As such, Rowe faces some unique challenges with balance and control, but it’s no surprise to Middies coach Larry Cupp that he has overcome them.
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Rowe rolled a career-high 732 series at districts last week to qualify for his first state tournament, and he will be the lone Butler County representative in the Division I state tourney Saturday at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.
“His dedication and work ethic are what got him here,” Cupp said. “Not only bowling over the summer but during the season we had a lot of practices and matches, and I know he’s been doing other practices on his own. He’s put in a lot of work and that’s really paid off.”
Rowe began bowling competitively in seventh grade after coming across some videos of two-handed Australian professional bowler Jason Belmonte while browsing through YouTube. To that point he had just occasionally done some bowling for fun, but the videos made him interested in improving his form.
He continued studying Belmonte’s form and began signing up for youth leagues and eventually that led to higher-level leagues, such as one at Wright State that goes up to age 25. Through the last four years, Rowe also kept growing, so he had to learn to channel the extra power his stature gave him while learning to maintain balance, but he kept working at it.
“I feel like I’ve definitely improved my form an insane amount,” Rowe said. “At first I had a loose-flowing form and it didn’t go out that well and I couldn’t hit targets well, but I started working with coaches and pros. And, of course, getting taller over the years affected it too. Just a lot of time went into it. Over the offseason after my freshman year up to the beginning of my sophomore year, I probably bowled over a thousand games.”
The difference showed this season as he went from a 194.5 average as a freshman to a 211.2, which Cupp noted is a very big jump for a young high school bowler to make in one year.
Rowe surprised himself a bit just getting to state. He figured he needed at least a 690 to qualify, but as competition got going, it quickly became clear he would need a much higher score to advance. He had only ever topped 700 in practice and in other leagues — never in a high school match.
Fortunately, Rowe didn’t have to fret too long about whether he could make it. He opened the tournament with 10 strikes and a first-game score of 289 put him in good position. Rowe finished third with his 732 series.
“Every emotion I could have rushed through my head at once,” Rowe said when he saw the final scores and realized he had made it. “I think it was the result of all the hard work I had put in, and just bowling against great competition helped me up my game as well.”
Rowe also credited the help he’s received from a sports psychologist in improving the mental aspect of his game. Cupp had brought someone in to help the team in that way last year, and Rowe began working with that same psychologist on an individual basis during the middle of this season when he found himself in a bit of a funk carrying bad games into the next day or two.
The mental part of his game will be important Saturday, especially as he carries some nerves into the competition.
“I’m feeling nervous, no doubt about it,” Rowe said. “For sure it’s the best field of bowlers I’ve ever bowled against. It’s insane to think about when you combine all five districts and bring them together with all the best bowlers, so it’s new to me, but I’m just hoping to get something out of it and not leave disappointed.”
Rowe said his “wildest dream is to win this,” but the goal is a top 15 finish, which would be good enough for third-team All-Ohio recognition. Cupp believes he has a good chance to get there.
“He will be going against the best of the best, but if he bowls like he did last week, he has a really good chance,” Cupp said. “He’s done the work and gotten where he needs to be. I think he’ll be ready to go.”
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