Working Hard And Listening To Coaches, Helps Her Succeed In The Game Of Bowling.
Emily Frerichs Accomplishments Include Being Junior Bowler Of The Year In The MMA
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor - thetenpinexpress.com - Director Mesa Metro Association.
Mesa - - - Bowl. Obtain. Win. Laugh.
Just remove the first letter of these four words, and it spells Bowl.
To any nine year-old child who joins the Strikes and Spares Youth Bowling League at AMF Mesa, they are given a bowling shirt with this philosophy printed on the back of it. This philosophy in regards to the game of bowling may not seem like a big deal to them in the beginning, but Emily Frerichs of Tempe, embraced it right from the get go.
Embraced it because she was one of these nine year-old's who fell in love with the game. Obtained and retained the knowledge of the game that her coaches passed on to her. With a lot of hard work, she realized she might be fortunate to win a junior tournament someday. And later on in her life time look back and laugh, on some of the interesting moments that got her to where she currently is in her bowling career.
"I started in the Strikes and Spares Youth Bowling League, when I was nine. But, the first time I picked up a ball was when I was eight. My father, Scott, bowls, and he wanted to get me started in a junior league," recalled Emily, on how she got into bowling. "After I tried the game of bowling for the first time, the sport was what I expected it to be. I am a very competitive person when it comes to bowling, and a lot of my fathers competitiveness has rubbed off on me."
Emily was one of the many junior bowlers from the East Valley, that participated in the MMA Youth Tournament at Mesa East Bowl during the weekend of January 21 and 22. Now 19, and a freshman at ASU, she still remembers what it was like to roll a bowling ball for the first time.
"The first time I rolled a bowling ball, it was an eight pound ball. I ran up to the foul-line, and chucked the ball down the lane. I knew the bumpers existed, but I did not want to use the bumpers. I wanted to be like the big kids," she said, on rolling a ball with two hands in the beginning. "When I started bowling with one hand, I was 10 or 11. I didn't want to change it. It was an awesome experience, and I felt like a million bucks afterwards. That was a big accomplishment for me."
She has been bowling in the MMA junior program for 11 years now. She says she hasn't noticed any big changes in the game itself since her first season in 2005-06.
"I was the only girl in the Strikes and Spares League when I started. Now we have six girls in the league," she said, of her 11th season in the league. "The coaches in the Strikes and Spares League are like a second family to me, and they are always there for me. I look forward to after every shot I roll. Its also nice when the coaches correct me on something that I am doing wrong and get involved. Its also nice getting a high five from them when I accomplish something on the lanes that they teach me as well."
"Outside of my coaches, Mark N Shelli Wojtusiak, my father, Scott, is also a big part part of my support group on the lanes," she added. "He gives me the support I need, to get my game going in the right direction. I am used to having him there as a part of my support group, and its a nice thing to have."
A 2016 graduate of Corona Del Sol High School in Tempe. Emily, also played sand volleyball during her senior year. She was an outside hitter and labaro (defensive specialist). She also accumulated a 4.0 grade point average.
According to the MMA Yearbook. A Yearbook that post final average of every bowler in its association at the end of each season. Emily posted a 102 average after her first junior season in 2005-06. Her average was raised to 122 following the 2006-07 campaign.
In 2013-14 it was 151. In 2014-15 it was 153. And, at the end of the 2015-16 season, she posted her highest average to date - a 169. She was also named the MMAs' Youth Bowler of The Year for girls 12 and over at the conclusion of last year.
"I have known Coach Mark long enough now, to understand how I need to be coached when it comes to bowling," she said, of her coach. "He knows what to say. I can always send him a text and ask him for advice about my game. He will always answer my text, and give me the advice I need."
Emily's parents are both attorneys in the Valley. Her mom, Denise McKinney is a Defense Attorney. While her father, Scott, practices all aspects of the law. The ASU freshman, herself, wants to focus on Exercise and Wellness.
"I want to focus on sports injuries," she said, on her chosen field of study. "In health or rehabilitation if I am feeling gutsy. I can't argue in front of a judge and jury like my mom and dad can."
She can remember as a youngster, when her father took her on a tour of the ASU campus in Tempe and showed her where the Memorial Union was. The Memorial Union had its own bowling center, where some of the top male and female bowlers in the State of Arizona had bowled for and represented ASU in the past.
"Yeah," she told her father after the campus visit. "I am going to bowl and represent ASU one day myself."
That one day came this past fall.
"I had contacted ASU Coach Jordan Nassberg, and asked him if I could become part of the bowling team at the school," she said, of getting an opportunity to bowl for ASU. "It put things into a different perspective to have myself and another girl on the team. It wasn't just about the guys. We talked about ideas on how we both could get better in the game.
"We were both on the same wave length and she was someone I could relate to," she added. "I just wanted to be part of a team where I can get better as a bowler. While traveling and representing ASU the best possible way I can."
Even though the collegiate bowling season is now over, she has started working on her bowling goals for next year. Those being working on being more consistent with the equipment she has in her bag, and teaching herself to take more time on the approach.
"I have learned a lot during the course of the season. In college bowling it matters more where you stand on the approach and look at your target on the lanes," she said, of the college experience. "There are more mental aspects to college bowling than I thought there would be, and how a small detail change to my game would help better myself in the long run. Whereas in junior bowling, I would just look at my spot and go."
She made her debut in college bowling last December at a tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.
"I did pretty well, and I was extremely nervous," she remembers. "I just took a deep breath to relax. Its been an awesome experience thus far, and the stepladder format these tournaments have, have prepared me for the next adventure."
She had also won an Arizona State Junior Bowling doubles title with Cody Gonzalez last year in Tucson. And a JBT event as well.
Proof that if you always do the little things that your coaches ask you to do, you will succeed in the game of bowling.
Mesa Bowling News - June 23, 2017