THE STEREOTYPES ARE WRONG!
These days, the pro bowlers know that keeping fit on Tour is the best way
not only to optimize your professional bowling career, but to prolong it.
by Tommy Delutz Jr.

Professional Bowlers are NOT athletes. We are all fat and out of shape. We
all smoke cigarettes, and between frames we guzzle beer. Professional
bowlers have no athletic ability, we don't exercise, and we play a game
instead of competing in a sport. For these reasons, bowling should never be
in the Olympics.

These are the stereotypes the bowling world has had to fight in the battle
to legitimize bowling to the rest of the sports world for ages.
Professionals have tried to be accepted among the rest of the sports world.
Amateurs have tried to gain admission to the Olympic spotlight.

Battling our sport's bad physical image is difficult for many reasons.
Obviously, an indoor sport under fluorescent lights isn't as appealing to
the Gatorade people as baseball or tennis. In a sport where precision
timing and hand-eye coordination is more critical than muscle mass, it is
difficult to win over the valued 18-35 age group to which advertisers
cater. Heroes are "built" like Sammy Sosa, they are "lean" like Kobe
Bryant, and they are "versatile" like Deion Sanders.

The Professional Bowlers Association has new owners who are starting to use
the correct language in association with the rest of the sports world. We
now call the Tour "a league." We kick off squads with phrases like, "Good
luck, athletes." We, as bowlers, are aware of our image and are now doing
more than just "trying."

Most of the successful professional and amateur bowlers are not only
hitting the gym while they are at home, but now it has become commonplace
to have a road workout schedule as well. Granted, the added gym time helps
our sport battle against the evil stereotypes, but we also realize that the
extra gym time is helping to battle opponents during match play!

PBA Hall of Fame member Amleto Monacelli is well known to the public for
his powerful "lawnmower" release, but to his fellow bowlers on Tour he is
the king of the gym. His Tour routine is very strict; regardless of his
bowling schedule, he is in the gym six days a week. Amleto spends his gym
time rotating between cardiovascular work and lifting light weights with a
lot of "reps" for endurance and strength.

"I'm trying to achieve longevity on Tour with good nutrition and training,"
said Monacelli. "The problem with even the best bowlers in the past was
that they peaked too soon and weren't in shape for the long run. When a
bowler hit the age of 34 or 35, they went downhill. Now, bowlers like Brian
Voss and myself are maintaining a high level well past that age."

Jeff Lizzi, who is one of our best athletes, played high school football
and baseball before hitting the Tour. Jeff said the grueling racing he did
with BMX bicycles got him hooked into getting in better shape. Now Lizzi
saves the heavy weights for home (he bench-presses over 300 pounds), but
does light lifting on the road with more focus on cardio work.

"I get what I have into shape so I can rely on that strength when I am on
the road," said Lizzi. "Then I do the cardio and light weights to keep up
my tone and endurance."

"Paying attention to who hits the weights and who doesn't" has led 1999 PBA
Rookie of the Year Paul Fleming to the gym in force. Claiming fatigue
problems in his legs during his first full year on the road, he decided a
total lifestyle change was in order. He witnessed George Branham and Norm
Duke's ability to go through a tournament with ease, and realized part of
their success came from the gym.

Said Fleming: "I hit the Tour late in my bowling career compared to most,
so watching what I eat and hitting the weights is going to give me an edge
and will allow me to be competitive for another 10 years."

Wichita State University's bowling program incorporates a strict
physical-fitness routine. This could be one of the reasons WSU has produced
more professionals than any other university. Wichita State's boosters
should probably ask PBA fans to be careful driving around Tour stops,
because they might wipe out Rick Steelsmith, Justin Hromek, Chris Barnes,
Lonnie Waliczek or Jason Duran during a jogging session.

The PBA's new owners have gone straight to the "Just Do It" team at Nike
and hired a couple of people whose job is to educate the sports world and
the general public that we are professional bowlers, not people who bowl.
Sergio Garcia does not just play golf and Jeff Gordon does not just drive a
fast car. Fans of their sports are aware that they compete at a level that
is above the normal enthusiast, and the sport is marketed that way.

So are professional bowlers athletes? Without a doubt. The travel is as
demanding as the competition, and a 10-week swing is physically exhausting.

"Come out on Tour overweight and out of shape for 10 straight weeks and see
how you do," said Chris Barnes. You can find him in the gym waiting for you.