Growing up a multisport athlete as a baseball player and bowler, I always had a dream of wanting to take my game to the next level. My original pick was that I had always wanted to become a baseball player. However, I did not have as many opportunities in baseball as I would have liked.
A common misconception among athletes when looking at colleges is that you must be a star in football, baseball, basketball, etc. to go to college and be successful in your sport. This is not always the case.
I came across an article from SouthCoastToday.com, where Vicki Prevost showcases Tyler Perry, a 22-year-old bowler out of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
Like many bowlers, Tyler got his start when his parents took him bowling for the first time. He fell in love with the game and he progressed into an incredible bowler over the years.
Tyler was averaging 160 by the age of 11. By 12, he raised his average to 190.
Tyler attended a bowling combine in Arlington, Texas, where he met a coach who became his college coach at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Illinois. Coach Gary Sparks recognized Tyler’s talents and brought him up to the next level of collegiate bowling.
Tyler’s story is a great one. A young man who was driven to be great at the game he loved. Tyler was a top recruit and had offers to bowl at other schools such as Wichita State and Robert Morris University, but he got his first pick in Vincennes.
Earlier I stated how there is a misconception that athletes only consider big sports as the way to go in terms of college athletics. My reasoning behind this is because the bigger the sport is, the more likely you are to have your talents overlooked. The number of baseball, football, and basketball recruits are a lot more than the amount of bowlers looking to go to the next level. In short, your talents are more likely to be noticed for a smaller market sport such as bowling.
This post might be more suited to the people who are past their athletic prime and are planning to have a family with the dream of sending their kids to college, so listen closely. GET YOUR CHILD INVOLVED IN BOWLING. Let me tell you why.
When I was progressing through bowling leagues, there were numerous opportunities to earn scholarships. Scholarships would mainly be earned through tournaments. The better your game, the more scholarship money you win.
One of the biggest tournaments was the Youth Pepsi Bowling tournament. This tournament is the holy grail for youth bowlers. With over $500,000 awarded in scholarships last year, this is one of the biggest annual youth tournaments in the country.
There are smaller scholarships as well. I recall competing in multiple tournaments over the years. Although my skills were not up to par at the time, I know many people that won scholarship money that contributed to their success during their time in college.
As in all sports, the best competitors go the distance and make it big. While the youth tournaments contribute to the financial aspect of an individual’s college experience, it is the collegiate level of sport that allows the most skilled competitors to show their ability.
Professional sports and college sports are two entirely different worlds. While the game remains the same, the stipulations and nerves do not compare. In college bowling, you are bowling with a team for a school championship. While in professional bowling, every shot is on you. You are bowling many games in an attempt to win an individual title with a large cash prize. There is a living to be made off professional bowling.
To be at the top level, you must start from the bottom. It is best to start from youth and learn as you grow. The benefits to be had from competitive bowling in the long run in terms of an individual’s intellectual potential with earning scholarships through tournaments, all the way up to the ability to bowl collegiately and prove the skills that are required to be on the professional bowlers tour, leads to the potential to be very well rounded, not only as a bowler, but as a person in general.
What are your thoughts? Would you sign your child up for bowling and help mold them into a top-notch competitive bowler now knowing the potential success for them? Or if you are a younger person already bowling, are you going to try to earn a scholarship? Let me know in the comments!
Steven Truant Blogs 