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Canfield bowler pins down trip to nationals
BY CHRISTINE KEELING
Canfield’s Andrew Jarvis may have spared his parents a few dollars for his college fund.
The 14-year-old bowled his best game of 235 and finished fourth out of 512 bowlers at state competition in Columbus. His win added $200 to his Grand Prix Scholarship Fund and earned him a lane in the Pepsi USBC Youth Bowling Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. July 9.
“I couldn’t believe it,” said Jarvis about qualifying for national competition. “I didn’t think I did that good at state.”
Jarvis began bowling with Hilltop Elementary School’s after-school bowling program at Camelot Lanes when he was 9 and joined his first league when he was 11. He competed on Canfield High School’s bowling team this past season and continues league play during the off-season.
“He always had a love for bowling,” said Jarvis’s mother, Janice. She is happy her son found a niche in bowling and hopes he makes the most of it and has fun. “He can develop a lot of money through the scholarship fund.”
Jarvis likes bowling because he said he believes it is more than just rolling a ball, but rather a series of steps. He admits his game has improved thanks to the new form his high school coach taught him and properly-sized bowling balls. He bowls two or three times a week and enjoys hanging out at the lanes with his bowling buddies and City Chicken Delivery team league members Mike Dercoli and Nick Woolley. He implements the bowling advice of Woolley’s brother, Rob, to help him succeed.
“Bowling is a mental sport,” Jarvis said. “If you think you’re going to do bad, you will. Think you’ll do good, you will.”
During the national competition, Jarvis bowled on a team of four, in doubles and individuals in the boys 14 and up division over the course of two days. “I think he did well,” Janice said. “He bowled a few games over 200.” Competitors’ scores and finishing places will be tabulated and released in August. Jarvis has the opportunity to add up to $1,000 to the scholarship fund that will become available when he enters college.