Memoir of a new PBA Champion

My experience throughout qualifying was all about matching up with the right ball. The Storm IQ Tour Solid was my ball of choice in qualifying and throughout the top 24. My first game in the round of 24 was 184 and at that moment I'm thinking to myself, you better do something different here. I got tricked and was using the Roto Grip Rumble but that was too early for me. Being out here with all of these superstars, one thing I'm learning is make the change quicker. I proceeded to make a ball change game two which led me to a perfect game. Going into game 14, Jimmy Callahan and Tim Mack were behind me telling me to breathe every shot and count the frames down. It helped me stay in the moment and to really focus on each frame. When I found out I made the TV show, there was no better feeling in the world. Reminiscing to all those practice sessions at Astoria Bowl, I said to myself once I finally laid in bed, I finally did it.

My confidence level skyrocketed going forward from there because of how well I bowled day 1. Viper and Chameleon were pretty tough for me. I had trouble matching up and the lane topography from pair to pair made it that much more difficult for me to get into a groove. Day 4 was the Scorpion pattern. I know I needed a solid day so I could make the World Championships. Unfortunately I ended up missing the top 24 Scorpion pattern by 10 pins and the World Championships by 30. I wasn't all that disappointed. As a bowler and person I'm still continuing to grow and learn. That's the one thing about bowling, you can never learn too much.

TV day!!! Lights, camera, action! The people, blue dye, new plaza, adrenaline increasing dramatically. All of these things are hitting me in the face. The Storm reps were my biggest help when I was bowling. Chris Schelmer was sitting next to me for the entire telecast and he kept motivating me by saying, "come on, make good shots". Never in a million years would I have thought I would have front 11 on television. My 12th shot I got a little quick on my first two steps and pinched it at point of release which gave me the appalling 295. Leading up to the title match, Mr. Mack pulls me aside and says "that is just as good as shooting 249, you have one game left." Fast forwarding towards the end of the championship match after I opened by missing the 7 pin, I kept saying, that's okay, make a good shot on this next one. When I saw Dick Allen open 3 frames in a row, I'm pretty sure my heart rate skipped a few beats. When I got up in the 10th frame needing a mark and saw all 10 pins fall, I then proceeded to hit the ground out of pure excitement and relief that I just captured my biggest win yet; a national title. Having my friends and family there was by far the icing on the cake.