Pictured Is: Andrew Cain Of Phoenix.
Former USBC President And Phoenix Native, Got Call From Karl Kielich On November 3.
His Accomplishments As USBC President Include: Bringing Back The PWBA Tour.
By Michael 'Chip' Begg - Managing Editor - thetenpinexpress.com - Director Mesa Metro Association.
Scottsdale, AZ. - - - Ever since Andrew Cain, of Phoenix, AZ., was 11 years-old. He knew then that he wanted to be a professional bowler, and someday serve in the game of bowling as a volunteer director on a USBC board.
"I didn't yet know I wanted to serve bowling in a volunteer capacity - my first taste of this came when I was a YABA Youth Leader at 15," he said, of serving on an orginizatons board. "As a kid, I saw those guys bowl on TV, and I wanted to be the one who was holding the trophy."
As an 11 year-old in 1992, he probably didn't know what the American Bowling Congress (ABC), now (USBC) was, and what its function was to bowlers around the world. Much less serving as President of the USBC from 2012-2015. But, when you care about the game of bowling as much as he does, and care on what direction the game is heading to in the future. It should be no surprise to those of us who know him, that he was able to accomplish this mile stone at a very young bowling age.
Because of his service and dedication to the game of bowling. It should also be no surprise to us who know him, that he just recently was nominated for a honor that he didn't even see coming his way either.
"The phone call came from USBC President Karl Kielich on Sunday November 3rd. I knew we had a meeting set up and he sent me a text, saying that he needed to speak to me," said Cain, of the phone call notifying him that he was going to be elected to the USBC HOF for service in April 2020. "I thought we were just going to talk about business. I was shocked when he started to speak and notified me that I was going to be inducted into the USBC HOF. I was absolutely speechless after he was done and I did not hold it together emotionally."
Six days after he received the phone call, he was still trying to process what had just happened to him in his bowling career.
"It is still sinking in," he said, of his upcoming induction in April, at the USBC Annual Convention in Las Vegas at the Orleans Hotel and Casino. "There are so many parts to this upcoming honor that I have not been able to process yet (he could have also been elected for bowling ability). It does not matter either way. I am beyond humbled."
He joined the USBC as a director in 2007, and was named a vice-president in 2010. Then in 2012, he was elected by its board of directors to become the organizations next president. He was nominated by Team USA, for the board position.
"Immediate reaction is that I was scared to death," he remembered, after being named president of the USBC in 2012. "But, that feeling did not last long. I felt very confident that I could do the job, that I was just elected to do. I knew I would be working with people who had depth of knowledge of bowling. And that I could rely on them for advice, when we had to make a decision."
He could not single out one decision that he had to make during his tenure, that was more difficult than others. All of the decisions he had to make were difficult.
"All of them were difficult. I couldn't say any of them were more or less difficult depending on the perspective. Every decision we made, even the "obvious" ones would have far-reaching impacts somewhere in the sport," he said, of the decisions he had to make. "And to a person or persons - this made every decision important and essential that we get it as correct as possible with all of the information we had available."
Among some of the programs he was credited for in getting started, and re-started, during his nine years as a director. Were: Creating the International Bowling Campus for Youth Development. He combined forces with the BPAA to improve participation in youth bowling. He was also instrumental in bringing back the PWBA tour and U.S. Open. He is still serving on the board as Chairman of the USBC Equipment and Specifications Committee.
"One of the first things that I wanted to do as president, was to get everyone on the same page. We were not working together, and I was focused on rebuilding relationships," he said, of the first thing he wanted to do as president. "The USBC moved to Arlington from Wisconsin , and the BPAA was already headquartered in Texas. We were all in agreement that we could work together and do the right thing for bowling. This opened the door to do a lot of good things for bowling."
There were two things that A.C. had to deal with on a weekly basis during his tenure as President of the USBC as well. The traveling back and fourth from Phoenix to DFW, and dealing with the national bowling media.
"It was very different from my interactions as an athlete. There is a different expectation and often as an athlete you can give answers based on a gut feeling, and opinion," he said, of dealing with the bowling media. "I could argue there is more "freedom" to be expressive. As a representative of the organization, I am responsible to deliver the collectively agreed upon message and to be clear - there is no room for tangents. Those messages must be concise and well-informed. Traveling from PHX to DFW was great since it was a quick 2-2.5 hour flight over and back. I started to recognize a lot of the pilots and flight crews as the time went on."
A.C. bowled in college at Arizona State University (ASU). He was a two-time first-team All-American twice for the Sun Devils. In 1999 he won the Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow award. In 2001 he won the U.S. Amateur Championship. He was a member of Team USA for five years. 2002-03-05-16-17. And a member of Junior Team USA in 2001.
"I do not think I would do anything different on any decision I had to make while I was president," he said, of the decisions he had to make during his tenure. "I ended up on this path for a reason. Doing my job to the best of my abilities is the best any leader could hope for. The full merger of all the state and local associations were not passed until after my term was over. I can not be more proud of how we got here."
The left-hander joined the PBA Tour in 2007. He made the finals in the first PBA event he bowled in - The Dick Weber Open and finished in fourth-place. In 2007-08, he was named the PBA West Region Player of the Year, and PBA West/Northwest Rookie of the Year. He also set a five-game scoring record of 1,352 in the PBA Cheetah Championship at the National Bowling Stadium (NBS). The five-game block also included a 300 game.
"I honestly didn't even realize I was that close to the record until the final frames of game five. Breaking the record was an incredible feeling...shooting 300 to do it? Something I will never forget," he said, of breaking the five game record he broke at the NBS. "As far as placing fourth in my first PBA event, it gave me the confidence to know I could compete on the Tour.
"Knowing my first ever TV match would be against Walter Ray Williams or Parker Bohn III was a bit unsettling at first," he continued. "But I quickly realized that though losing to a Hall of Famer wouldn't be so bad. But, beating one would really boost my legitimacy as a player. The downside to the finish was that I also quickly learned how much I didn't know about bowling in that environment regularly. I still had a ton to learn."
He is hopeful that the game of bowling can still be flourishing in the next five years.
"I would love to see the game of bowling still thriving. There are a lot of good things happening in the game of bowling right now," he said, on where he would like to see the game be in five years. "The up tick in the game has put us in a position to give people what they want. 10 years ago, the concern was in what direction was the game headed in."
He was introduced to the game of bowling by his parents, Jim and Grace at the age of six. He recalls he probably didn't break a score of 100 after his first encounter. His parents would eventually then hook him up with Tony Maresca for his first lesson at AMF Desert Hills.
"Then at nine or 10, I started to bowl multiple days a week," he said, of being bit by the bowling bug. "By bowling all of the time, I was able to accelerate my scores. I began to take lessons at age 11, and this enabled me to access were I was at."
A.C. currently remains a professional bowler and actively coaches in the Phoenix area. He also owns a small wholesale business.
"Balancing the practice time is easy - if its essential you simply find a way to do it," he said, of his work/bowling balance. "When my prioritization suffers, so do my results on the lanes."
We were able to catch up with Drew on November 9, at Bowlero Via Linda Lanes in Scottsdale. He was there to help celebrate the grand opening of Bowling Dynamics fourth location in the valley.
Arizona State Bowling News - December 8, 2019.