Here are some messages and great bowling tips from Tom Cleveland, USBC (United States Bowling Congress) certified coach and youth director at the new Stars and Strikes family entertainment center in Cumming.

According to Cleveland, school bowling teams will be forming during Stars and Strikes' Saturday morning youth program, so please encourage your youth to join his or her appropriate team!

Interested in being a bowling coach? Stars and Strikes' youth program will have trained/certified coaches available to help all youth reach their full potential.

More information about bowling can be found at www.bowl.com.

To reach Coach Tom Cleveland, please call (770) 844-9901.

BOWLING TIP #1: Getting your Equipment Ready for the New Season

With the new fall league season just around the corner, it may be time to pull your equipment out of the closet, dust it off and get it ready to go. To get ready, we offer the following suggestions…

1. Check your grip. Sometimes over time our hands change enough that we need to adjust the fit of the bowling ball. If you have to work extra hard to get your hand in the ball or hold onto it, you can’t bowl your best.

2. Replace your finger inserts. If you use inserts in your ball, get them changed. They wear out with use, but they also tend to get brittle with time as well.

3. Clean the bowling ball. After you get the dust off, you may want to clean it with rubbing alcohol or a cleaner designed for bowling balls. If you keep your ball polished, this is a good time for doing that as well.

4. Get your ball resurfaced. If your ball is showing signs of use (all those little scratches in it) consider getting it resurfaced. It will make the ball perform a bit better, AND it also makes it look better sitting on the ball return!

5. Don’t forget your towel! It’s an old superstition to not wash a bowling towel in the middle of the season. So now is the perfect time! Hand wash your towel with a dishwashing detergent designed to get out oil (like greasy pots & pans) before you put it in with the rest of your laundry.

6. Don’t forget your shoes either. This is the easy one – just make sure that nothing has snuck into your bowling bag & gotten on the bottom (or inside!) the shoes.

7. And one more thing. Do yourself a favor and practice a few games before the season. Your teammates will appreciate it!

If you follow these tips, you can say that you are better prepared for the new season. Or at the very least, you will look like it anyway. Have a GREAT season!!