I know that here in Mildura we had a little bit of success recruiting the younger bowlers (6-13ish) with the promotion of the Simpsons Ball league, where at the end of the league the bowler gets a Simpsons bowling ball.
I think for league it doesnt really matter if they are bowling it as a sport or just for something to do each week. To keep them interested they need to primarily ENJOY bowling.
For eg: if a young teen, 13, joins an afterschool junior league and the bowlers that are alredy there dont say gday, or encourage him/her with high fives for a strike or spare, or talk to them, then they're not likely to want to come back next week..
Its the same with the adults. I bowled in a league last year at Keon Park. I know it's a pretty easy center with pretty high scoring all the time. but the fact is the people that I bowled with and against were some of the best people I have ever met through bowling. I didnt particulary care about the scores, I went first and formost to have fun..
I think another factor more for the teenagers, would be not that it is a dorky sport, i think thats just an excuse, but that they are embarrased to bowl with people that are better than they are. They feel stupid or dumb beacuse they got a gutter, only knocked down 3 pins and bowled a 97 when the person next to them is bowling 150+ each time..
So possible solutions would be;
-Start a new league with completely new bowlers. Possibly use incentives like a Simpsons ball at the end of the season.
-Start it as a FUN league. If the bowler likes it enough then they will eventually ask more questions.
-Try and get your staff to do a Proficiency Course. This way they can help the new bowlers with the basics like, follow through and the 4 step approach. They can also help the coaches.
-Have a staff member or even a more experienced junior/youth bowler with the junior leauges to give the encouragement that they need, answer any questions and tell them about bowling in tournaments.
-To boost recruitment, give your staff an incentive. Eg: for every bowler that bowls the 1st 6 weeks, that you recruited, we'll give you $10. 10 bowlers X 6 weeks X $10 = $100 in pocket.
I was born into a bowling family like Michelle was, so Ive been in this sport for all my entire life. These are just some ideas, observations and experiences of mine and I hope that they can help..