Pictured Is: Kendall Bollea.
At Age 12, Kendall Bollea, Of Phoenix, AZ Is Already Very Successful In Bowling.
Her Accomplishments Include Winning The MPUSBC Duke And Duchess Tournament.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor thetenpinexpress.com - Director Mesa Metro Association.
Phoenix, AZ. - - - It is no secret that as parents, we want our kids to succeed in any athletic endeavor in which he or she participates.
It is also no secret that as parents we will use every resource that is available to us to make sure our kids have the necessary equipment to be competitive against others.
What Derrick Bollea, of Phoenix wants for his daughter Kendall, is a scholarship at a Division 1 university earned through her success on the lanes. Four years after winning her first trophy as a junior bowler, she is well on her way to reaching this goal. All it will take now is for her to become noticed by someone.
"My earliest memory walking into a bowling center was at Uptown Alley in Surprise, when I was seven-years-old. I was with my mom, dad, and sister," she said, of her first introduction into bowling. "By trying it for the first time, I thought it was cool and wanted to understand how my dad made the ball hook. What brought me back to the bowling center, is that I wanted to try something different."
It was in fact, by placing second in her division in the AZ State Youth Tournament in 2015, and collecting her first trophy that inspired her to see what the future will hold for her in the game of bowling. The AZ State Youth Tournament that year was at Fiesta Lanes in Tucson.
"Uptown Alley in Surprise was where I bowled in my first Junior league. I averaged 70 for the 60 games we bowled in the league by the end of the 2015-16 fall season. What has kept me from being discouraged and not giving up, is my dad," she said, of the completion of her first year in the game of bowling. "I think it was just from getting better and feeling more confident about the shots I was making (she said, of her improvement over the years). That and putting in a lot of practice time, as well as being coached by my dad."
Her dad, though, saw more than just her feeling more confident in her shot making and noticed she could start to go places in the game.
We were open to everything," said her father, Derrick, after the completion of her first season. "But, when we saw her bowl, she just had a good form and understanding of the game."
The motivating factor for her to continue to get better in the game is to compete at or above her age level as a junior bowler. And the possibility for bowling to give her opportunities at the collegiate level with a scholarship in her name.
"Truly I feel the state of Arizona has an opportunity with the Junior Bowlers Tour (JBT) coming to our state on a monthly basis. (As well as traveling to neighboring states CA, NV, and NM). I feel that I am near the top for my age group," she says, of the junior talent in the west. "I compete with many older kids than myself and I am not intimidated. I hope there are opportunities for me.
"In Arizona, I would say its Mackenzie Hammer and Jayden Mabry," she added, of those who push her to get better in bowling. "In California, it would be: Kaitlyn Abiganya and Avery Domaquin."
While these four junior bowlers have pushed her to get better in junior bowling in Arizona and California, she has definitely been a role model for others to look up to.
Here's why:
Kendall, now 12, attends Monte Vista Elementary School in East Phoenix. In 2017 she won the JBT Flagstaff event, and the Metro Phoenix Duke and Duchess tournament. In 2018, She took first-place in a Veterans Day weekend Junior Gold qualifier that earned her a trip to Junior Gold this year. At Junior Gold she finished in 38th place. Also in 2019, she won the Mesa East PBA Pro Am. She was also named to the JBT's AZ Conference All-Star team, and the JBT's All Conference All-Star team.
"In the Desert Open this year, I had my eye on the top prize and I felt good about my game after just coming back from the Junior Gold in Detroit, and the JBT Touring Players Championship. I was the qualifying leader going into match play on Sunday. Into game two of match play, I had a equipment malfunction and lost my only adjustable thumb down lane and it could not be located," she said, of the Desert Open at Glenfair Lanes in Glendale. "Luckily, my dad brought one of my older bowling balls with us, just in case. It however, was not close and I totally was not comfortable with it. I will take it as a learning experience and I always now have a back up interchangeable thumb. I wound up finishing ninth in the tournament, which I am not happy about. However, I will keep on going and continue to work on things. The JBT provides me and others a chance to obtain educational scholarships, meet new friends and gives me the opportunity to be able to compete at the highest level. I am so thankful of what Jeff Hemer, Tara, and Jarod do for us."
While she has experienced the good times and the rough times that the game of bowling brings, Derrick has taught his daughter not to dwell on a tournament if she doesn't have the outcome she wants. Learn from it and move on.
"There have been many ups and downs. We are tough on her yes, and she is open to being honest about what she needs at the time," said Derrick, on dealing with the ups and downs. "We do fun things on trips to change gears after bowling is over and move on."
Along with what Kendall has accomplished the last four years on the lanes. She feels she is starting to gain the knowledge of what Sport Shots do, and better understands a lay out of a bowling ball before its drilled.
"I really try to simplify the sport shots with a starting area based on its length and volume. I would say the tougher the ratios are, the better they are for me. I can play simply in my game, where other kids that are stronger than me, try and cross too much of the lane. I try to take as much advantage of this as I can, by hitting the pocket and picking up spares," she says, of how she reads a sport shot. "Right now, my dad usually does that (on how she gets her equipment drilled). I see the shapes and what I like. But, my Coach Josh Blanchard, my dad, or the guys at Virtue Bowling Supply take care of it. I am trying to learn about some of this, but I am really focused on my behind the line work on my game at the present time. The main thing that Josh has taught me is to stay balanced at the line, by keeping my plant leg closer behind the other one at finish."
She also does not realize how good she has it, when it comes to conditioning bowling lanes in this era of bowling. Fifty years ago (when we were kids), bowling lanes were conditioned with a can of oil, lane applicator, and buffing machine. If we had the luxury of a $30,000 lane machine back then, the evolution of bowling may have occurred a lot sooner.
"I think it would be more of a fun thing and ensure I was good behind the line. I've never had to try it, but it seems different and I have heard about this and wood lanes before," she said, of bowling in the 60's. "I did get to shoot on wood lanes in Minnesota this year on vacation before Junior Gold. I didn't like it at all, as I could not keep my plastic ball on the right side of the lane at all."
Her future goals for the game are simple: To be able to compete at a high level in college, To win a JBT Desert Open, A JBT Touring Players Championship, a USBC Queens Tournament, and a PWBA Tournament.
When it comes to being rewarded by her parents with new bowling equipment for doing well in school, or by winning a bowling tournament; "We usually just get what we need," she says. "If there is a need."
This year she is bowling on Monday nights in the Junior Elite Scratch Sport Shot program at AMF Peoria Lanes in Peoria.
Phoenix Bowling News September 12, 2019