MMA Youth Director, Mark Wojtusiak, Works Hard To Make Sure His Kids Have A Good Experience In His Youth Bowling Program.
Thanks To His Efforts, Six Kids Are Heading To Cleveland, OH., To Bowl In The USA Bowling 11&Under National Championships
Mesa - - - If you have been fortunate to get to know Mark Wojtusiak ever since he became the Youth Director in the Mesa Metropolitan Association (MMA), since October of 2010. You by now know, he is very passionate about two things: the game of bowling, and making sure the 200 kids he takes care of within his group have a chance to succeed in the game as well.
For: Noah Fabianek, Kylana Gunnels, Zoey Gunnels, Joshua Fabianek, Charlotte Shures, and Kyle Avery. Their upcoming trip to bowl in the USA Bowling 11 & Under National Championships in Cleveland, OH., may not seem like a big deal to them now. But, hopefully, when they get a little older, they can look back and fully appreciate the support and effort it took to get them there.
"We started planning this trip, or should I say that we were hoping to qualify for this trip when we put teams together back in November of 2016. The Regional qualifying tournament was held in January 2017 in Tucson, AZ., where one of our teams, the 'Mini Winners' successfully won the 11 and under age division," said MMA Youth Director, Mark Wojtusiak,, of the above youth bowlers who qualified for the trip to nationals. "This is the second year that my Youth League, Strikes & Spares has participated in the USA Bowling Regional Tournaments."
However, showing up to bowl in his league every week at AMF Mesa was not the only criteria that had to be met in order to be chosen for the trip to nationals.
"The choosing of bowlers for this particular tournament was based on a couple of different factors. First, the bowlers had to meet age requirements (11 & under or 12-15 year olds) to participate. Secondly, parents had to commit to the travel required for the tournament. Tucson for Regionals, and now Cleveland for nationals," he said, of how the kids were chosen. "Once a team qualifies for the National Tournament, there are no substitutions allowed (serious hardship excepted), and thus the need of commitment to travel."
And once he found out that his kids did in fact make the National Tournament in January, the fund raising efforts got going in high gear. If you had bowled in any of the MMA events this past season, you may have noticed that a big screen LG television was one of the items being raffled off to help support the kids' trip to Cleveland.
"Fund raising took a lot of effort and coordination on the part of the: bowlers, coaches, and families that are involved with this trip. It also relied heavily on the various leagues within the MMA to allow us to be able to 'pitch our efforts' to their bowlers and allow us to be able to collect needed funds for this trip," he said, of the fund raising efforts. "We were hoping to raise approximately $1,000 per person that HAD to make the trip (about $12,000). And, although we did not quite get to our threshold, we were able to raise a significant portion of that amount to help the families offset the costs associated with this trip."
Hunter Mayes, of Mesa East Bowl and Sebastian Polhill of Brunswick Zone Mesa are also making the trip to Cleveland. Both qualified to bowl in the Junior Gold National Championships. The MMA Youth Committee with approval by the MMA Board of Directors voted to give the 'Mini Winners' $3,000 for travel as well as giving Mayes & Polhill $500 each for travel.
"For quantification purposes only, the ONE entity that has really stepped up for our fund raising efforts has been the BOWLERS of the MMA. They allowed us to overtake their league nights to sell 50/50 raffle tickets for the endeavor. Without them we would not have been able to raise the money that we did, since it was the MMA bowlers that were responsible for more than half the monies raised," said Mark, of the fund raising efforts. "On another note, we MUST thank some other businesses that have helped us along the way and those businesses include, but are not limited to:
"Hangar 9 Bar & Grille (Becki & Sam Frink), Derek's Drill House, the MMA Youth Committee, the MMA Board of Directors, Wal-Mart of Apache Junction (Kyle Johnson, manager). Albertson's (McDowell & Power - Mesa)," he added. "As well as the parents and families of the bowlers involved for their support and donations (cash, prizes, & time)."
Travel plans to get to Cleveland were left up to each of the seven families who are going on this road trip.
"Fund raising at times, especially the closer we've gotten to departing (end of season) has been difficult," he says. "While we did appreciate every bit of support from the various bowlers and leagues, we felt we should not over extend our predicament. Nor, expect the same leagues and individuals to support us more than other leagues. We were also fortunate enough to have some non-bowling support from the local community to assist in our fundraising efforts."
Over all, Mark has been a Youth Director since July 2000 when he started with the Yuma USBC BA in Yuma, AZ. He decided to become a Level 1 Coach in September 2001, and moved up to a Level 2 Coach in May 2004. He currently has been a Bronze Level Coach since August 2007.
"The Youth Bowling Program is a passion of mine because bowling is something that I exceed at," he said, of getting involved in coaching. "And if I can impart some of my knowledge on Youth Bowlers that are the 'Future of our Sport'. I hope that one day one or more of them will have the same passion and desire to see this sport continue to grow, evolve, and thrive."
And if you have gotten to know Mark since he became the MMA Youth Director in October of 2010. You may have also noticed that he does not take 'no' for an answer when he gets involved with something 100 percent.
"I owe the vast majority of my passion, commitment, and work ethic to my parents. It was them that showed me that a good hard day's work goes a long way in proving yourself. It is this proof that allows others to believe in what/why I am doing what I do for myself and others," he said, on where he inherited his work ethic from. "Another influence was my training in the U.S.. Marine Corps, in providing me order, stability and ability to work through situations to the best of my ability for the betterment of the group."
Besides bowling well on this trip, Mark is hoping that his kids will learn one valuable lesson from this experience.
"Above and beyond the ability to bowl with other youth bowlers from around the country, I want our bowlers to come away with a sense of accomplishment and pride in knowing that they were able to go to the USA Bowling Youth National Tournament," he says, of the week ahead for the kids. "It is also my hope that they can make new friends and accept the different styles of bowling that may be displayed by various other youth from around the country. This is an opportunity that they may never get a chance to re-experience."
He also says he could not have become successful as a Youth Director, with out the support of his better half.
"Lastly, I've got my wife Shelli to thank for my accomplishments," he says. "Without her support and understanding, even when she didn't agree with me. I would not have been able to accomplish as many things as I've attempted successfully. My satisfaction from this trip will be the knowledge that I was able to get six youth bowlers to a National Tournament. Something that might not ever happen again during their youth bowling career. Win or lose, I am going to give those kids the best possible coaching that I can to make their experience as memorable as possible. I am looking forward to next year's USA Bowling Regional Tournament, where each of this year's competitors will once again have the opportunity to earn a trip to the USA Bowling National Championship Tournament."
Mesa Bowling News June 12, 2017