Of Urethane and Backup Balls

If the youth are the future of the sport, then it stands to reason that whatever youth bowlers are doing is an indication of where bowling might be headed.

It doesn’t feel like that long ago, but it has been over 20 years since Osku Palermaa and Jason Belmonte burst onto the scene using a two-handed style. Like it or not, this style revolutionized the sport as more and more young bowlers adopted it. Now, we almost always see at least one two-hander on every PBA telecast. Around the world, the two-handed game is even more dominant.

With this in mind, for my first editorial-style BTM article, I’d like to discuss some of the trends I saw recently while coaching at the 2024 World Youth Championships in South Korea.

The kids are alright

As some readers may know, I’m currently the head coach for the Canadian Tenpin Federation in addition to being the Director of Content for BTM. My first event back on the international scene was with our youth teams in South Korea.

Having continued to be involved in the bowling industry and working with international coaches like Juha Maja and Ernesto Avila, I was certainly aware of what was going on in the international scene. That said, it’s one thing to know that something is happening and another to actually observe it with my own eyes while coaching in that environment.

One thing I’ll say for sure is that the worldwide talent at the youth level is extremely high—certainly even higher than what I’d seen 10 years ago. With more knowledge and better coaching available around the world, there is a lot more parity in the world of bowling. Where there were once only a couple of dominant countries, the field is now much more ...