Michael McHenry ignores the ten white pins at the end of the aisle and stares hard at the arrow--the second one to the right--on the hardwood. He tentatively takes one step, then sashays forward two steps. Then he slides his right leg smoothly to the left while launching the bowling ball from his right hand in one seamless motion... Strike. McHenry plans this move meticulously. He defines each step down to the second, practices in minutes, which add up to hours, and accumulate into years until it becomes unconscious. "It's just a process you go through," he says. "You just already know it, you know what to do." McHenry, all of 15 years, started bowling when he was nine years old and fell head over heels for the game. He has big dreams for his bowling career. Nevermind the lure of big cash doled out by other sports such as basketball, football, or baseball--although he' s tall and muscular enough to pursue each. Bowling is his game, always has been and always will be. "I can see a future in it," McHenry says. "It gives me something to do and to practice at. My dream is to become a pro bowler." Same goes for a handful of other young hopefuls who plan to strike it big with bowling. Perhaps it's their youth. Perhaps it's their personal, rebellious kick against the greed that permeates popular sports today. These avid bowlers dedicate themselves to a lifestyle that promises relatively little money, even less glamour, and attracts stereotypes like nerds attract bullies. Yet they seem oblivious to the geek status that generally comes with the sport. And their decided uncoolness may just be the thing that makes them the hippest kingpins of their generation. Dressed in khaki pants and a navy blue polo shirt, McHenry goes through the same four-step motion again. After the release, he stays momentarily poised with his right leg behind his left, right arm forward and pointed toward the ceiling, and left arm extended for balance... Strike. He all but apologizes to the couple bowling next to him, whose jaws dropped when they witnessed the ten pins fall for the second time in a row. This is his modesty; he tries to avoid bowling next to players of lesser skills because it embarrasses them. How many football players can say that? It's league night, and the place is packed with old and young, male and female. There is a particular kind of crowd that shuffles into bowling alleys. Most are white, drive American cars, and favor beer over any other beverage. They cheer loudly for each other and each player develops a personalized dance to celebrate a strike, be it a pumping of fists or a cha cha back to the scorer's table. They dress in jeans and t-shirts. Gone are the polyester pantsuits or crisp, matching button-down shirts of yesteryear. With closely cropped hair and a baby face, McHenry is one of the most talented young bowlers to emerge from Salt Lake City. His numbers prove it. He averages 190 points a game. That's good. Really good is 250, 300 is perfect. No one's perfect, few people average over 200. Jesse Terrell, also 15, of Salt Lake City hasn't hit 200, yet. That's his goal for the year. Still, he and McHenry have a few traits in common. Both began bowling because they were dragged to the lanes by their fathers. Both love bowling. Both are good at the sport. And both have a confidence beyond their years. Terrell has bowled for a couple of years and he averages 120. On this weekday night at Se Rancho, he mixes a few strikes in with a gutter ball. He's unsure of his bowling future, but it's clear that he stands out above the other people in his league. "If I can get a lot better, I [want to become a pro]," Terrell says. "But I'll have to learn how to get better. I just practice and practice and learn how to throw." "I think of it as fun," he continues. "I don't think I'll ever get sick of it. It's something you can do all your life." McHenry has a couple advantages over Terrell. He spent a couple of weeks at a bowling camp in New York and has a professional bowler as a mentor. Hy Hudson, who owns Hy Hudson's Pro Shop at the Ritz-Classic, tours on the Senior Professional Bowling circuit throughout the year. He averages 240 points a game. He met McHenry a few years ago and soon took the boy under his wing. Hudson taught him the four-step throwing method, how to aim for the arrows on the floorboards instead of at the pins, and myriad other tricks. Hudson believes the seriousness is seeping out of the sport. It takes gimmicks such as black light bowling and disco nights to attract the younger crowds into the alleys. Other signs indicate a waning interest in the sport. There are fewer colleges offering bowling scholarships and regular PBA coverage was recently yanked from syndicated TV. Hudson hopes that theme nights and other twists combined with young, enthusiastic people such as McHenry and Terrell will inject a new spirit into bowling. They've got a long way to go. But you get the feeling that they don't mind, as long as they get to bowl.# |
