Woodruff Students Show Passion and Talent in Local Youth Bowling League
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
Walk into Spartanburg’s Paradise Lanes bowling ally on any Sunday afternoon, and you will be met by some of Spartanburg’s most talented and passionate competitors.
The players are all local youth who participate in the Ten Pin Wizards youth bowling league, and these young men and women have combined their passion and talents in ways that are shaping their futures in amazing ways.
Among the teams who compete are four students from Woodruff, who have become one of the most competitive teams in the league. Their unique techniques and philosophies on bowling have helped forge strong bonds and friendships between them.
Wyatt Rogers, a sophomore at Woodruff High School, found a social outlet through bowling before realizing his talents could lead to bigger opportunities in the future. Among the best players in the league, Rogers has been ranked among statewide youth bowlers in his age bracket.
“I actually came (to Paradise Lanes) on a church trip, and I found out that I was decent enough at bowling to join the league,” said Rogers. “(Bowling) can be very tiring, but it’s fun. It’s good to have other friends outside of school and have people to talk to who have the same passion.”
The youngest member of the team, Connor Page, is a sixth-grader at Woodruff Middle School. Connor’s technique for bowling is quite unique, with a two-handed roll shot that has earned him the reputation as one of the best bowlers in the league.
Much like Wyatt, Connor found passion and camaraderie on the lanes.
“I’ve been bowling for three years,” Connor said. “I started bowling a lot over time, and I switched up my style. I wanted to become unique, and eventually, I became better. I just came here one day to bowl for fun, and I saw a bunch of league bowlers, and that’s how I discovered the league, and I decided I wanted to join.”
Connor added, “One-handed bowlers can do whatever they want with the ball, but I use both hands and what I do is, I push my hands sidewards when I release the ball.
Madison Page, also a sophomore at Woodruff High and Connor’s sister, is another key member of the team who found out about the Tin Pin Wizards league through information she received at school.
“I found out about it through an ad I got at school,” she said. “There was an opportunity to bowl for free in the summer with your parents so me and my parents started going almost every day that summer and whenever August rolled around there was an opportunity to join the league and I have been here ever since.”
Madison has seen her skills improve significantly and has found many rewards from competing with her teammates.
“I have watched myself go through many different methods of bowling, even trying the horizontal (shot) or two-handed thing every once in a while,” she added. “It’s a lot of fun trying to figure out what works and what will get you higher scores. It’s a competitive thing, but it’s more fun than it is competitive. You sit with someone new every week. It’s you and your two teammates, and then you are always sitting with someone new.”
While bowling is the common denominator that unites Wyatt, Connor, and Madison, along with Peyton Martin, who is a fourth member of the team, the league offers opportunities for future educational opportunities through the earning of scholarship money.
Each team member has already won scholarship funds through competition that can be put towards their collegiate education, and former players from the league have even gone on to earn collegiate bowling scholarships.
That is a goal for Rogers, who has even higher aspirations.
“Bowling is a fun sport,” Rogers said. “It’s complicated, and some people down it when they should try it. It’s good to know I have improved my game. When I started, I averaged 60 (points), and now I am over 150 and one of the top bowlers here, so I’m proud of that. My goal is to bowl professionally.”
Each trip to the bowling ally is a new adventure for Connor and is among his favorite parts of competing in Ten Pin Wizards.
“One thing I love about it is, I get to meet new friends,” he said. “With the sport, I get to meet a lot of new people.”
Madison added, “Depending on how you’re looking at it, you can compete for the first-place prize or also look at it as I want to have fun. It just depends on how you are looking at it from the beginning as to how you are going to perceive it for the rest of your league season.”
One thing is certain: Woodruff’s Ten Pin Wizards are very good at the sport and love competing together. That is a win any day of the week.
Author: Tracy Sanders
