Pictured Is: Team Virtue. L To R Are; Connor Metzler, Chris Mayes, Hunter Mayes, and Madison Holman.
After Helping To Set A New Arizona State Youth Bowling Record For Doubles, At The Pepsi Youth Championships In April At Brunswick Mesa.
Madison Holman, Follows This Up With A Win. In The 'Top Dawg' Event, On July 26, At The JBT's. The JBT's Were Held At The Orleans In Las Vegas.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor - thetenpinexpress.com - Director Mesa Metro Association.
Mesa - - - At the ripe old age of 15, Madison Holman, of Chandler, AZ. Already knows what she wants to accomplish through her athletic goals. And will do whatever it takes to accomplish them.
That is great news for the game of bowling, because the junior bowlers of today, are the future of our sport.
The game of bowling, junior bowling in Arizona in particular. Also got some great news that it didn't expect in April. At the conclusion of the Pepsi Youth Championships at Brunswick Zone in Mesa.
"It was awesome," she said, of the 1,527 series she rolled with doubles partner Hunter Mayes, on the last day of the tournament. "I have the best doubles partner in Hunter. I wouldn't say anything in particular clicked on this day. I just made good shots. My team,Team Virtue: Hunter, Chris and Connor (Metzler), and I bowl well together. We always seem to have fun when we bowl, and are able to put up the high numbers."
Madison attends Corona del Sol High School in Tempe. Her previous high game is a 299, and her high series is a 716. She felt that she and Hunter did not put any extra pressure on themselves by waiting until the last weekend of the tournament to bowl in the singles and doubles events.
"I would have bowled the same, if it was the first weekend or the last," she said, with confidence.
But, the accolades that she and Hunter received after setting the new state scoring record. Kept on coming from other sources that she didn't even expect to see them come from.
"I would say going to bowl.com," she said. "And seeing my name under first-place for a high national (doubles) series is pretty cool. I would love to see that at the end of Jr. Gold this year."
The Junior Gold Championships were held this year in Detroit, MI. The combine is held for four days, at four different bowling centers in the Detroit area. The combine attracts the top junior bowling talent in the country. Along with coaches from the top universities and colleges that have bowling programs.
"I qualified for junior gold last year through the Pepsi state tournament," the right-hander said, of how she qualified to go to Dallas. "Last year, when I went to Junior Gold, I feel I was not as prepared as I could have been. I made a lot of mistakes on the lanes while I was there."
She qualified to go to Junior Gold this year, by placing in a Junior Gold qualifier at Mesa East Bowl. And hopes to improve from her performance in Dallas of a year ago. The Mesa Metro Association (MMA) held six Junior Gold qualifiers during the course of the 2018-19 season. By doing this, it was able to send 18 additional youth bowlers to the national tournament in the various age groups.
"By practicing more, and working on the little things," she says, of what she hopes will lead her to a better outcome in Detroit this year.
But, while she feels she may have not been able to do as well as she could have in Dallas. She soaked up as much of the experience as she could. And chalked it up as well, to a very valuable learning experience.
"I had talked to many colleges while I was there," she said, of her interactions with the colleges. "But, at such a young age (I was 14 last year), it was never a very serious conversation. I have had a couple of college recruits come talk to me after the tournament was over, and it makes me so happy and proud to be part of this."
She Picks Up A 'Top Dawg' Win At The JBT's, On The Way Home From Detroit.
Madison, like most of the Arizona field of bowlers, who made the trip to Detroit to bowl Junior Gold. Made a side trip on the way home to Chandler and bowled in the JBT's in Las Vegas.The event was held at the Orleans on Friday evening July 26. 68 bowlers participated in the handicap division and over 80 in the scratch division.
"I was just on that day," she said, of her performance at the Orleans. "I knew where I wanted to throw the ball and I was consistent. It was the only time I really wanted the total pins to carry over! You had to do good every game, or you were out. Which made it stressful, but even more exciting! This was definitely my best eight game series so far."
She averaged 221 for 8 games, that helped propel her to the win.
So, you can imagine that she was 'stoked' to find out, that the Junior Gold Championships will be held in Las Vegas next year. And, the Orleans will be one of the centers where the event will be bowled at.
"I am so excited that Junior Gold will be in Vegas next year," she said, upon learning of the news. "I like bowling in Vegas for JBT, and I'm already familiar with some of the centers. (Hopefully next year, at this time, we won't be invaded with grasshoppers). That was interesting."
She would like to 'thank her awesome bowling family', who stayed until the end of the 'Top Dawg' event and cherred her on to victory.
"I love them!," she said, of her bowling family. "Winning the 'Top Dawg' was a great way for me to end the JBT season, and get me more motivated for the 2019-20 season. I, of course, hope to have my best year yet. I just want to keep improving. That's always been my main goal."
Earning The Rewards, For Putting In The Hard Work On The Lanes.
Madison is the 2017-18 Mesa Metro Association, Girl of the Year, for junior bowlers 12 and over. She was awarded a $1,000 scholarship that was put into her smart account. After the 2017-18 season was concluded, she posted a book average of 184. She achieved this average in the Mesa Strikers Youth League. This past year she bowled in the youth program at Mesa East Bowl. She bowls in as many of the JBT events as she can when the opportunity presents itself. And participates in the Junior Gold qualifiers when the opportunity presents itself as well.
"I'm so grateful for the opportunities through bowling in my future," she said, of moving forward with her career. "This is an exciting time for bowling. And being a girl definitely has its advantages when it comes to scholarships."
She also has another theory on why she was able to raise her average up to 184 after the 2017-18 season. And, to a 198 after the 2018-19 season.
"It is really true that you improve as you bowl with better bowlers," she says, of the rise in her average the past two seasons. "In past leagues, I felt that I was at a stand still, and wasn't sure how to take my game to the next level. Now that I am at Mesa East, I've learned so much from my teammates and continue to learn from them."
There is not one person who she can point to for the success she has had on the lanes the last two years. She is happy in the direction where her game is headed moving forward.
"There hasn't been just one person," she says, of who has helped her game get better the last two years. "I've had different people help me along the way. Neal, my mom, my teammates. The list goes on, and continues to grow. I am much happier with my game now, but I still have so much to work on. I am learning new things every day, and always trying to improve."
While she admits that she is still having trouble learning how to adjust to the different lane patterns. And keeping up with the new bowling balls that are entering the market place. She still turns to one aspect to keep her motivated in bowling.
"This has been an area that I have really been trying to improve on," she said, of learning how to read lane conditions. "I practice almost every day. Seeing the progress I have made in previous videos, motivates me to keep improving. I recently looked at a video from a year ago versus now, and I hardly recognize myself."
Madison's first venture into a bowling center came when she was eight. Her mother, Robyn, had bought her a pass for the summer at AMF McCray. The pass allowed you to bowl three free games a day. It did not take her long after that, to figure out she would find her purpose in the game of bowling.
"I was about eight years-old and my mom had gotten me a summer pass for three games a day," she recalled. "I tried it the first day and thought it was fun. Later in the summer, my mom got me a ball and she taught me a basic three step approach. That moment will always be special, because that's when I realized I had potential in the game of bowling. As soon as I started to learn how to throw a hook, it told me that I was getting better."
She bowled in her first junior league at AMF McRay in 2012 and posted a book average of 85, after the 2012-13 season.
Mesa Metro Announces Junior Gold Qualifiers For 2019-20.
1. Bowlero Mesa 8/31.
2. AMF Mesa 10/12.
3. AMF McRay 11/16.
4. Bowlero Kyrene 2/15.
5. Mesa East 3/14.
6. AMF Chandler 4/11.