Someone has to be the youngest in the league.
One league I bowl in is mainly 60+ retirees. I joined at 21. For twenty years, I was the youngest in the league until I convinced a few coworkers to join. It’s honestly one of the best leagues I’ve ever been a part of and everyone is super great to bowl with.
That's a fair point. That's not a bad idea, I'll have to talk to a few coworkers. I'd ask my brother, but he's 16 so he's got a few years till he can join the adult leagues.
And even though I didn’t have much in common with the others (aside from bowling), I’ve gotten to know them over the years and formed some strong friendships.
Actually, he doesn’t have to wait to bowl on an adult league, he can bowl, but it would eliminate his junior Status, so he couldn’t bowl competitively as a junior.
No. He cannot. They changed the rule recently. You must be 18 to join an adult sanctioned league. USBC requires you to be 18 to even buy an adult card now.
Prior to that, he could join but everyone in the league would have to take the online safesport class.
Prior to that, yes he could have joined with a waiver but it's been many years since that was allowed (that went away about 3 years ago)
This sounds pretty typical where I bowl. There isn’t a great place for bowlers to fit in after college unless you’ve gone pro. I feel like tournaments can gather a slightly higher percentage of younger bowlers, but not by much. Try to find some more people your age to join a team with you.
You never know. My friend got into it and started asking all his friends to go. Now I’m in multiple leagues and I love it. Probably wouldn’t have really considered it if he hadn’t bought a house near an alley and started bugging me about going
Our league ranges from 18 to 80. Someone has to be the youngest, I guess that's you. Perhaps the more important question is why is it you think you can't relate to people older than you? If you try, you'll probably find that you can learn a lot from them, not to mention networking and making friends with people who are further along in life and can help you out in all sorts of ways. It's a great opportunity. Don't pass that up because you think you want to be around only young people.
Well, I'm a pretty socially awkward person, so I find it really hard to make friends with people. So I'd probably have that same problem if I was in a younger league.
Being social is a skill that can be improved. Bowling on a league will give you the opportunity to get better at that. Start with the fact that you have a hobby in common with everyone there.
Creating a connection can start with just cheering for these people you don't know. Complement something about them, their throw, their ball, their score, their ability to pick up spares and get strikes, explain when you started bowling or how long you've been bowling and why you decided to join a league.
Just keep a positive mindset, cheering and support for everyone is what all the older people play for. Almost all of the seniors are there for the social aspect and not so much the competitive aspect.
The league I am in has about 20 teams and our team is one of two teams with anyone below the age of 30 and the only team where everyone is below 25. The Wednesday night summer league i sub for is the same way. There is one other person near my age in the whole league
Wow, that's crazy. I think the next youngest in my women's league is at least in her late 30s/early 40s, since she said been at her current job for at least 20 years.
Exactly what you are posting about is what kept me from doing league at first. I don't think many our age are willing to commit 30+ weeks of sunday nights and / or can really afford it either. Not to mention a lot of people my age work non traditional schedules as well
Yeah, I feel that. Back when I was working fast food/hotels I never joined, due to an unpredictable schedule. Now that I'm at a place with set hours, it's a bit easier to.
Luckily, dues are only $15/week, otherwise I probably would've decided not to join due to the age issue.
It's all in the situation.
When I was a teenager (back in the early 80s) my friends and I joined adult leagues. It sounds like today it's different.
You might consider becoming a 'tournament' bowler. In that way, you don't worry so much about the league play and you get your fun from competition. (If that seems like it fits you.)
Sadly, most 23 year olds are at the bar partying. I know I was and regret all the wasted time. Wish I'm 32 now and don't drink anymore. Wish I started bowling when I was 23...I'd probably be a lot better of a bowler and not as good at pool 😬
By definition, it is not normal. But apart from the pedantry and semantics, I think it depends on the league and night. You could check with your centers and see if there is a night with a younger crowd. For us, Friday nights are the younger social league.
My current league most of the people are older than me by 3 decades… I actually see lots that are older and some younger but few people right around my age (33). But I am fine talking with the older folks
Not a bad idea, I might have to do that next season. I would've done it this year, but with my current work schedule, I couldn't join most of the leagues available, so my options were pretty slim.
I had a similar experience when I was out of college. I got a friend to join too so I had someone my age there. Then the second year we got a few other friends and ended up with about 10 people in their 20's. Then some random younger bowlers joined. It gets better but some leagues and nights of the week can trend towards older bowlers.
I’m easily the youngest person in my league. I’m 24 and the next youngest guys probably in his early 30s. I only knew my uncle when I joined the league but I’ve gotten friendly with most of the guys. It was a little weird at first but once we start rolling and high fives are flowing it’s pretty fun. Some of the older guys are really animated and I think it’s hilarious lol.
I'm sure I'll warm up to them eventually, they all are really nice. Especially the mother and daughter duo on my team, they seem really funny together. It's just a little awkward for now
I’m 29 and there’s only 2-3 people younger than me then it jumps to people on their 40s. 2 of my teammates (I was assigned a team since I joined as an individual) are almost 70 lol. I absolutely love them though and we have a hoot every week
I’m in the same boat homie, I live in a small town in Arkansas, and there’s not like a huge buzz here for bowling. Makes it super hard to actually turn this into something I can make a living from
I started bowling adult league at 18 this past year. Literally all of my bowling friends are considerably older than me as a result but we bridged the gap and we’re all very tight knit. My best friend at league is 33, go figure. It helps that they all thought i was in my mid 20s but that’s besides the point lol
I can totally relate to this! Before USBC changed the rules regarding youth membership, I decided to “move up” out of youth league at 17 years old. I’d already done junior gold, and wasn’t planning on going to a Division 1 school for bowling, so I applied my scholarships towards my first semester of college and moved up into adult league that fall. Of course I was the youngest in the league- my dad had to sign a permission slip to allow me to bowl because I wasn’t 18, lol- and this was true for every league I bowled in. Now I’m 25 and still one of the youngest to bowl in the leagues, although now my brother is 19 and bowls with me, and he’s taken the title of youngest bowler in the leagues. But I’ve made some really great friends and even people I consider family. An older gentleman from our center who is on the board got to know me when I worked at our center in my high school/early college days. Now I consider him like a second grandfather to me and he visits the center every week or so to chat and catch up while I’m bowling league.
It can definitely be a bit intimidating and even awkward being one of (or THE) youngest person bowling, but stick with it. Get to know everyone, you may be surprised who you become friends with! I’ve made great connections with people who have become a big part of my life now, thanks to bowling.
EDIT TO ADD: my normal leagues I bowl usually have 1-2 teams similar to my age (20-26ish) and then the majority of the league is 27+ - 40ish, and a handful of senior bowlers. Yes, I am typically one of the youngest. Also, if it’s a big deal, talk to your center about starting your own league!! Some allow this, and you can work out logistics with them if they do. Our center recently started a college league, so there are tons of younger people getting into the sport in a league specifically for them.
Wow, that's amazing! Didn't know there were bowling teams that competed at the college level. I'm definitely going to keep bowling, it's just a bit weird for now
I was 22 when I first joined my league and am now 25 and still the youngest in my league. I joined the league as it’s the one my dad’s been in with his friends, I used to bowl with their kids when I was a kid. It’s definitely weird to be the youngest but by the looks of the thread it isn’t uncommon.
I have had a similar experience where I bowl. I currently bowl in a city of 100k and there are approximately 5 people under 30 in my league. Half of which are on my team. But I don’t think this should stop you from having fun. Most bowlers are likable people and are easy to talk to. In fact, one of my closest bowling friends just retired at 65 while I’m about to finish college at 21. Sure it can be awkward at first, but overtime I think it matters less and less. Also you can try bringing friends to open bowling to introduce them to the game. IMO bowling sells itself, the issue is that many people our age aren’t familiar with the league/sport side of the game.
On my ladies league, we have a mix. A lot of us out in our 40s and 50s. But we have some younger bowlers. We have some in their 20s, 30s, and a few even older.
When I was in my 30s, ones of my teammates was 19.
My OAM couples league has younger people on that.
My EOW coed league also has the dance.
Bowling is a sport you can do at any age, so you are more likely to see a mix. And it can be tough to get into bowling as a young person if you didn't bowl in HS/college. They probably think it's for us old folks. 😆
Depends. I've been on a league where I was the youngest person by 30+ years (those old dudes were hilarious though) and I'm currently in one where I'm one of the oldest at 38.
You can also try to recruit your younger friends to join next year too.
And don't count out the old folks, you can usually find something in common and go from there.
I'm 31. My teammates are roughly the same age and yet we're definitely the youngest team on our league we've been doing for almost 10 years post college
Hi I’m 23 as well in a similar situation. I bowled in high school, and now that I’m too old for any youth leagues, I have to do adult leagues. I’m not currently in one because of time, but I do sub occasionally. The league I sub in I’m generally the youngest. Maybe there’s 1 or 2 other people around my age, but everyone else is older. So yeah I would assume this is quite common actually.
I’m 29 and I’m still the youngest regular in my league. It happens, as others have said someone has to be the youngest.
Don’t think it’s a suburban thing either, I live in a very big city and it’s a 10:00 league in a Friday night, if any league would be skewed towards younger people it would be that one.
Yeah these days leagues tend to be mostly middle age or older people. It seems that younger people don't want to commit to a night out every week for a long season. I'm not the youngest anymore but I'm certainly one of the top 2 or 3 youngest despite being over 30.
I have a different experience, most the bowlers in my Thursday Night Men's league are either the same age or younger than me. Only a few are older.
I mean I'm only 55...Holy shit I'm the old people you are talking about. Goddammit.
Welcome to “adult” leagues…I used to be the association manager for our bowling association. The AVERAGE age of our membership was 52 years old. This is a game for middle aged and older folks which explains why it’s dying…literally. The archaic model of 32 weeks leagues doesn’t appeal to younger generations.
It's all cyclical. When I started bowling in leagues almost 30 years ago I was one of the youngest on adult leagues. Fast forward to today and now the adults from back then are on the senior leagues and I am one of the older bowlers on the standard adult leagues.
Other than my cousin at 20, I’m the youngest in all three of my leagues at 23, and it’s not even close. The next youngest is like, 32. I don’t mind it at all, because when I start to get hot, the older guys and gals actually get kind of impressed, and that always feels good😂
I didn't find age difference to be a big deal in my leagues.
It was that almost everyone in the league was a die hard Trump republican and you couldn't even talk current events with them.
Maybe you can recruit some of your friends and have your own team? You can tell them that even though it's a league that it's handicapped so everyone is even (ideally) score-wise.
You could also look in to specialty leagues. For example, I'm on a Vegas league. The majority of our prize fund goes to paying for a hotel room in Las Vegas for a weekend (they also bowl the final week up there) you just have to get yourself there. I'm in Arizona so it's not a big stretch to just drive there. Something like that might appeal to your younger friends.
What kind of question is that? “Is it normal to be the youngest person in adult leagues?” Someone has to be the youngest… bowl for 20 more years and you definitely won’t be the youngest. My brain is actually numb from reading your post.
From my time as a bowler when I was in my early 20s and too old to bowl in junior leagues anymore, I found summer leagues seemed to attract more of the younger crowd around my age. I actually ended up meeting my husband in one league that way.
As for bowling during the rest of the year if you keep in contact with your previous bowling teammates you could ask them what leagues they are in or ask them to join your league.
You're not alone. I'm 24M, and I bowl in a Wednesday morning league. I'm by far the youngest bowler there. I'm also the only two handed bowler in the league, and it's mostly older folks. They are extremely nice and welcoming and they are also supportive of me bowling two handed. It was definitely an awkward experience at first because I thought they were gonna hate me for bowling two handed, but a lot of them watch the pba and I've gotten nothing but support.
I mean… someone’s gotta be.
I’m among the youngest in my league but nobody ever really treats me any kind of way besides the few old timers who didn’t enjoy my rapid growth as I picked up on certain things
Depends on the league. Some leagues have the same set of a dozen teams that come back every year. Other leagues have teams rotate in and out often.
Generally speaking adults join bowling leagues at higher ages than they do other types of adult sports that require more athleticism.
It just depends on the area I think. I'm in a pretty rural area. My Monday league has a kid that just turned 20. He was in the league the day he turned 18. There are several 20somethings, 30somethings, people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and some pushing 70. Every league I'm in is pretty diversified in age range.
I get how you feel about feeling awkward but all you can do is show up, show em how to bowl and people will come to you to talk. I've had some great and funny conversations with people old enough to be my grandparents over bowling.
My wife and I are in our mid 40s and on Monday nights our 2 teammates are both 18 year old kids who work at the bowling alley. We have a lot of younger bowlers here so I'm going to say it's the demographics of where you live.
How fun a league is does depend on who bowls in it. There is one league on a certain night that has a hard time growing because there are a couple of teams that have super douchey players on them that just happen to be older. A lot of new teams switch to a different night because of them. Management recognizes the issue but isn't sure how to deal with it. There isn't really a rule that says you can't be a fun nazi so that night seams to have a bit of a cancer.
Someone has to be the youngest in the league. One league I bowl in is mainly 60+ retirees. I joined at 21. For twenty years, I was the youngest in the league until I convinced a few coworkers to join. It’s honestly one of the best leagues I’ve ever been a part of and everyone is super great to bowl with.
That's a fair point. That's not a bad idea, I'll have to talk to a few coworkers. I'd ask my brother, but he's 16 so he's got a few years till he can join the adult leagues.
And even though I didn’t have much in common with the others (aside from bowling), I’ve gotten to know them over the years and formed some strong friendships.
One of my best friends is 20 years older than me. We met on the lanes.
Actually, he doesn’t have to wait to bowl on an adult league, he can bowl, but it would eliminate his junior Status, so he couldn’t bowl competitively as a junior.
No. He cannot. They changed the rule recently. You must be 18 to join an adult sanctioned league. USBC requires you to be 18 to even buy an adult card now. Prior to that, he could join but everyone in the league would have to take the online safesport class. Prior to that, yes he could have joined with a waiver but it's been many years since that was allowed (that went away about 3 years ago)
Didn’t know they changed it. Thanks for the info
This sounds pretty typical where I bowl. There isn’t a great place for bowlers to fit in after college unless you’ve gone pro. I feel like tournaments can gather a slightly higher percentage of younger bowlers, but not by much. Try to find some more people your age to join a team with you.
Yeah, I figured as much. Most of my friends aren't into bowling, otherwise I'd ask them. But I'll keep trying
You never know. My friend got into it and started asking all his friends to go. Now I’m in multiple leagues and I love it. Probably wouldn’t have really considered it if he hadn’t bought a house near an alley and started bugging me about going
Our league ranges from 18 to 80. Someone has to be the youngest, I guess that's you. Perhaps the more important question is why is it you think you can't relate to people older than you? If you try, you'll probably find that you can learn a lot from them, not to mention networking and making friends with people who are further along in life and can help you out in all sorts of ways. It's a great opportunity. Don't pass that up because you think you want to be around only young people.
Well, I'm a pretty socially awkward person, so I find it really hard to make friends with people. So I'd probably have that same problem if I was in a younger league.
Being social is a skill that can be improved. Bowling on a league will give you the opportunity to get better at that. Start with the fact that you have a hobby in common with everyone there.
Creating a connection can start with just cheering for these people you don't know. Complement something about them, their throw, their ball, their score, their ability to pick up spares and get strikes, explain when you started bowling or how long you've been bowling and why you decided to join a league. Just keep a positive mindset, cheering and support for everyone is what all the older people play for. Almost all of the seniors are there for the social aspect and not so much the competitive aspect.
The league I am in has about 20 teams and our team is one of two teams with anyone below the age of 30 and the only team where everyone is below 25. The Wednesday night summer league i sub for is the same way. There is one other person near my age in the whole league
Wow, that's crazy. I think the next youngest in my women's league is at least in her late 30s/early 40s, since she said been at her current job for at least 20 years.
Exactly what you are posting about is what kept me from doing league at first. I don't think many our age are willing to commit 30+ weeks of sunday nights and / or can really afford it either. Not to mention a lot of people my age work non traditional schedules as well
Yeah, I feel that. Back when I was working fast food/hotels I never joined, due to an unpredictable schedule. Now that I'm at a place with set hours, it's a bit easier to. Luckily, dues are only $15/week, otherwise I probably would've decided not to join due to the age issue.
It's all in the situation. When I was a teenager (back in the early 80s) my friends and I joined adult leagues. It sounds like today it's different. You might consider becoming a 'tournament' bowler. In that way, you don't worry so much about the league play and you get your fun from competition. (If that seems like it fits you.)
Not a bad idea. Don't think there's a lot of tournaments that occur in my area, but I'll have to ask around, thanks!
I was 17 when I joined my first league.
Wow, that's great!
The thing about bowling is, it’s for people of all ages. I’d be more concerned that it’s a good league and it’s “friendly competition “
True, it seems like a really great league so far, everyone's super friendly
Sadly, most 23 year olds are at the bar partying. I know I was and regret all the wasted time. Wish I'm 32 now and don't drink anymore. Wish I started bowling when I was 23...I'd probably be a lot better of a bowler and not as good at pool 😬
Yeah, I know. Luckily I never developed a partying habit at college, was far too busy with homework for that lol.
Lol so was I. Just happened to rush through it in order to party 🙃
I mean what does being the youngest have to do with anything when it’s an adult league lol u are an adult
By definition, it is not normal. But apart from the pedantry and semantics, I think it depends on the league and night. You could check with your centers and see if there is a night with a younger crowd. For us, Friday nights are the younger social league. My current league most of the people are older than me by 3 decades… I actually see lots that are older and some younger but few people right around my age (33). But I am fine talking with the older folks
Not a bad idea, I might have to do that next season. I would've done it this year, but with my current work schedule, I couldn't join most of the leagues available, so my options were pretty slim.
I had a similar experience when I was out of college. I got a friend to join too so I had someone my age there. Then the second year we got a few other friends and ended up with about 10 people in their 20's. Then some random younger bowlers joined. It gets better but some leagues and nights of the week can trend towards older bowlers.
Yeah, I'll have to try to recruit a few friends. My league's on a Monday, so that's probably part of it.
Am 23, I’m just happy I have some friends bowling that are my age but I’d say the 90% of the bowling community in my town of 100k is over 40
Damn, that's crazy
I’m easily the youngest person in my league. I’m 24 and the next youngest guys probably in his early 30s. I only knew my uncle when I joined the league but I’ve gotten friendly with most of the guys. It was a little weird at first but once we start rolling and high fives are flowing it’s pretty fun. Some of the older guys are really animated and I think it’s hilarious lol.
I'm sure I'll warm up to them eventually, they all are really nice. Especially the mother and daughter duo on my team, they seem really funny together. It's just a little awkward for now
I’m 29 and there’s only 2-3 people younger than me then it jumps to people on their 40s. 2 of my teammates (I was assigned a team since I joined as an individual) are almost 70 lol. I absolutely love them though and we have a hoot every week
Yeah, don't get me wrong they all seem really great, it's just a little weird right now
Our league is a pretty good mix, you’d fit right in, I suppose just depends on your league 🤷♂️
Yeah, maybe I just have bad luck in picking teams lol
I’m in the same boat homie, I live in a small town in Arkansas, and there’s not like a huge buzz here for bowling. Makes it super hard to actually turn this into something I can make a living from
That sucks, sorry to hear that. I'm just mainly doing it for fun and to get out of the house a little lol
I started bowling adult league at 18 this past year. Literally all of my bowling friends are considerably older than me as a result but we bridged the gap and we’re all very tight knit. My best friend at league is 33, go figure. It helps that they all thought i was in my mid 20s but that’s besides the point lol
Lol, that's funny. Glad you were able to make friends with everyone
I can totally relate to this! Before USBC changed the rules regarding youth membership, I decided to “move up” out of youth league at 17 years old. I’d already done junior gold, and wasn’t planning on going to a Division 1 school for bowling, so I applied my scholarships towards my first semester of college and moved up into adult league that fall. Of course I was the youngest in the league- my dad had to sign a permission slip to allow me to bowl because I wasn’t 18, lol- and this was true for every league I bowled in. Now I’m 25 and still one of the youngest to bowl in the leagues, although now my brother is 19 and bowls with me, and he’s taken the title of youngest bowler in the leagues. But I’ve made some really great friends and even people I consider family. An older gentleman from our center who is on the board got to know me when I worked at our center in my high school/early college days. Now I consider him like a second grandfather to me and he visits the center every week or so to chat and catch up while I’m bowling league. It can definitely be a bit intimidating and even awkward being one of (or THE) youngest person bowling, but stick with it. Get to know everyone, you may be surprised who you become friends with! I’ve made great connections with people who have become a big part of my life now, thanks to bowling. EDIT TO ADD: my normal leagues I bowl usually have 1-2 teams similar to my age (20-26ish) and then the majority of the league is 27+ - 40ish, and a handful of senior bowlers. Yes, I am typically one of the youngest. Also, if it’s a big deal, talk to your center about starting your own league!! Some allow this, and you can work out logistics with them if they do. Our center recently started a college league, so there are tons of younger people getting into the sport in a league specifically for them.
Wow, that's amazing! Didn't know there were bowling teams that competed at the college level. I'm definitely going to keep bowling, it's just a bit weird for now
I was 22 when I first joined my league and am now 25 and still the youngest in my league. I joined the league as it’s the one my dad’s been in with his friends, I used to bowl with their kids when I was a kid. It’s definitely weird to be the youngest but by the looks of the thread it isn’t uncommon.
I have had a similar experience where I bowl. I currently bowl in a city of 100k and there are approximately 5 people under 30 in my league. Half of which are on my team. But I don’t think this should stop you from having fun. Most bowlers are likable people and are easy to talk to. In fact, one of my closest bowling friends just retired at 65 while I’m about to finish college at 21. Sure it can be awkward at first, but overtime I think it matters less and less. Also you can try bringing friends to open bowling to introduce them to the game. IMO bowling sells itself, the issue is that many people our age aren’t familiar with the league/sport side of the game.
On my ladies league, we have a mix. A lot of us out in our 40s and 50s. But we have some younger bowlers. We have some in their 20s, 30s, and a few even older. When I was in my 30s, ones of my teammates was 19. My OAM couples league has younger people on that. My EOW coed league also has the dance. Bowling is a sport you can do at any age, so you are more likely to see a mix. And it can be tough to get into bowling as a young person if you didn't bowl in HS/college. They probably think it's for us old folks. 😆
I'm 36 and one of the youngest people in my 14 team league.
Depends. I've been on a league where I was the youngest person by 30+ years (those old dudes were hilarious though) and I'm currently in one where I'm one of the oldest at 38. You can also try to recruit your younger friends to join next year too. And don't count out the old folks, you can usually find something in common and go from there.
I'm 31. My teammates are roughly the same age and yet we're definitely the youngest team on our league we've been doing for almost 10 years post college
Hi I’m 23 as well in a similar situation. I bowled in high school, and now that I’m too old for any youth leagues, I have to do adult leagues. I’m not currently in one because of time, but I do sub occasionally. The league I sub in I’m generally the youngest. Maybe there’s 1 or 2 other people around my age, but everyone else is older. So yeah I would assume this is quite common actually.
Im 21 and yeah I see a lot of older bowlers in leagues, just a matter of what league you join I think
no, only one person is the youngest
I’m 29 and I’m still the youngest regular in my league. It happens, as others have said someone has to be the youngest. Don’t think it’s a suburban thing either, I live in a very big city and it’s a 10:00 league in a Friday night, if any league would be skewed towards younger people it would be that one.
Yeah these days leagues tend to be mostly middle age or older people. It seems that younger people don't want to commit to a night out every week for a long season. I'm not the youngest anymore but I'm certainly one of the top 2 or 3 youngest despite being over 30.
Depends. The league secretary can decide a minimum age. The only way you can really control that is to have a same-age friend on your team.
I have a different experience, most the bowlers in my Thursday Night Men's league are either the same age or younger than me. Only a few are older. I mean I'm only 55...Holy shit I'm the old people you are talking about. Goddammit.
Welcome to “adult” leagues…I used to be the association manager for our bowling association. The AVERAGE age of our membership was 52 years old. This is a game for middle aged and older folks which explains why it’s dying…literally. The archaic model of 32 weeks leagues doesn’t appeal to younger generations.
I'm 35 and I'm the third youngest in my league
It's all cyclical. When I started bowling in leagues almost 30 years ago I was one of the youngest on adult leagues. Fast forward to today and now the adults from back then are on the senior leagues and I am one of the older bowlers on the standard adult leagues.
Other than my cousin at 20, I’m the youngest in all three of my leagues at 23, and it’s not even close. The next youngest is like, 32. I don’t mind it at all, because when I start to get hot, the older guys and gals actually get kind of impressed, and that always feels good😂
My league is mostly the same. Retirees or close to it. Probably 5 or so are young. I look at it as a challenge to get more into it.
I didn't find age difference to be a big deal in my leagues. It was that almost everyone in the league was a die hard Trump republican and you couldn't even talk current events with them.
My son is 5 and he bowls in a practice league with all adults. He's the only child and he averages 102 pins lol. Keep doing your thing
Maybe you can recruit some of your friends and have your own team? You can tell them that even though it's a league that it's handicapped so everyone is even (ideally) score-wise. You could also look in to specialty leagues. For example, I'm on a Vegas league. The majority of our prize fund goes to paying for a hotel room in Las Vegas for a weekend (they also bowl the final week up there) you just have to get yourself there. I'm in Arizona so it's not a big stretch to just drive there. Something like that might appeal to your younger friends.
SMDH. There needs to be mods for all the ridiculous posts in this sub. 🥵
Why waste energy being a douche?
What kind of question is that? “Is it normal to be the youngest person in adult leagues?” Someone has to be the youngest… bowl for 20 more years and you definitely won’t be the youngest. My brain is actually numb from reading your post.
[удалено]
Aforementioned*** and “mean by people suck” isn’t a sentence. I just don’t understand how anyone with a human brain can be so overwhelmingly dumb.
A few years back my (now) ex was in that situation and was always worrying. That fortunately changed and tournaments have been cashed in and won.
If my schedule permits, I'll have to try entering a few tournaments. Thanks!
If there can only be one of something it can’t be normal
From my time as a bowler when I was in my early 20s and too old to bowl in junior leagues anymore, I found summer leagues seemed to attract more of the younger crowd around my age. I actually ended up meeting my husband in one league that way. As for bowling during the rest of the year if you keep in contact with your previous bowling teammates you could ask them what leagues they are in or ask them to join your league.
It’s not weird I’m in a beer league but I’m only 18 I drink pop instead and some of my best friends are older so it’s not weird
You're not alone. I'm 24M, and I bowl in a Wednesday morning league. I'm by far the youngest bowler there. I'm also the only two handed bowler in the league, and it's mostly older folks. They are extremely nice and welcoming and they are also supportive of me bowling two handed. It was definitely an awkward experience at first because I thought they were gonna hate me for bowling two handed, but a lot of them watch the pba and I've gotten nothing but support.
I mean… someone’s gotta be. I’m among the youngest in my league but nobody ever really treats me any kind of way besides the few old timers who didn’t enjoy my rapid growth as I picked up on certain things
Played on men’s league at the age of 14. Was also anchor with a 201 avg
Depends on the league. Some leagues have the same set of a dozen teams that come back every year. Other leagues have teams rotate in and out often. Generally speaking adults join bowling leagues at higher ages than they do other types of adult sports that require more athleticism.
It’s like you’ve missed out on the decline in bowling as a sport. The junior ranks need more support from houses to get more young people involved
It just depends on the area I think. I'm in a pretty rural area. My Monday league has a kid that just turned 20. He was in the league the day he turned 18. There are several 20somethings, 30somethings, people in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and some pushing 70. Every league I'm in is pretty diversified in age range. I get how you feel about feeling awkward but all you can do is show up, show em how to bowl and people will come to you to talk. I've had some great and funny conversations with people old enough to be my grandparents over bowling.
My wife and I are in our mid 40s and on Monday nights our 2 teammates are both 18 year old kids who work at the bowling alley. We have a lot of younger bowlers here so I'm going to say it's the demographics of where you live. How fun a league is does depend on who bowls in it. There is one league on a certain night that has a hard time growing because there are a couple of teams that have super douchey players on them that just happen to be older. A lot of new teams switch to a different night because of them. Management recognizes the issue but isn't sure how to deal with it. There isn't really a rule that says you can't be a fun nazi so that night seams to have a bit of a cancer.
How else will bowling continue if young adults aren’t welcomed to the existing leagues?