished second by a pin over another former champion Dale Csuhta, resulting in former champions finishing in the top four slots.
“It is a great tournament and great tournament draw great bowlers,” Kretzer said
Indeed it was a great event, beginning with Csuhta eliminating VanMetre in the Sweeper on Friday evening to the Kretzer title on Sunday. We can expect more of the same next season.
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