First Bowling ball

[BigDog]

My wife and I are thinking about getting a bowling ball (Ebonite Maxim most likely) for our 3-year old as soon as he's fully potty-trained, and I have some seemingly (dumb?) questions:

6lb or 8lb? Our son can lift a 16# (man-weight) bowling ball without a problem. I was thinking an 8lb ball so that he could use it a little longer

I wasn't planning on getting the ball drilled until he's about 4 1/2 or 5. Is this reasonable?

Thanks for any help.

[BubbaRay]

Big dog, if you are planning on getting him a Maxim now and he is only 3 , but you are nort getting the ball drilled till he is 4 1/2 or 5 years old, I would wait till he is 4 1/2 or 5 to buy him one. As he grows he will get stronger and be able to throw a 10 pound ball. year and a half to 2 years is a long time in between . I would wait untill he is 4 1/2 or 5 if you are not getting the ball drilled till then. And remember, no question is a dumb question.

NOTHING HITS LIKE A HAMMER

[BigDog]

Big dog, if you are planning on getting him a Maxim now and he is only 3 , but you are nort getting the ball drilled till he is 4 1/2 or 5 years old, I would wait till he is 4 1/2 or 5 to buy him one. As he grows he will get stronger and be able to throw a 10 pound ball. year and a half to 2 years is a long time in between . I would wait untill he is 4 1/2 or 5 if you are not getting the ball drilled till then. And remember, no question is a dumb question.

NOTHING HITS LIKE A HAMMER

Vincent will be 4 in late August. Let me rephrase one of the questions...Should I get it drilled for him when I get it? He's not sure if he's going to be a southpaw or a "northpaw" yet...

[BubbaRay]

In that case drill it now for him. Drilling isn't that important right now because more at his age the driller will drill it conventional grip . What hand does he use prodominately now> If he uses his right hand mostly drill it for a righty.

[BigDog]

In that case drill it now for him. Drilling isn't that important right now because more at his age the driller will drill it conventional grip . What hand does he use prodominately now> If he uses his right hand mostly drill it for a righty.

Vincent is right down the middle - sometimes a leftie, sometimes a rightie (I do everything but shoot pool rightie), so I'm not sure which way to go with him ;)

[BubbaRay]

Hmmmmmmmmm, what ever you decide I am sure you will make the right decision. If he doesn't do well in the future right handed he can easily switch to being a lefty.

[idlehourlegend]

If your going to be doing it this early, hes going to either be pushing the ball with 2 hands or be like pushing it from his chest, I would just let him go and decide which hand he wants to throw it with on his own, it should come naturally.

[Rowdy]

Vincent is right down the middle - sometimes a leftie, sometimes a rightie (I do everything but shoot pool rightie), so I'm not sure which way to go with him ;)

You don't. Just give the kid the ball and let him figure it out. He'll probably try and throw it like Dad does at first,but he'll find his own style soon enough. Please,please,please,don't try to show him the "right" way to bowl. Just let him roll the ball and have fun knocking pins down for now. As long as he thinks bowling is a fun thing to do he'll keep on rollin'. Take the fun out of it with all that,"No,no son,do it this way",crap and you'll never get him to go again.

[BigDog]

You don't. Just give the kid the ball and let him figure it out. He'll probably try and throw it like Dad does at first,but he'll find his own style soon enough. Please,please,please,don't try to show him the "right" way to bowl. Just let him roll the ball and have fun knocking pins down for now. As long as he thinks bowling is a fun thing to do he'll keep on rollin'. Take the fun out of it with all that,"No,no son,do it this way",crap and you'll never get him to go again.

I'll keep it fun for him. Dad goes out and practices, but when Vincent comes along, it's "Sunday ball special (usually)".

I guess the only question I have is getting a LH vs. RH conventional drilling. I guess it really doesn't matter at this point. I guess that would be more of a driller question than anything. ;)

[Thepainscoming]

hey big, put a bal on the ground, ask him to pick it up and throw it too u, which ever one he throws with would be his NATURAL hand i would think.

[BigDog]

hey big, put a bal on the ground, ask him to pick it up and throw it too u, which ever one he throws with would be his NATURAL hand i would think.

We already have - he uses left/right about 50/50 :)

[Thepainscoming]

We already have - he uses left/right about 50/50 :)

wow lol thats AWESOME get him into two league then, one righty one lefty lol

[hbhammerhead]

that's like me i can bowl both hands and throw a baseball both ways too. the funny thing is that i can rev the ball a lot more using my left hand than my right :D

i agree just let him make his own decision as to what hand he wants to use. it will come to him soon enough. or if he decides to use both that's never a bad thing imo. and like rowdy said, don't over coach him. keep it as fun as possible and he will love going to roll.

[slap]

I had a little guy in the youth program and he was one of my favorites to work with. He was still in that "I hit a pin YAY!!!" stage and it was fun to watch him bowl. My knees would hurt a little after working with him but that's how you teach the tots, down at their eye level.

[BigDog]

Yeah, the first couple of times we took him out to bowl, he wanted a little help from Dad. He doesn't anymore. His likes to throw the ball now, and once we get him potty trained, that will be his reward - Ball and bag.

How much does drilling matter right now? It'll be a conventional drilling, but Vincent is ambidextrous right now. Your thoughts, slap?

[blistershurt]

I know I"m not slap but this is my take on the drilling for an ambidextrious guy

His thumbs will be the same size more than likely, unaffected by bowling yet, but have both of his fingers drilled the size of his middle finger, that way he can use either hand at will.

[VmsTopGun]

drill two sets, one for his right and one for his left. No core in the maxim so it wont matter.

Idle, I cant believe you are not advocating he throw with two hands at this age :-)

[BigDog]

Whether he advocates "two handed" or not doesn't matter - My son is determined to put his fingers in the ball, hence the drilling question - I think I like the idea of drilling two index fingers

[idlehourlegend]

drill two sets, one for his right and one for his left. No core in the maxim so it wont matter.

Idle, I cant believe you are not advocating he throw with two hands at this age :-)

I wouldnt push that ever, just like I said let the kid do it on his own, if he throws right/left/ 2 handed, so be it, as long as hes having fun and enjoying the sport thats what really matters and will keep him involved for the long run.

[slap]

Yeah, the first couple of times we took him out to bowl, he wanted a little help from Dad. He doesn't anymore. His likes to throw the ball now, and once we get him potty trained, that will be his reward - Ball and bag.

How much does drilling matter right now? It'll be a conventional drilling, but Vincent is ambidextrous right now. Your thoughts, slap?


I don't really have an answer for you. Hopefully your driller has experience with smaller children. I would ask my guy but the shop is closed until August.

[TenPinSniper]

BigDog, I might let him bowl a house ball for a while before I drilled a ball. See if he establishes a trend.

Personally, I like the ideal of drilling three finger holes. If he wants he roll with three fingers from either hand. Just make sure that the outer holes are large anough to accomdate the use of either hand.

It can always be plugged later... I'd talk to your prohsop about 6# or 8#, personally I think 6#, but he could be bigger than average. Remember as a rule of thumb, the span should be checked everytime he changes shoe size.

But 6# for control and endurance.

(BTW, I work with Youth bowlers as well.)

[Rowdy]

We already have - he uses left/right about 50/50 :)

Drill it neutral,put the thumbhole right in the centerline. Then he can throw it with either hand until he picks one. Or two.