One look at Sophomore Jake Thompson’s thumbs gives the impression that he has had a bad accident with a hammer during woodshop class. In reality, they have been flattened by the holes in his prized bowling balls. He shows off the calluses and bruises covering his hands with a sense of pride. They are his battle wounds.
Bowling once in a while with friends does not transform a person’s hands, but spending hours and hours every day at the lanes does. Thompson practically lives at the lanes. When he is not bowling for LHS, he is bowling for himself. Every day of the week. Even Sundays.
“If I’m there just to practice by myself, I’ll stay for an hour or two. If I’m there for a league I’ll be there anywhere from three to five hours. If I’m practicing for a tournament, I’ll stay all day,” he said.
It would not be an overstatement to say Thompson bowls too much. In fact, he cannot bowl for the rest of the season because he injured his hamstring from bowling excessively. Since he is still a sophomore, he has time to recover and still meet his high school goals: to go to state as a senior, if not as a junior as well.
During the season, Thompson does not have much free time since most of his time is spent at the bowling alley. However, he has planned out his schedule so he has time to finish all his homework and still spend time with friends and family. Once a week, for instance, he bowls with his family. His sister bowled for LHS throughout her high school career and his father bowls as well.
“I try to make him have fun doing it,” Thompson’s father said.
Thompson said his father is his biggest supporter and attends all his meets. He claimed his father understands him more than anyone else and keeps him bowling. “If I fall apart, he’s the one person I know who can help me get back together,” he said.
Thompson’s bowling career began at the ripe age of three, when his father took him to Fair Haven Lanes. His first bowl included bumpers, but he has never used them since.
“I know he was a little crabby because I wanted him to use bumpers,” his father said.
Since that day, bowling alleys became Thompson’s playground. It was not all fun and games for long. In sixth grade, he began focusing solely on bowling and quit his other sports to practice. Three years later after participating in travel bowling, he decided to join the team at LHS, currently coached by Coach Kahn.
“It’s tremendous. He’s come a very long way. He went from an average bowler to a very, very good bowler over the last two years,” Thompson’s father said.
Thompson believed joining LHS’s team would be the perfect way to represent his school and participate in an activity he loves. The team was newly formed at the time he joined and is, in fact, still developing. “We have a lot of potential," he said.
Though bowling is a sport focusing on the individual, it is still a team effort. All members of the team encourage each other, goof around sometimes, and give each other high fives after strikes. “It’s all about high fives. It’s what keeps me going,” Thompson laughed.
“It’s a high five every time you strike, knuckles for good job. That’s how I play by the rules,” he said.
Thompson hopes the team can earn all conference this year, but he noted all teams in the conference have improved this year.
“When we do stay focused, and stay together, we’re pretty deadly as a team,” he added. “We shot a 3,124, which is higher than any team has shot this whole year, and it’s the highest score I’ve even heard of from just a five player team, which is kind of crazy,” he said.
Thompson spends time choosing his bowling ball, because he knows it can affect his performance. After years of bowling on different teams, Thompson has acquired an abundance of knowledge about the lane’s effect on the ball. Thompson considers the conditions and the amount of oil on the lane before choosing his ball. Usually, Jake uses his Anarchy. This weapon of choice is embellished with vibrant swirls of red and blue. His Anarchy is very aggressive while throwing a hook. “The hook happens when [the ball] is hydroplaning down the lane,” he said.
Another prized ball of Thompson’s is his vibrant pink, plastic spare ball. He finds his spare ball has brought him luck. It doesn’t hook (because of its weight), and the plastic allows it to roll straighter. “The weight is what makes it happen,” Thompson said.
Both of Thompson's treasured bowling balls helped him earn his first perfect game, which happened last year during one of his league games. He was playing against his first bowling coach and was losing by one pin. With the final strike, Thompson and his bowling partner won. Thompson received a celebratory ring for bowling a 300 game. He claims its bulkiness has started several conversations about his career as a bowler.
Thompson hopes he can keep bowling throughout his whole life, including while at college. However, after college he plans on not having bowling be the sole focus of his life. Thompson hopes to study international business and Mandarin Chinese. Colleges have been communicating with him, asking him to visit and check out their school. So far, he has not had any solidified scholarship offers.
Thompson is looking for a balance between academics and bowling, which has influenced his college decision making. Certain schools have not had the academics he is looking for. It would be a dream of Thompson's to attend Wichita State University mainly because Wichita has the nation's best bowling program and also has the academic program he is looking for.
After college, Thompson's dream job would be to open his own pro-shop and bowl in the Professional Bowlers Association. He idolizes professional bowlers such as Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Norm Duke. He has even learned about shooting better by watching Walter Ray Williams Jr., seven-time PBA Player of the Year, who he claims has a similar shot. Once, at a tournament two years ago, Norm Duke shared a lane with Thompson.
“He was really nice and cool as a bowler,” Thompson said. “He helped me out a lot”
When Thompson bowls, he feels as if he’s on top of the world. Holding the ball steadily in his hands, Thompson looks in control and focused. His bruises and calluses cannot prevent him from succeeding and only make him feel stronger. The ball is on a roll and after it crashes into the pins, it is evident he is thinking about the high fives and praise he will receive. It seems as if the future of Thompson’s bowling career is in his own hands.
Photo by T. Alkemade
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