A Young, Very Young College Bowling Coach. Hopes To Guide Grand Canyon University (GCU), To The Next Level Of Collegiate Bowling And Beyond.Only Three Months Into His New Position, Ben Canfield Is Embracing His New Opportunity. He Has Some Achievable Goals For His First Year. But, He Thinks His Young Team Can Achieve Them.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg
Managing Editor
The Ten Pin Express. Com
Director Mesa Metro Association
Phoenix - - - For four years Ben Canfield was a member of the ASU Sun Devils bowling program, where he enjoyed a lot of success on the lanes and in the classroom.
On the lanes, he was a team captain for three years and voted in as a second team college club All-American. In the classroom the Engineering major had a 3.9 grade point average, and was named a National Collegiate Bowling Coaches Association (NCBCA) academic All-American four times. So, he thought how cool would it be to come back as a college coach and spread his wealth of knowledge of bowling to young kids. Young kids who were eager to learn, and get better in the game. What he didn't count on though, was it happening really fast. Three months after graduation is really fast.But, Grand Canyon University, a private Christian school in Phoenix, was looking for a new bowling coach. And it happened to be being in the right place at the right time for him.
"I heard about the opening through Jordan Nassberg, who was my bowling coach at ASU," said Ben, of the opening at GCU. "Jordan encouraged me to take the position. I am excited for this opportunity, but I did not expect it to happen so soon after I graduated from ASU."I understand how to run a college bowling program due to my experience at ASU. I am not too worried about the responsibilities that come with being a head coach," he added. "It still feels odd being called coach by the kids, since I am so young."
GCU was founded in 1949 by the Southern Baptist Church. It was first known as Grand Canyon College. The first campus was located in an abandoned army building in Prescott. In 1951, the college relocated to Phoenix. The present campus is located at 3300 West Camelback Road in Phoenix. According to its website, GCU welcomed over 10,400 students to its campus in 2014."I have a very young team for my first season as coach. Bowling became a club sport at GCU in 2013, and the program is in its third year," said Ben, of his Antelopes. "I have some really good talent on the team this year that has the potential to grow and I do not have any seniors.
"The members on the team who are returning this year, seem excited, and are eager to learn from my college experience," he added. "This is a very interesting dynamic for me. I competed against GCU while I was at ASU. Now I am the coach at GCU. I always like to try new things, and learn from the experience. All the kids love to bowl, so that makes my job a little easier."GCU is fortunate to have its own small bowling center on campus, called the Thunderground. It only has six lanes, but the main thing, is the school does not have to travel off campus to a center and pay it for the team to practice. The team practices from noon to 3 pm on Tuesdays.
"Its great to have this luxury. The kids can practice any time there are open lanes available, he said. "I work with them about seven hours per week. I stay as long as it takes to help the kids refine their game, so they will feel more confident."Having the support of the GCU administration will also help Ben succeed in his first year as coach.When he was planning his tournament schedule for this season, he told it these are the events he would like to participate in They are all on the west coast. They are: The Glenn Carlson Invitational in Las Vegas on December 19th and 20th.
The Collegiate Shoot Out at the Orleans on December 21st and 22nd
also at the Orleans. And the Las Vegas Rebel Classic on January 23rd and 24th 2016, at the Orleans as well. In college bowling, the school typically pays for some of the travel cost and lodging, but the kids are responsible for raising a decent portion of the money. GCU will also hope to co-host a Devils/Antelope Shoot Out with ASU during the Martin Luther King holiday week. The event is scheduled to take place at Brunswick Via Linda Lanes in Scottsdale."The bowlers have the option to stay a junior bowler, or go adult. But, they have to become an adult sanctioned bowler by the end of their sophomore year, due to USBC age requirements," he said, on staying in the junior program or turning adult. "My goals are to make it to the sectionals and club nationals within the next couple of years, something that this very young program has not done yet. In the near future, I would like to start a women's program as well,".
GCU offers the following sports for men: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Swimming and Diving, Tennis, Track and Field, Volleyball, Wrestling, and Club Sports. It is a member of the Western Athletic Conference. (WAC).
"Bowling is a club sport at GCU, and it is again in the third year of the
program. We had a match against ASU
at the Thunderground recently, and the Lacrosse team came out to support us. Recognition from other sports teams on campus is always appreciated," he said, of the support. "This will be my first year recruiting talent, and it will be new to me also. A lot of names of potential recruits comes from emails and phone calls. I plan on attending a lot of Junior Bowlers Tour (JBT) events, and keep my eyes open."
Originally from San Diego, California, Ben is a 2011 graduate of Horizon Christian Academy."I averaged 206 and 207 during my junior and senior years. My best performance came at the Sin City Open in 2015, when I finished in second place," said Ben, of his college bowling career. "And led our team to the biggest victory of the season. I bowled in the junior program in San Diego, but I wasn't very good in bowling, until I started bowling at ASU."
And he is hopeful that his kids at GCU, will have the same college bowling success that he did.
Phoenix Bowling News
November 14, 2015