Hey everyone! This week I want to talk about what I would consider my first true love: bowling. While I loved reading from a very young age, I’ve been around bowling centers since I was born. 10-pin bowling comes from both my mom and dad. In fact, my parents met at college while bowling on their school’s team. Looking back, there are photos of me from a very young age in the bowling center, and throughout primary school, I spent my Saturday mornings at the lanes.
Many look down on bowling, but I’m here to say it is a real sport, and it had a major impact on my life. Looking back, I think there are many lessons and skills I learned because of this sport, and I am forever grateful. Additionally, this sport gave me opportunities and friendships I never would have made otherwise.
Travel
Canadian 10-pin bowling has two major tournaments each year: the Canadian Youth Championships and the Youth Bowling Championships, both of which are national tournaments. They are hosted at different times in different cities, so hypothetically you could go to both.
My first nationals was when I was 12, and I got to travel to Ontario. This trip is one I will never forget because of the friends I made. This was my first time meeting bowling friends outside of my province, and it was so cool to meet other kids who cared as much as I did. Bowling is not as popular in Canada as it is in the United States (ex. we do not have high school or college bowling teams), so seeing this passion in other kids helped me feel seen. Many kids at school didn’t see bowling as a sport, but these kids at Nationals, they understood me and my love for the game.
These friendships and memories are things I will forever cherish, but beyond that, it helped remind me to always be myself. Picture elementary Hailey, who had braces and loved reading and bowling. She was not the most popular. By the time I went to nationals, I had my braces removed, but I know other kids still thought I was a bit weird. Not at nationals, though, these kids loved bowling just as much as me.
Mentality
Anyone who knows me in my personal life knows that I am a chronic overthinker, and I don’t think that will ever really go away. Bowling helped my mental strength immensely, but I never realized it at the time. Bowling is a slower sport than many, and when things are slower, you have more time to think. Matchplay is the absolute worst because you have to sit back and watch your opponent while trying not to compare yourself or overthink your next shot. I learned coping mechanisms through this; some of these mechanisms are specific to bowling, but others help in the rest of life as well. For example, I never looked at the scoreboard. I didn’t want to mine or my opponent’s score because I knew it would lead to overthinking. Bowling also helped me get into journaling. I kept a bowling journal where I talked about my scores, my placement on the lanes, how certain shots felt, and really anything related to my day on the lanes. Keeping a journal helped with my memory on the lanes, but also helped me get some thoughts out of my head, which makes it easier to trust myself and throw the ball.
Teamwork
The interesting thing about bowling is that it can be an individual game, a team game, and even both at the same tournament. Teamwork in bowling is all about support. Only you can throw the ball for yourself, but supporting your teammates on the mental side is where teamwork comes through. You learn how best to support people, and you learn how to communicate effectively and compassionately. Additionally, you have a coach who is there to help you, but you have to listen for it to work. I learned the value of constructive criticism which is something important to this day.
Overall, bowling absolutely changed my life for the better. I haven’t competed or bowled in a league for two years now, and while I do miss it, I don’t feel ready to go back, and I don’t know if I ever will. Nothing bad happened, at least not directly related to bowling. I broke my foot during my second year in university, which meant I couldn’t finish the season, and in my third-year, I decided to take a break. Just because I stopped bowling doesn’t mean I stopped loving it. I will always be grateful for bowling, even if it made me the weird kid because it taught me so many things and I made so many amazing friends.
Thank you so much for reading! This post may be super niche, but I really wanted to talk about something I love. If you want more from me, check out my Instagram!
Hailey