Professional Bowling and What it Means to Me

Ever since I was young, I have enjoyed bowling. Let’s be honest, who does not enjoy going out every now and then, putting on those musty bowling shoes, and grabbing the lightest bowling ball that your fingers can fit in so you can see how fast you can throw it and how loud a noise it makes to crash into the pins? Bowling may not be America’s favorite pastime, but it sure is fun.

Then one day, I realized that I was a pretty decent bowler. I made a good portion of my spares, and I could consistently hit the pocket. Then I started watching the PBA Tour bowl on Sunday on ESPN, and it did not take me long to get hooked and try to keep up with the qualifying rounds and regional tournaments on a weekly basis. Then, in a non-sanctioned bowling league, I shot my first 300. Unfortunately I did say a non-sanctioned league, but oh well. It would have been cool to have a ring, but my wife and Father-in-law made me a really cool trophy for the occasion. To my credit today, I have bowled two sanctioned 300 games and hope to one day look like the Godfather my hands are so filled with rings.

Finally, after practicing a lot, working on spares, bowling in three leagues a week, I finally reached a pinnacle goal and managed to have a yearbook average over 200. This may seem like a petty accomplishment, but it meant a lot to me. It meant that I could join the PBA. I have now been a PBA member for three years, but have only bowled in 8 tournaments, with my best finish coming in Surfside Beach, SC. This was the first PBA tournament I ever bowled in, and I only missed the cut by 21 pins. This was quite unfortunate since I threw two balls in the gutter that day, one being after a double. In any event, I had a great time and threw the ball great.

Now I have learned that in order to be a successful member and cash regularly in PBA events, you need a couple of things. One, it takes a great deal of knowledge to know the lane conditions, how they break down, what ball you should throw, layout, surface of the ball, etc. You also need a strong mental game. I am slowly learning all these things, but not as quickly as I hoped. Having a newborn child is the best thing that has ever happened to me, but it has cut into my practice budget.

Now I guess it is time for the moral of my story. Everyone out there has dreams they would love to accomplish. Everyone has goals they want to achieve. It may sound silly, but my dream is honestly to become a successful PBA bowler. I can only imagine how awesome it must be to make a living doing what you love. I know it is going to take a lot of hard work, but one day, you may be clicking through the channels, come across ESPN, and see me stringing strikes towards my first PBA Tour victory!