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PBA GREAT DEL BALLARD JR. JOINS EBONITE INTERNATIONAL ON TOUR
Mar 05, 2010
Last week was quite a week for Del Ballard Jr.
Actually, it was 13 days that seemed like a single week, as Ballard hit the ground running as the new tour representative for Ebonite International, Inc.
Ballard, a 13 time titlist for the Professional Bowlers Association, has been contracted by the bowling ball conglomerate to represent the company’s four brands — Ebonite, Hammer, Columbia 300 and Track — for the next four tour events following the Lumber Liquidator’s U.S. Open.
“(The U.S. Open) is one of the few tournaments that pay well,” Ballard said. The winner of the U.S. Open also gets $60,000 and an automatic tour exemption for three seasons.
A lot of pressure, not just for the bowler but for him as well, Ballard said.
“The hard part is watching the balls go down the lane,” he said. “The guys are bowling for money and they are paid based on their performance. So whenever I try to make judgment calls and try to guide them in a certain way and they don’t perform well, then they don’t make money. That part is very stressful for me.”
His day typically begins about 7:30 a.m., Ballard said, when he arrives at the bowling center of the week — last week the tour was in Indianapolis for the U.S. Open, this week its in Columbus, Ohio for the Etonic Don Johnson Eliminator — and ends around 10 p.m. each night.
“I watch balls go down the lane,” Ballard said. “I try to help the guys get prepared to bowl each block and develop strategies, and hopefully, set them up with the tools to do that.”
Ballard’s purpose for being on the sidelines is not just to watch balls go down the lane; his role is to play coach, staff, mentor, psychologist, and salesman. In addition to equipping players on Ebonite International’s staff with the correct balls, he also encourages bowlers not committed to a ball brand to use Ebonite International, Inc., equipment also.
“A tour rep is a physical game coach, bowling ball guru, as well as a part-time psychologist,” said Columbia 300 Brand Manager Chad Murphy said. “He’s the caddy of bowling, except for where in golf each golfer has a caddy, in bowling there is one for the entire staff. The ball rep is the keeper of everything on tour. He manages inventory levels on the truck … He will personally supply our staff with the product needed for success.”
His main purpose, though, is to be an extra set of eyes to watch what the ball does during the first 20 feet of lane, Ballard said.
“(Companies) want a technical professional out there to help get their balls on TV,” he said Feb. 26, as the sixth round of the 67th U.S. Open was getting under way. “The easiest way to sum it up, when guys throw a bowling ball, when they deliver the ball, they don’t normally see the first 20 feet of the lane because their eyes are at the arrows or further down the lane; they can’t really see what happens in the first part of the lanes. So, to have an extra set of eyes that first 20 feet of the lane helps them with their strategies and what ball selection to make.”
Ballard, who has three major PBA titles among his 13 titles, acted as tour rep for Ebonite International, Inc., from 1998 until 2001; in the meantime he has done some coaching and a short stint with the United States Bowling Congress.
“They decided they wanted to get more of their balls on TV and I was the lucky candidate,” Ballard said of his agreement with Ebonite International, Inc.
And his first week on the job, the U.S. Open, the final came down to four Ebonite International, Inc., brand staff players — Ebonite’s Jason Couch and Tommy Jones; Columbia 300’s Mike Scroggins and Hammer’s Bill O’Neill, who eventually netted the win for his first major PBA title.
Showtime is probably the most stressful, Ballard said.
“We have thirty minutes to choose which balls to use under what conditions and to develop a strategy for the next several hours,” he said.
But, there is no one better to have on your side helping with those choices, according to Ebonite Brand Manager Ed Gallagher.
“After his bowling days were over, Del became one of the best, if not the very best tour rep any player could ask for,” Gallagher said. “He is a great coach of the physical game, lane play, ball selection, and tournament strategy and last but certainly not least, how to cope with different players, and understand how they think. He brings instant credibility as he has been through the wars and prevailed.”
And it was because of that knowledge and wisdom, O’Neill credits his win.
“Del has been a huge help in the short time he has been out with us,” O’Neill said. “His knowledge of the game is incredible and it showed by our company’s performance at the U.S. Open. He has given me great tips on my physical game and great insight on specific layouts of balls and why they work or don’t work. I am extremely excited to see what the future holds with Del and me.”
— Based in Hopkinsville, Ky., Ebonite International is a privately-owned company that currently services bowling centers, distributors and retail outlets both domestically and internationally. The company’s consumer product brands include Ebonite, Hammer, Robby’s, Columbia 300, Track and Powerhouse™; its commercial product brand is Ebonite Bowling Center Direct.
