Pictured Are: Kyle King, Left, And Jim Pratt.
Simple Philosophy Helps Jim Pratt, Succeed In The Game Of Bowling. Along With Dedication To The Game.
Phoenix Pro Shop Proprietor, Won His Fourth Regional Title At Mesa East Bowl Last November.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor The Ten Pin Express.Com - Director Mesa Metro Association.
Phoenix - - - Jim Pratt, of Avondale, AZ., has a simple, but effective philosophy when it comes to the game of bowling. And that philosophy is:
"Focusing on your execution at all times,".
He may have not known it at the time, but it was this simple philosophy that helped carry him to victory in the fourth annual PBA Western Regional that was held at Mesa East Bowl in Mesa last November. Mr. Pratt, owner of three Revolutions Pro Shops in the Valley. Defeated Raymond Lussier, of San Jose Ca., 235-151, in the championship match, to claim the title this past year. Previous champions have included: Jakob Butturff, Josh Blanchard, and Russ Oviatt.
"It was nice to know that I could still be competitive. I really haven't been bowling a lot up until about middle September," he said, of his regional win at Mesa East. "So, whenever I bowl a tournament, I don't have a lot of expectations. The regional win was really a surprise though, as I had just changed my timing three days before the tournament. Its always nice to win in front of a local crowd cheering for you also."
The shot that was put down for the weekend was the 45 foot PBA Dragon. It is always a demanding pattern, but if you have the right equipment to challenge the pattern it could be conquered. Mr. Pratt used the Physix the first couple of games during qualifying on Saturday, and then switched to the 900 Global Eon for the rest of that particular day.
"With today's bowling, you have to be more flexible on how you are able to attack the lane. It's not just the patterns, but the fields you are bowling against. With the Dragon pattern it was very difficult. One of the things that made it most difficult was that after they fresh oiled, they felt they were a little different in the track area every time," he said, of the Dragon pattern. "But, that little change was the difference between having a 230 ball reaction and a 190 ball reaction. The nice thing about that pattern in that house, was that there were multiple places to play, You just needed to figure out which one was going to work.
"I definitely had the right equipment as I always felt my ball reaction was decent the entire time. During the regional, it was just a grind. I was not physically throwing the ball that great, and I started out -69 after three games. I think I was in around 50th place at the time," he continued. "Then I was able to find a little something and just grinded it out until the last game on Saturday when something clicked. The timing change and the feel came together and I shot a 234."
He picked up where he left off on Saturday, on Sunday, and then it was off to the races. In the semi-final round, he defeated Michael Teng, of San Francisco, 194-166. And Ed Smaglik, of Flagstaff, 220-168, to reach the championship final against Lussier. It was Mr. Pratt's fourth regional title.
"In the morning blocks on Sunday, I had that feel immediately. I shot +110 over or so the first four games and jumped into the top five. From there, it was just a grind and surviving into the top four. The stepladder wasn't really about me bowling great. As much as everyone I bowled against had bad ball reaction, and never figured them out. The stepladder pair was brutal. The ball would not hook in the track (where most everyone was playing), but if you squared up to it, it would hook at your feet," he said, of his climb into the finals. "I played the gutter on one lane and the fourth arrow on the other one. I think the high game against me was 168 in the three games that were bowled against me. I was just fortunate that I was able to figure something out."
Again, being successful in a tournament goes back to his simple philosophy.
"Every time I have been successful, it's because I have a solid routine and focus on what I am doing physically," he says, of the game of bowling. "So even when I need a shot, its treated the same as a shot earlier in the game. Still focusing on just the execution."
He regularly practices with Stu Williams and Kyle King of Phoenix and Glendale respectively. And says its always nice to have an extra set of eyes to watch you bowl and help figure out the issues before they surface on the lanes.
"Stu sees things differently on the lanes than I do, so that's a great benefit," he says, of Stu Williams. "He can play the lane many different ways, so that makes me want to be able to be more versatile. Kyle, Stu, and I are good friends. Kyle works for me also at the Glendale Pro Shop, so we see each other constantly and there's always bowling talk. Right before I won the Mesa East regional, I was struggling with my timing and Kyle suggested I try a five step approach and that helped enormously. I try to help them out when I really think I see something off, but they are both great bowlers and don't have a lot of physical flaws."
Mr. Pratt is used to winning tournaments in the East Valley. He is the defending champion of the 2018 Mesa Metro Masters event which was held at AMF McRay Lanes last year. He will defend his MMA title on February 23 and 24 at Brunswick Zone Mesa. Mandy Etem is the defending women's champion.
"I did not have a good 2018, but I also wasn't putting the practice time in either," he admits. "In middle September, I made a decision that I was going to rededicate myself to practicing and trying to get myself back to 'tour' level. So, since then, I have been happy with the results. The Mesa East regional is definitely a must bowl event if you are in Arizona, as we don't have any other regionals to bowl. Plus, Josh Blanchard does a great job of arranging sponsors and putting together a great pro am experience."
Jim is bowling in six national tour stops this year, with one goal in mind. To win one.
"That really has been the goal from since when I was younger - win a national PBA title," he said, of his goals for 2019. "Really everything I do, hopefully will eventually lead to that. Another goal is to stay healthy. I stopped bowling in 2007, because of my back. I have a much better physical routine to keep that from happening again (knock on wood), but we will see if it can hold up through the games and travel."
Jim shot his first 300 game at the age of 17. Today he has over 70 of them, and 30 800 series.
"There is no magic formula. It just happens that our good bowlers here are REALLY good," he says, on why he feels Arizona has the many talented bowlers as it does. "I think the game in general has become much more casual. In the past, the higher tier bowlers were only concerned with how much money could be made at each event, and now people bowl when its convenient and just isn't too costly. I still see a decline in the competitive bowler as there still aren't enough younger players coming up to replace all of the older ones."
Jim opened his first pro shop at Brunswick Desert Sky Lanes in 2009. Since then, he has opened two other locations at Brunswick Zone Glendale and Bowlero Gilbert in 2015.
"I opened Desert Sky Lanes in 2009. We now have three locations. We purchased the locations at Brunswick Zone Glendale and Bowlero Gilbert in 2015. Its really not as difficult as you would think to have some success in the pro shop business," he says, of his three locations. "We have great people who care and have a great eye for detail that work for our shops. Kurt Neish runs Gilbert, and has done an incredible job there. Kyle started for us almost two years ago and has really done great over at Glendale. Lonnie Pemberton has been with us almost since just after the opening in 2009, and he works at all three shops, but is mainly at Desert Sky. Julie has helped out since we opened the first shop, and now she is irreplaceable when I am in there. With having good people like these working for you, running the business is easy."
Jim also feels there are there are a couple of other reasons why his pro shops have been successful. One, they are honest. They pride themselves on doing what is right, and making the customer feel at ease. And two, they are fair when it comes to pricing.
"Pretty simple formula," he says, of his success. "We actually don't have any plans right now on expanding. But, you never know when another opportunity will present itself. However, if there is a good spot that becomes available and we can get it, we will probably take it."
Phoenix Bowling News - February 4, 2019