A question about talented child athletes...

Does anybody in the have have personal experience or know someone that has had a child go from amateur ranks to professional ranks in their chosen sport?

I'm asking because I have a 15 year old son that is a very skilled bowler.  And he keeps improving.   We've been traveling more for tournaments the past 12 months and he's come up against tougher and tougher competition.  He continues to raise his level of performance to match those around him yet he has maintained his raw passion for the sport.  

I understand making it to and excelling in professional sports of any kind is a rare accomplishment and I know each sport and athlete is unique but when is it too soon to consider the "P" word?   There's always seems to be a new young talent coming along in sports.  I'm trying to figure out if he is one of those young talent or if I'm being naive.

If he's into it, keep going. I actually know a guy that went pro, it seemed once he threw like his 10th 300 game, and was beating out pros at tourneys, the sponsors came, and there you go. My best advice would be encourage him, help hoe you can etc, but keep it simple and wait til sponsors start keeping an eye on him. It's like skateboarding. Someone might hand you a deck, some wheels, a shirt, whatever,  they're doing it to test you. You ride in their E36 M3 and you make them look good, win a few ams, you might want to go pro. Let someone else pay for your stuff. 

Rule of 3s:

3% of high school varsity people play Division I sports in college

3% of Division I scholarship athletes play professionally. 

Bowling's is more like track than basketball or football - there are absolute numbers that can be compared.

What's his average? Has he bowled as an amateur in pro-am tournaments? Is there a spectacular feat that immediately qualifies him, like an outright open tournament championship or the first 300 at the alley? Has he been recruited for an NCAA team as a HS sophomore? 

At our local kart track, there was a driver who wanted a chance to go pro; had he won the all-star race the track owner put together that included an IndyCar driver, it might have pointed him that way, but he looped it in front of the field while ahead of Sage and is now headed towards mechanical engineering. 

Email me, though I don't know much about bowling, I played D1 lacrosse and football in the ACC. 

chaparral said:

What's his average? Has he bowled as an amateur in pro-am tournaments? Is there a spectacular feat that immediately qualifies him, like an outright open tournament championship or the first 300 at the alley? Has he been recruited for an NCAA team as a HS sophomore? 

He's averaging 207 in a tournament series he's been doing each month since September 2017.  We haven't entered any the pro-am tournaments at this point although I'm looking at as many opportunities as I can to expose him to better competition.  Right now he's focused on his high school post-season tournaments.  He won his sectional.  He won his regional.  His semi-state tournament is Saturday.  I'm hopeful he can transfer to the state tournament since I believe he will get quite a bit of exposure.  So, no, he hasn't been recruited but I believe he will be and I'm working to get him opportunities for recruitment.  

Mainly, I'm making sure he's academically solid (which he is with a 3.8 gpa) and that he doesn't get burned out by increasing competitive pressure too quickly.  So far, he's handling all of it well.

I know a few pro hockey players, and a few former pro football players. Some relatively big names--i.e. people who will at least have a plaque in their respective hall of fames, although probably won't be inducted.  Both my brother and BIL played college football, one at one of the strongest D3 programs in history, and one at a mid-top level D1 program. Additionally, I've seen a bunch of youth golfers and been friends with a few professionals, although no one who made it big--a few who made a good living though. 

I also know a LOT about hockey. I referee a lot of high level youth games--13 to 19 year olds. Earlier this year I was reffing a tournament that had at least 7 coaches with big rings on their fingers, as well as a bunch of players who had already committed to National Championship caliber D1 programs... some by age 12. With hockey, if the player wants to go pro, they need to be in a AAA program--the highest youth level. After that, if they're good they'll get noticed by a junior program or college team, and then they're "in the system". 

If you're in the good tournaments already, you're on the right track. I'd imagine that bowling is a lot more similar to golf than football or hockey--you can enter for any tournament you want (or qualifier for said tournament). I personally would just make sure that he's never blowing away all the competition (i.e., if the wins are too easy, find harder tournaments) and eventually he'll be at hte pro level where he's not blowing anyone away. 

All that being said, make sure he knows about money management. I imagine bowling isn't as lucrative as golf or hockey or anything else, but it is real money without real world experience. Teach him about living below his means, etc. And make sure it is what he wants to do and that he still has time to be a kid.

In reply to captdownshift :

OT here, but damn ACC Lacrosse is no joke!

Be careful, bowling can be pretty cut throat.

I have a couple different perspectives I would share with you.

My son is in his Junior year of College baseball. He has been playing since he could walk, and has legit talent. School Ball, summer ball, Under Amour Junior National Team, ect. He has been a starter since his freshman year. He just signed a contract to play with the Victoria Harbor Cats this summer which is a Collegiate summer league, and about as high as you can go before entering the pro leagues. Even with all of that his chance to make it to the majors is still a long shot. I hope he gets to at least play in the minors because that has always been his dream, but we all have realistic expectations of where this might go.

I am a bowler. I bowl in a couple leagues and some tournaments. I enjoy it, but am no where near good enough to consider going pro. One of my leagues is a money scratch league. Lots of good bowlers and a couple that have tried to go pro. One in particular averages 240+ and has probably had 6-8 300 games this year. I don't know how many total. Where most of us just try to bowl a good game he legitimately is shooting for a 300 every time he bowls.

Why I told you that is because it not only takes a lot of talent but also money. Unlike other pro sports there is very little money in bowling. You definately won't make enough to start with to even cover your traveling expenses. Starting out if you don't have money to cover your expenses you are going to need sponsors, and you will probably have to find them. Even the top level pros work for their ball sponsors. 

with all of that said, don't give up on your dream, but there is no need to rush into becoming a pro either. Chris Barnes did not turn pro until he was 28. Jason Belmonte was 24. At 15 your son has a lot of time to work on his game and to take advantage of a lot of ametuer tournaments and possibly collegiate bowling. Even Team USA is a possibility. A lot of top pros started on Team USA.

Where I would start is getting a coach if you don't already have one. A good coach will make you better no matter how good you are. They will also be able to guide you on a path to the pros. Make sure you are not only bowling in good tournaments, but also ones that are putting out a sport shot. A sport shot, what the pros shoot on, is way different than a house shot. Become best friends with your local alley to see if they will sponsor you meaning free practice and hopefully they will put down a sport shot to practice on.

I wish you both all the luck in the world. Work hard, stay humble, and hopefully he will get his shot at the big time.

I have a friend whose son is a professional shooter in USPSA.   He made number one in the country.   He started shooting when he was 9 years old in competition.    As a young teenager he was always dedicated, practiced something everyday (not all practice involves actual shooting),  his dad sent him to a few seminars given by pros which helped him up the returns on practicing.   They made it a point to go to the really competitive matches so he always knew where he fit on the pyramid. There is no perfect match in USPSA.   You can always be a little faster (sound familiar?) .  

The old saying is "amateurs practice until they get it right, pros practice until they never get it wrong".

 At some point he got on the Army Shooting Team and enjoyed 4 years of this being his job with excellent coaching besides.   Made Master Class at like 16, turned pro at 17 when the Army gave him that job, been pro for at least 16 years.        

   The consistent thing was his positive attitude, serious work ethic, and his parents always giving him positive support.   They didn't let him slack on grades either when it became apparent he had a good shot at turning pro.

  I saw other parents turn into nagging manics and their kids just burned out.    I've seen people not be consistent, get distracted, get into a paradigm that limits their development and ultimately be an "almost".   

I recommend looking toward a college scholarship and delay going pro. Getting tuition some or all paid, plus the college experience and a degree to fall back on. Bowling isn’t a sport where he’ll be “old” at 28. Time is on his side. Good luck - sounds like an exciting situation.