This is you. This is a professional bowler.
这是你，这是专业的保龄球球员
He’s got great form. He’s been practicing for decades.
他的姿势非常棒，因为他已经打了几十年了
But he also sees a hidden pattern on every lane every time he bowls.
除此之外，他还了解每次他击球的每一条赛道隐含的模式
Understanding the hidden oil patterns on every lane is a key to understanding bowling.
了解每一条赛道隐含的模式是了解保龄球的关键
It separates the pros from the rest of us.
这就是专业人士和我们的区别
And these nearly invisible patterns can completely change how you bowl.
而且，这些无形的模式能够彻底改变你的成绩
This is not just some guy. This is Parker Bohn III.
他可不是什么普通人，他是Parker bohn III
He’s won a mess of titles and earned more than three million dollars bowling.
拿奖拿到手软，靠保龄球赚了300多万美金
He’s been turned into an arcade game.
他还把这项运动变成了街机游戏
To explain bowling, he’s got to crouch like this. And point at barely visible lines.
为了给我们解释这项运动，他不得不这样蹲在地上，给我们指那些几乎看不见的线条
Here’s your typical bowling lane. 39 boards.
这是典型的由39块板条组成的保龄球球道
It’s got targeting guides, like the dots and arrows
上面有指引击球的标记，比如这些点啊，箭头什么的
if you want a rule of thumb, each arrow is five boards apart,
就经验来看，箭头与箭头之间隔着五块板条
with the middle arrow at the 20th board.
中间的箭头则位于第20块板条上
For a strike, you want your ball to hit between the one and three pins or the one and 2 pins.
要想全中的话，击球点应该落在1号瓶和3号瓶或者1号瓶和2号瓶之间
This area is called “the pocket.”
这个区域叫瓶袋
That’s just the beginning. Every lane is coated with oil.
这还只是个开始，每一条球道都涂了漆
It started for protection, but today, these oil patterns hugely affect strategy and scores.
当初是为了保护球道，如今，涂漆的模式会严重影响球员击球策略和得分
Right here, the pattern that they’ve put out onto the lane is roughly 41 feet in length.
这个地方，这个模式的球道长度在41英尺左右
Every bowling lane has a pattern, usually placed by an oil machine like this one.
每一条球道都有一个模式，通常都是由这种涂漆的机器来决定的
The PBA knows showing oil patterns is crucial. Sometimes they even put blue oil on the lanes.
PBA深知提示球员涂漆模式的重要性，所以，有时候他们会用蓝漆来提示赛道的模式

Here’s Bohn bowling on one. “Come on.Yes baby!”
这是Bohn击球的画面，“中，耶！”
Here’s what typically happens.
一般涂漆的模式都是这样
See how the blue is darker in some spots?
看见没，有的地方蓝色更深？
That represents more oil on the lane.
那就表示那里涂的漆更多
Your ball starts here, and because there’s a lot of oil, it skids along the top.
从从这里滚出去，因为油很多，所以球一开始会打滑
Think of your tires skidding on ice.
跟轮胎在冰上打滑是一个道理
As you get further down, the oil thins out.
越往前，涂的漆越少
If you put spin on your ball,
如果你出球时给了它一个旋转的速度
it starts getting enough traction to hook a bit as it grabs onto the wood.
那么这个时候球就会受到足够大的牵引力开始紧贴着球道往前滚
Less oil, more traction.
油越少，牵引力越大
When there’s no oil left, that spinning ball will start rolling toward the pins,
到了没有涂漆的区域，旋转的球就会开始朝球瓶滚去
because it’s picking up a lot of friction on the lane.
因为受到了很大的摩擦力
That’s really important.
这一点非常重要
To hit “the pocket” - that sweet spot between pins —
要想进袋，也就是到达球瓶之间的最佳击球点
only hooking can help you do that, and hooking depends a lot on oil patterns.
只有勾球能做到这一点，但勾球很大程度上都取决于球道的涂漆模式
You can see it as Bohn bowls.
这一点可以从Bohn击球的情形看出来
Outside, then a hook in when the oil stops. Strike.
先是往外走，接下来在没有涂漆的部分往内拐;_|pdhR^FzMe2%Y_。全中
But for pros, knowing there’s oil on the lane is just the beginning.
然而，对专业人士来说，知道赛道上有漆才只是一个开始
These are the tour oil patterns of the Professional Bowlers Association. The PBA.
这些是专业保龄球协会(PBA)的不同时期涂漆模式
They have crazy names like Badger, Bear, and Cheetah.
这些模式的名字起得也都很疯狂，什么獾模式啦，熊模式啦，豹模式啦等等等等
And they affect play a lot.
这些名字还对比赛有着重要的影响
“I like the Cheetah cause I grew up playing the gutter.
我喜欢豹模式，因为我是玩《黑暗之魂2》长大的
I love throwing my ball out near the edge of the lane and letting it hook back.
我喜欢靠球道边缘出球，然后让球慢慢勾回来
Let’s break down what that means.
我们来把这句话的意思拆分一下
There’s less oil on the side.
球道边缘的漆比较少
Less oil helps his ball hook early, because it skids less.
更勺的漆让球更早内拐，因为不会那么打滑
And because Cheetah is a short pattern — 35 feet instead of, say 41 feet —
而且，因为豹模式比较短——涂漆段长35英尺而不是类似41英尺长那种——
the ball has more space on the boards, without oil.
所以球在球道上运动的范围更广，因为没有油嘛
He can play closer to the edge,
球员出球时可以更靠近球道边缘
because there’s more time to get back to the pocket and hit the pins.
因为球有更多的时间回到球袋击中球瓶
On a longer pattern, you’d want to play closer to the middle,
涂漆段越长，出球的时候就要靠近球道中线
because the ball would have less time to get back to the pocket once it leave the oil.
因为球从没漆的部分滚回球袋的时间很短