I am a Colorado native that grew up, literally, in the bowling alley. My mom worked at Bowl-Ero in Lakewood. I would often be there watching the adults or bigger kids bowl. At the age of 8, I finally wanted to try it on my own. It was a busy Sunday for my mom in the restaurant, so I think she agreed just to get me out of her hair. I proceeded to bowl 17 games and when they told my mom how much was owed, she almost fainted. I bowled my first 200 that day, but it was through some creative scoring and usage of the reset button. I was instantly hooked and people watching commented on how I looked like a “natural”. I started bowling in leagues soon thereafter and became one of the best in my age group immediately. I was quickly moved up into the bigger kid leagues and was competing against people almost twice my age at times.
One of the coolest memories was when I bowled what I believe was the first Coca-Cola Scholarship Tournament held at Bowl Aurora. I think I was 11 at the time, and almost won the whole tourney against junior bowlers up to 18 years of age. I think in the end my little skinny body just got tired after 20 or more games in 2 straight days of qualifying and moving forward. What I know now is that I was unable to adjust to the lanes as they all of the sudden starting drying out/breaking down. I think I won $300 dollars of scholarship money that weekend, but more importantly, I was progressing as a bowler and a competitor.
At the age of fifteen, I started taking lessons from Don Campbell. Randy had just started working at Bowl-Ero and Don would sit and watch me. At the time I was struggling because I was going through a major growth spurt and because I had never been given the proper tools to take it to the next level. I was relying on the natural talent, athleticism, and basic instruction I had received from many of the Junior coaches. Don started to redefine me as a bowler immediately. I would bowl for hours trying to perfect my stroke.
On July 14th, 1984, just five days after my birthday, I bowled my first 300 in league. We were bowling in a junior all-star type of league at the old Celebrity Lanes. It was a singles leagues where you would bowl 3 games head-to-head against another bowler, and then move lanes and bowl against another bowler for the second set. I was matched up against one of my best friends, Rob Haling, to start the day off. The first two games were frustrating as he beat me both games. I bowled 210 and 190, coming up a little short both games. I then got mad and decided to switch balls. I had just bought a Columbia Red Dot from a friend that didn’t like it and sold it to me for cheap. I had only used it in practice, so the move wasn’t really made with confidence, just out of frustration. I proceeded to bowl 300 to win my point for the game and I think I was able to take series as well because of it. I then was locked in and nobody could stop me as I rolled 258, 276, and I believe 242 for a 4-game set of 1076. Needless to say, that second opponent didn’t stand a chance.
When I left Junior leagues, I joined Randy in a men’s scratch league at Elitch Lanes in Denver. With Don as my coach and Randy as a mentor and teammate, I quickly made my presence known to all of the adult bowlers around town. The league was comprised of all the best bowlers from around town, including, Les & Rick Schissler, John Hatz, Mike Diaz, Vicki Fischel, and a ton of other elite bowlers. They were no match for our team though that was lead by Randy and Stan Boissanault. There were so many side pots in that league, you could walk with hundreds of dollars if you bowled well. It was eye-opening and fueled my competitive juices like never before.
About a year later, my mom had a stroke, and all of my focus and heart was directed towards taking care of her after her release from the hospital and rehabilitation clinic. I quit bowling and focused on work and taking care of her. She lived another 14 years, and it was an amazing opportunity, albeit tough in so many ways. I wouldn’t bowl again for another 7 years until I got a random phone call from Jamie Coy asking me if I wanted to get back into bowling with him and Randy, who had just moved back to Denver. I talked my wife into it and have been back now for 4 seasons.
My first season back was on the USBC White pattern, which was supposed to be a tougher/ modified house pattern. With Randy’s instruction I soon recaptured some of the old glory. The first game on the first night of league, Josh Kierpic bowled a 300 against me. Welcome back I guess. I quickly realized I wasn’t in Kansas with my pretty little dog anymore. Soon I was bowling against Steve McCracken and Kris Koeltzow and the like. In about week 13, I bowled my first 300 since being back, and shot my highest series ever, 827. The next year we switched to the USBC challenge shots and I have been learning more about the modern game and it’s transitions for the last 3 seasons. I’m still looking forward to taking my game to the next level, which I hope is to become one of the best in the state and region.
I highly recommend Randy and Jamie as coaches and mentors. They will definitely take your game to the next level. Let me know if you ever have questions or want to roll a few. I hope to be an ambassador for Stroke and Roll and keep the philosophy alive for many years to come.
Kind Regards, George Akeman
Akeman & Associates LLC
Broker Owner: 303-881-3812 GeorgeAkeman@gmail.com