My name is Alex Ivoska and the story I would like to share is how the Driven To Bowl Fitting Tape reinvigorated my physical game and reestablished the love that I have for bowling.

As early as I can remember, I have always been in/around a bowling alley. I am a third-generation bowler, having followed in the footsteps of both my grandfather Frank, and my father Ed. Both men were Presidents of their respective leagues, but were also the “old-school” bowling types to roll into league night with one ball, one bag, one pair of shoes and zero accessories (we will return to this key detail later). Growing up in the household with my parents, they informed me at a very young age that they would only be able to support me playing one summer sport and one winter sport. Baseball had always been my first love, and was my unanimous pick for my summer sport beginning with tee ball. However, basketball had been my original choice for my winter sport. I enjoyed playing basketball, but beginning in 5th grade I began to notice the skill differential I had vs other players, and realized that I needed to reconsider my winter sport choice. It was also at this time that my dad began pushing hard for bowling (perhaps because he was growing tired of squeaky shoes in a cramped basketball gymnasium). So, we jointly came to the decision that I would cease playing basketball and enter a youth bowling league the following year.

In my first youth league at the age of 12, I made some of the best friends of my life and cherish the fact that I am still good friends with them to this day. What I quickly realized in that first season is how comfortable I felt in the bowling alley, and that translated so effortlessly in connecting with teammates, opponents, parents and employees of the alley. Bowling became that perfect marriage of competition and social community for me. That first season my parents were able to support me by gifting my first plastic ball, a one-ball bag and a pair of entry level shoes. That year I learned the basics on the lanes, but more importantly I established a new love. During my second season I was able to use some birthday savings on my first 12 lb entry level performance ball. It took about a full season and plenty of frustration before I could comfortably and consistently hook the ball. By the end of my third youth league season, I had seen my average jump from 106 to 129 to 162, I became a youth Pepsi state tournament finalist, and I was fortunate enough to be on a team that finished in 1st place in my youth league. Needless to say, I was feeling GOOD and was hooked on bowling.

In my 4th season, I began to understand more of the intricacies of the sport, namely targeting, bowling ball characteristics, lane transition and pin deflection. I finished that season with a 10 pin improvement of my average, but also recognized that I had outgrown my entry-level 12 lb ball. The next season, I decided to exhaust my entire Christmas wish list on a 15 lb high-performance bowling ball (fun fact – the ball in question, the original Hammer Black Widow, I still own to this day and with 500+ games on it I save it for when I need a wildcard option to attack low volume and/or short sport oil patterns). This bowling ball ended up being a game changer for me, as my average increased to 195 that season and 203 in my 6th season. Needless to say, I was once again feeling GOOD.

The script of the story took a negative turn during my 7th season which coincidingly was also my senior year of high school. With the onset of graduating high school on the horizon, my once abundant youth league had begun to shrink with bowlers dropping out of the league outright. Many of my friends with drivers licenses in hand opted to work part time jobs or pursue other activities with their time in lieu of bowling. At the same time, I was also beginning to rationalize the fact that I would soon be five hours away from my hometown at college in one short year. On the lanes, I had also made a critical naïve mistake one afternoon after league. On a particular Saturday morning after a not so great series bowling with a swollen bruised thumb, I decided to take my ball to the local pro shop and request that the pro shop operator drill a thicker thumb hole. In hindsight, I made a mental mistake in thinking that my thumb would remain at its swollen level and that the drilling was justified. The following week at league I made the uncomfortable realization that my ball no longer fit my thumb, and as a result my physical game suffered. Coupled with the fact that I had already lost friends that dropped from the league, my average dipped to 185 in my final youth season and my confidence fell as I could no longer get a firm grip on my ball.

Fast forward five years. I graduated from college and recently moved into an apartment with two close friends. Now a working professional, I was looking forward to adding hobbies to my free time outside of work. Coincidentally, the apartment we moved into was directly behind a bowling alley (for reference the alley is Arsenal Lanes in Pittsburgh, PA). At this point, I had not bowled in a structured format in five years. When my roommates and I decided to join a social league at the next-door bowling alley, I needed to dust the cobwebs off my bag (fittingly, dust the cobwebs off my Black Widow). But there I was again headed to my league with my one ball, one bag, one pair of shoes and zero accessories.

Immediately, the feeling of community that I had first felt at the age of 12 came rushing straight back. I was growing socially once again in the absolute best environment for it. However, I was reminded after the first week that I was throwing a ball that still did not fit my thumb. It was that first night back at league though that I made to this day the greatest discovery of my entire bowling career – a bowling vending machine filled with packages that appeared like official bowling tape. I walked in front of this vending machine and had a quick “aha” moment. I thought to myself, “hmm what if I wrapped my thumb with this colorful bowling tape”? Theoretically, this could eliminate the aggravating gap in my thumb hole if I could cut the appropriate length. In a quick two second decision, my bowling career forever changed. I threw a couple of bucks into the vending machine, stuck the roll of tape into my pocket, and walked home.

The rest is history. The following week, my FIT came back by utilizing what was the Driven To Bowl Fitting Tape on my thumb. My confidence in my physical game came rushing back, and I joined a second, competitive league which perfectly complemented my next-door social league. One year later, my average ballooned to 221 and I was once again on a team with special, talented teammates as we hosted a 1st place league trophy. I was once again feeling GOOD. And just for context, my bowing bag is now FILLED with bowling accessories.

That is my story. It is one that is filled with community, connection, growth, maturity, frustration, change, understanding, passion and love. My story is one that personifies what I believe is at the heart of every happy bowler – GOOD FIT. Good fit is at the epicenter of not only the physical game, but it is one of the key ingredients of a sound mental game as well. There is no substitute for confidence and the ability to have fun by repeating shots, and I truly believe that it all begins with GOOD FIT. Turbo Grips’ Driven To Bowl Fitting Tape has allowed me to rediscover my love for bowling (for context, I still purposely have all my bowling balls drilled to match that original Black Widow thumb width, and utilize exactly 4.5 logos worth of the fitting tape roll to get that perfect fit on my thumb each night on the lanes). In the most recent year, I have bowled my 1st and 2nd sanctioned 300 games, as well as gotten my USBC Bronze level coaching certification. I want to become involved with coaching youths and teach them the important lessons that took me so long to organically learn.

I would absolutely love to connect with Turbo Grips in any way that I can provide shared, mutual value. As mentioned, I am a USBC Bronze level coach, and have bowled two sanctioned 300 games. I am now active in the greater Denver, CO region with tournaments and leagues, active at the yearly USBC Open Championships, and have aspirations to continue to grow and bowl competitively in both ABT and Reginal PBA formats as well as become a full-time coach.