Struggles and Success

New Achievement!

The beginning of this bowling season began with a rough start, literally. I am a huge football fan. I actually enjoy football more than I do bowling, which is saying a lot. So any chance I get to play the game of football I take. Before the bowling season started I got together with some good friends and had a fun game of football. This was full contact no pads football however.
Now I have only been hurt playing sports once in my life, and it happened to be during football when I got a severe sprain on my left ankle. So I have been pretty lucky throughout my life. Well the luck wasn’t with me on this day of football. During the first play when I pushed my cousin out of bounds, I jarred something in my shoulder and it stung for quite a while. I later found out that I had sprained something in my right shoulder, my bowling arm. I could not extend my arm up very high, definitely not enough to follow through.
So I was a bit perturbed about this when I started bowling my two scratch leagues this year for the fall season. I began bowling on Thursdays at Valley Lanes in West Valley, UT for the Valley Majors. Then I continued on Tuesdays at Allstar Lanes West Jordan in West Jordan, UT for the Allstar Masters league. During the first month or so I had to deal with bowling without following through on my shot. This was difficult to be accurate. I was averaging in the low 190s and didn’t shoot any 600 series at all.
Then shortly after my shoulder started feeling better and my scores were improving slightly. The problem was I didn’t stop playing football and had in fact joined a flag football team. After a few of the games local recreation league for flag football I got together with the team for a fun game outside of the league. Well during one of the last plays I sprained my right ankle. Now being familiar with a severe sprain on my left ankle, I knew this one was bad but not as bad as my previous sprain so I was hopeful. Well I found out that the treatment of a sprain does not help to immediately heal the sprain but to reduce the severity over time. The average time for a sprain to heal is 4-6 weeks.
This incident happened on a Saturday, so all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday when I was not working I was resting and icing the ankle in an attempt to be ready for bowling on Tuesday. Well it worked to a degree, the pain was still bad and the ankle was very sensitive, but I had a brace and I could walk so I bowled. I didn’t bowl too bad, and was actually better than when my shoulder was really bad. My shoulder had not completely healed, and even to this day I have problems with it, but it was better. These two injuries really hampered my ability and instead of averaging the usual 207 and above, I was down around 190 for the first 5 to 6 weeks.
After a few weeks of high 590s and low 600s I started to feel a lot of improvement. After about 6 weeks of the bowling season my average was in the mid 190s, and I was starting to feel whole again. Beginning about week 7 of the bowling season I made a strong push in my bowling game. I began to really focus and make better adjustments. I started paying attention to ball reaction and used the ball I felt worked best. Everything was paying off. I started shooting above 650 every week, and up until this week (week 13) I had not shot below 650 in either league. Last Thursday I bowled a 633 after shooting 719 in the Tuesday league. That 700 series was my third of the season and I followed it up with a dismal 633.
I knew that I could not let my great momentum falter and needed to make improvements. One thing I had done to improve my game when I started getting to 650 and higher was to practice spares. I would go to the local center my friends worked at and I would practice just shooting single pin spares. I wish I could count how many 10 pins I threw at during that period. One thing I do know is that it helped immensely. During the Summer I began to learn to throw straight at spares to avoid having to make adjustments on different conditions. This attempt was severely hampered by the injuries I sustained. I had a terrible conversion rate, especially on 10 pins. I knew I had to work on my spare game to improve. I made a strong effort to practice and it paid off. My conversion rate has sky rocketed and it is rare that I miss any single pin, especially 10 pins.
So after shooting that 633 series I went back to the practice that helped me before. I took a lunch break from work and went to bowl. That practice session was not very fruitful, I could not throw the ball well and my 10 pin conversion was horrible again. I was a bit discouraged and decided I needed to practice again on Sunday night.
Sunday came and a client of mine wanted a lesson, so I went in the afternoon and gave him a lesson and helped him with spares as well. Later that night after watching Real Salt Lake win the MLS cup, I headed down to the center at about 10 PM with the intent to practice and shoot spares. I met up with a good friend that I play paintball with and he bowled with me. We bowled some practice shots and then a game where I shot around 215. Then some other friends joined us and one of them who is the mechanic at the center oiled the lanes again.
After oiling the lanes, taking some practice shots and a lot of smack talk, we began to pot bowl. The first game was only $1 each where I won with a 268. My mechanic friend was bowling left handed with handicap so he wanted to go again with his right hand. After a lot of talk we decided to all bowl for $4 each. There were 5 of us now and my paintball friend had some handicap to help him out. He nearly won by I shot 247 to win that pot game as well.
After much talk and deliberation we decided that a $10 pot game was in order. My paintball buddy decided he had had enough and needed to go home. So there were 4 of us bowling for $10 each. The game was good and the lowest score in around 215. My mechanic friend shot 237, but I disappointed him by getting 238. I won the pot and improved my profits to $49 for the night. I had also shot 753 for 3 games. I had not shot a 745 on the Thursday league a few weeks prior but other than that I had not shot very high above 700 for about 5 years. Needless to say my confidence was back.
So last night was Tuesday and it was league night for the Allstar Masters scratch league at Allstar West Jordan. I was very confident coming into the night. Our team had won 1st place for the first third of the season and we were back in 1st after the first week of the second third. I had also just shot 753 a couple nights before. My morale was high, but it was nothing compared to what it would be…

To Be Continued…

Week 5 Power Rankings

Now that the Vikings have handled the Green Bay Packers in Brett Favre's extremely effective revenge performance, it is time to update the power rankings. After the first quarter of the season has come and gone much too quickly, we have a better picture of the good, the bad and the St Louis Rams. Here are my Power Rankings after week 4:

1. New York Giants

2. New Orleans Saints

3. Indianapolis Colts

4. Minnesota Vikings

5. Baltimore Ravens

6. Denver Broncos

7. New England Patriots

8. Philadelphia Eagles

9. New York Jets

10. Pittsburgh Steelers

11. San Francisco 49ers

12. Chicago Bears

13. Cincinnati Bengals

14. San Diego Chargers

15. Atlanta Falcons

16. Dallas Cowboys

17. Green Bay Packers

18. Arizona Cardinals

19. Jacksonville Jaguars

20. Houston Texans

21. Miami Dolphins

22. Buffalo Bills

23. Washington Redskins

24. Detroit Lions

25. Seattle Seahawks

26. Carolina Panthers

27. Tennessee Titans

28. Oakland Raiders

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

30. Kansas City Chiefs

31. Cleveland Browns

32. St Louis Rams

Question of Fundamentals

I was watching football this weekend, and an interesting question struck me. Where did the fundamentals go? The players I have been watching in the NFL and NCAA football have been lacking in fundamentals and I am beginning to wonder if this is an evolution of the sport. I have had to ask myself if the fundamental skills are changing.

For example, on a punt return the rule was for the runt returner to stand on the 10 yard line and if the ball goes over his head he lets it go because the chances of getting a touchback are greater than the chances it will be downed inside the 5 yard line. Lately I have seen returners catching fair catches at the 5 yard line! I have to ask what in the world is going on? If the ball is kicked to the 5 why not let it go? The chances of it going into the endzone and getting it at the 20 is far greater than the other team downing it. That is something I don't understand.

Another fundamental that is less glamorous but more important is the art of blocking. I cannot count how many times I have watched Wide Receivers, Tight Ends and Running Backs throw themselves at someone's legs and miss instead of blocking the player straight up. If each player would just get low and use their leverage to block the other player, they would allow the ball carrier to get by them. Even if the block is not great it delays that defender long enough to hold the hole for the ball carrier. Throwing chop blocks in front of defenders is good, if you get solid contact and knock the defender down. The percentage of that block is low because a defender can hurdle the blocker, side step rather easily, or even stay on their feet after contact. I see so many Linebackers avoid chop blocks and create sacks, tackles for loss or even force fumbles. Yet somehow the low percentage block stays in the game even at the highest levels.

One skill that has been so important and highlighted in previous years is route running. Some of the best Receivers create space by running crisp and precise routes. Yet I have seen film of prominent Receivers and Tight Ends running ugly routes and somehow still getting the ball. I watch someone run a post corner route and they round each cut. There is no precision or crisp move, not even a head fake to throw off the defender. Sometimes during practice you can catch these ankle breaking moves that would prove invaluable during the game, but it never comes out in crunch time.

One example of a player that is great at his position, possibly the best, but still runs ugly routes is Jason Witten. Now the Dallas Cowboys are my favorite team, and Witten is one of my favorite players, but watching the Monday Night game against the Carolina Panthers surprised me. I saw Jason Witten run ugly rounded routes, yet still remain open. The only crisp pattern he ran were curls, which proved to be the money route during the game. Another frustrating aspect of Witten's game I witnessed was the run after the catch. He would catch the ball and turn, but instead of sprinting forward for as many yards as possible, he would pause and almost wait for contact. His break off the catch was slow and I never saw an urgency to get more yards. Now Witten is big and smart. He would run over some people and break tackles and have the awareness to get to the first down. But I saw many times when he caught the ball where he could have gained 18 yards instead of 15, or 14 instead of 10.

Patrick Crayton was the same way during the kickoff and punt returns. He would delay his run and slowly make progress up the field. He would try to shake the defenders too much and only gain 4 or 5 yards instead of blasting forward and gaining 10 on the punt return. I see many of the same things from returners. Kickoff returns will gain good yards when the returner blasts up the field at full speed, but the punt returners try to put on too many moves, go backward or sideways. What happened to the North to South runners instead of East to West?

I love the sport of football, I could never get as much entertainment from any other sport. One thing about the sport I love so much is how technical it can be and how much strategy goes into it. With strategy you have to have fundamental skills. The most brilliant general with the best strategy will never win a battle if his soldiers cannot shoot. So either I need to learn and understand the reasons behind these strange decreases in fundamentals, or these coaches need to do a better job of getting more out of their players. Either way I am going to have a blast finding out what will happen this season.

GO COWBOYS!!!

New Bowling Season

It is a new bowling season and so far has started pretty well. About 3 weeks ago I injured my shoulder and to this day it still hurts. So far it has not gotten better or worse since I injured it. It affects my bowling quite a bit because I cannot follow through.

Even though I have been injured I am bowling two scratch leagues. I get to come in with a 170 average so both of my teams are pretty good! Last Thursday was the first night of the season for me. I shot a 547 and won 3 out of 4 points. Unfortunately my team only won 8 out of 30.

Last night was the first night of the All Star Masters. I ended up shooting 565 and swept my opponent, winning 4 out of 4 points. Unfortunately I ended up only winning 2 out of 11 brackets. Losing $5 total. Our team won 22.5 out of 24 the first night. The only member of the team who lost any points was Dusty and he ended up shooting 766, but wasn't the high on our team! We shot a high game of 1018 as a team the first game. A sign of things to come.

I plan on going to the doctor to have my shoulder examined to see if there is anything I can do to repair it so my bowling can get back to form.

Pick Up Football!!!!

Recreational football game planned for Friday August 21st, 2009 @ 7:00 PM. This game is open to everyone! No equipment necessary, everything completely free. Invite everyone you know!

This game is an attempt to celebrate the beginning of football season for both the NCAA and NFL. We are also trying to put together a flag football rec team and this will help get commitments from everyone.

Currently there are about 8 people confirmed to attend this game, but we would like to have at least 12 - 14 to have a great game. Young, Old, Male or Female it doesn't matter, everyone can play so invite everyone and come out to play!

Contact Levi to RSVP or ask questions: luckyxtreme@gmail.com

This is Lucky from Bad Karma and my weapon of choice, "Clover". Clover is a Virtue equipped Dust Olive Mini made by Invert. She is teamed up with a Dye Rotor in Camo and a DXS 68/4500 fiber HPA tank.

This is by far the best paintball gun I have ever used, and together we tear up the competition. I am a dagger for Bad Karma (http://www.teambadkarma.com) and while playing with the team, effectiveness and communication is important.

While playing with a bulky Tippmann A-5, I couldn't be as effective, but now with my silent accuracy from Clover, I can be the Dagger the team needs me to be.

This gun allows me to sling the paint necessary for suppressive fire, but is also silent enough to drop multiple enemies before they can pin point my position. It is also light and compact enough for those mad dashes from the break or flag runs. I highly suggest everyone try out one of the Minis from Invert, it may just turn your paintball world upside down!

A-5 Bows Down To Invert's Mini

Last year when I was getting back into the sport of paintball, I went out and purchased a Tippmann A-5 paintball gun. These guns are purely mechanical and are very durable and simple to maintain. I reasoned this would be the best type of gun to use while playing paintball in the woods, especially since I had been using an older Tippmann, the 98 Custom.

I used this gun for a little over a year and had some up and downs with it. Through that year I purchased and installed many upgrades and the most prevelant one was an air-through stock. This adds a stock to the gun and it allows for a remote air line to be used so you don't have to carry the air tank on the gun itself. Instead you wear it on your back with a vest or harness.

A lot of the time I was struggling with this A-5 breaking the paintball while it was still inside the gun. This caused the following paintballs to fly less straight and accurate. Not to mention it would require an immediate cleaning, so the barrel would need to be removed and cleaned. I installed some "cyclone" upgrades thinking this would help. I filed down the feed guide and this helped a little. Eventually the ball chopping lessened but was still hindering my play.

Eventually I reasoned this paintball gun was too heavy, and too unreliable on the field with the accuracy of each ball. I began searching for a replacement. I asked some teammates of mine and I found the Invert Mini to be a acceptable replacement. The Invert Mini uses electricity along with compressed air to function. I reasoned the benefits of the Mini to be better air effeciency, more compact, lighter, more gentle on the paintballs and faster rate of fire.

I am not too concerned with rate of fire so I purchased and used the Invert Mini with semi rate of fire instead of auto. I found the Mini to be an immediate improvement. Even though I used the air tank on the mini it was extremely lighter than the A-5 and much quieter. I have taken opponents by surprise because they could not hear my gun fire. Not only were these benefits impressive, but to date I have never broken a paintball in that gun.

Overall I am very impressed by the Empire Invert Mini and I have just purchased my second one. The Tippmann line of paintball markers is great for beginners, but I think the more experience you have in the sport of paintball the less likely you will be to use the Tippmann line. I always believed I would stick with the mechanical markers because the electronic ones were too complicated and not durable enough for the woods. The Mini changed my mind and I doubt I will ever need a different gun for as long as I play.

Levi Lauck - Midvale, UT. For grandfather clocks and/or cuckoo clocks please visit http://www.grandticktock.com/

4th of July fun!

For the 4th of July weekend this year we spent the day at my In-Laws house enjoying good weather, Barbecue and fireworks. This was my daughter Kayleigh's first Independence Day and she was showing her patriotism!

During the fireworks some interesting stuff happened!

Video of my Brother-In-Law doing something crazy with a parachute firework.

Video of my In-Laws neighbor being not so smart with a firework.

These two videos are great examples of post Independence Day celebration videos! A must see for anything looking for a quick laugh.

Back In Action

After a three year hiatus from bowling I am BACK! Four weeks after paying my USBC membership fee and subbing on some leagues I entered the Salt Lake City ABT tournament at All Star Sandy Lanes.

I entered and bowled the first squad of the first day. Unfortunately I found out the night before that my favorite ball, Storm Attitude Shift, was cracked from the middle finger hole all the way around half of the ball. I knew I couldn't use it so I was limited to my Storm Special Agent and Storm Rapid Fire.

If being limited to 2/3 of my ball arsenal wasn't bad enough I had tried to throw my Storm Special Agent and realized that my hand was swollen and the ball was hurting my hand (I have been changing my grip specs since coming back). Now I was limited to a single ball, Storm Rapid Fire, that I had just drilled two days prior. This ball was intended to be the weakest reacting ball in my bag so I know I would have to play the right side of the lane.

Well the first game did not go as planned. I could not find a line around the second or third arrow at all and I had two 2,8,10 splits in the first four frames. Some strikes, washouts, splits and open frames later I rolled a 153 game. I pretty much resigned myself to a tournament loss at that point.

We switched pairs and I continued to find a shot, moving to the first arrow, and I struggled with open frames again but managed a 199. Finally the third game on the third pair went my way. I moved to the 14 board and targeted the 5 board at the arrows. I stoned a 10 pin and picked it up in the third frame but struck in every other frame until the 10th frame.

A few of the strikes were less than perfect and I had some carry on my side but had a 279 working until the second shot in the 10th frame. I swung the ball out to the 3 board and the ball bit the lane and came in high and sharp leaving an 8 count which I spared for a 267. This helped me to win the high game side pot for $20.

After the series, 679 with handicap, I found out I was the squad leader. This caught me by surprise since I shot a horrible 153. I was also leading the Sweeper with 504. Well later that day the scores were pouring in and the cut became +90 causing me to miss it by 11 pins. The good news was that with my 504 Sweeper score I was able to take 1st in that side pot and winning $112.

Winning a total $132 without making the cut made my first tournament after my come back a success. I think it is safe to say that I AM BACK!

Private Coaching Now Available!

Private Bowling Lessons with a USBC Level I certified bowling instructor!

Private one on one bowling lessons are now available. Learn the fundamental basics about the sport of bowling and have even more fun with higher scores! Schedule a session now to improve your bowling game.

Lessons are currently being held at Shepherd's All Star Lanes Sandy on 10535 S State St in Sandy, Utah. The sessions are one half hour and are normally held on Saturdays starting at noon.

The current rate for these sessions are $15 each. This fee does not include price for bowling games or rental shoes. The fee covers the half hour session and includes a quick tips reference guide and can include video analysis.

You can visit our go events go page here to register, or email us at lauckenterprises@gmail.com.

Kayleigh Raena Lauck

Kayleigh Raena Lauck was born at 11:31 PM on February 27th, 2009. She weighed 6 lbs and was 19 inches long!

Newest Coach on the Block

Levi L Lauck, one of the newest members of the USBC certified Level 1 bowling coach ranks. Upon completion of the Level 1 course provided by the United States Bowling Congress as a five hour online education experience, I have been certified as a Level 1 coach. This qualifies me to teach beginning and entry level bowlers to build a good foundation for years to come.
I started my bowling career at a relatively young age. My Grandmother had always enjoyed bowling quite a bit and when a new bowling center was built near our house my whole family joined in on the fun. My parents, my brother and myself all joined leaguesand began a lifelong journey that would change our lives.

At the time I was only 9 and I joined youth leagues and began learning how to bowl. Because I was a stubborn youth and had a pretty strong temper I would not allow anyone to teach me what I needed to know. Slowly I learned the basics by watching other athletes and was given a hand-me-down bowling ball to get fitted to my own hand. Over the years I began improving my game while making fast friends with others my age.

Eventually my mother began working for the bowling center and my brother, nine years older than myself, soon joined her. After that I was always there, I practically lived at the bowling center. As I got better at bowling I got more competitive and the more my temper came to the surface. By the time I was thirteen I had an aggressive style of playing and if I wasn't scoring well everyone knew it. My mother refused to bowl anymore adult youth leagues until I could control my temper while bowling. I was not allowing myself to have any fun with the sport and I quit soon after.

I had taken a three year hiatus and began bowling again at sixteen when I began working at the center near my house. The center that became such a facet in my childhood. I had changed a lot in three years and that was the most evident in my bowling game. I was less aggressive in my play style and I had virtually eliminated my temper, bowling was fun again! My mother became a youth director for the center and she was a very good coach for entry level bowlers.

My mother always tried to give me tips on bowling but I was always very stubborn and never really listened. She soon decided not to give me anymore tips, but because I had developed my game pretty well on my own she still used me as an example of good form for the young bowlers. Over the next three years and many leagues later I had finally established an average over two hundred. I had made many friends and I was more open to suggestions about bowling tips. I decided to move on to the adult world of bowling after a season in which I had won a major local tournament and placed second in two others.

Once I ventured into the world of adult bowling I had realized how close minded I really was. I bowled in tournaments in leagues where I wouldn't even place in the top ten and when I had finally travelled to bowl in the USBC Nationals tournament I realized once and for all that I was a very small fish in a gigantic ocean. My 208 average was just that, average. I began to get lessons from more qualified bowlers and got more competitive and the temper from my childhood returned.

Bowling was once again a competition and was not for fun anymore. Even though I had learned healthier ways to release my anger and control my temper I was still getting angry at small things. Bowling was not fun and it was getting expensive! I finally decided to take a break from bowling at the end of the 2005-2006 season.

Three years later and I am returning to the game again. I have completed a Level 1 certification to be a bowling coach and became a member of the coaches association. Not only do I want to join the world of bowling once again, but I want to share the value of what I have received through this sport.

The United States Bowling Congress has developed one of the most respectable programs with their coaching certification. They have four levels, Level 1 which is intended to coach beginning and entry level bowlers, Bronze which is intended to coach high school level athletes, Silver which is intended for Collegiate level athletes and Gold. Gold is the highest certification an individual can receive through the United States Bowling Congress.

Gold is my goal. There are currently 33 Gold certified coaches world wide and only one is in my home state of Utah. On August 21st, 2008 the United States Bowling Congress inducted Bill Monce to its most elite group of professional coaches, certifying him as a USBC Gold level coach. He became the 31st Gold coach in the world and also became the youngest to receive the prestigious title at the age of 35.

I will be turning 24 on April 16th and the week after I plan to attend a Bronze conference to be certified at the next level. Attaining the Gold level by the age of 30 is my goal and I wish to become the youngest individual to attain the Gold level at that time.