With Thanksgiving this week, it’s a great time to reflect on what you’re thankful for in life. Not only am I thankful for my family, my job, my friends but also for bowling. Why bowling? Well, for me, bowling has taken me around the world. I have visited places that I probably never would have gone to if it weren’t for bowling. I have also made friends from around the world and have a better appreciation for what I have because of the places I have visited.
When I was a youth bowler, in YABA, I was lucky enough to represent my state and bowled in the Coca-Cola Tournament (more recently known as the Pepsi Tournament with USBC). I was able to go to Rochester, New York, Houston, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah as a youth player and met some great friends that I am still in touch with many years later.
My first international bowling tournament was in the Dominican Republic with Team Canada (World Youth Championships). I had been to Europe before with a school summer trip before but never to the Caribbean area. What a shocker it was to me at 20 years old. Flying in, I saw shacks where people lived. It was disheartening to imagine that people actually lived like that.
It made your realize why people around the world think that North Americans are rich. Even in the roughest neighborhoods people have a home or apartment where the people in the Dominican had shacks as their roofs over their heads. Through my travels to Malaysia, Denmark, England, Argentina and many other great countries, I have learned to appreciate what I have back home.
Bowling not only has taken me around North America and the world but it’s taught me how to communicate, be patient (which I have a hard time doing), how to be a good teammate and taught me that when hard work is put in, it pays off. It’s also taught me how to be a winner and more times than not, a gracious loser.
Another thing that bowling has given me is an education. Youth bowlers have many scholarship opportunities. Not only for good bowlers, but bowlers who have good academics as well. I was fortunate enough to go to University with a bowling program, Morehead State University. It made school work easier because I had bowling to keep my spirits up. With bowling in school, it made me manage my time well because we were gone a lot of the weekends so I had to be sure I got my projects and assignments done on time or ahead of time because of tournaments and travel.
Bowling has been great in my life. It’s given me so much. That was why one of my reasons for wanting to work in the bowling industry out of college…so I could give back to bowling what I got out of it.
What has bowling done for you? What are you thankful for? I’m sure your story has some similar points and some great, new ones as well. I wish you all the best this holiday season and hope you get to spend some time with family during Thanksgiving being thankful for all that you have.
See you on the lanes!