Happy Bowling Father's Day

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish my Dad, and all the other bowling dads out there, a happy Father's Day.

Dad introduced me to bowling and encouraged me to join a juniors league when I was 11. When he wasn't working on Saturday mornings he was sitting just behind the lanes watching my brother and I bowl, serving as an extra pair of eyes and coach. My brother never really took to being coached, but my Dad and I used bowling as one of our greatest bonding opportunities. Once I got better and more knowledgeable about the game we became peers helping each other out during practice sessions or league play. He subscribed to a bowling magazine when I was growing up and we would read it from cover to cover and discuss what we had learned from each issue. After moving to Pittsburgh, I would sometimes drag my bowling bag the 300 miles across Pennsylvania just so I could go bowling with my Dad during a visit. Unfortunately, it has a been a few years since we have had the chance to bowl together, but if I am in town on a Thursday night he knows that I will be there to watch him bowl in his league.

A few years back Dad had reached a goal he had been striving toward for a long time, a 200 league average. He was at the top of his game. Unfortunately he suffered a pinched nerve in his neck and missed the majority of the following season. Since coming back, he has struggled to get comfortable and is continually adjusting to new bowling balls, but his love of the game is still there. Its one of the many things I have inherited from him, and I am thankful for that.

So thanks for all you have done and taught me over the years, Dad. I'll never forget it.

Happy Father's Day.