Aaron Smith's Queens/Senior Queens experience
April 30, 2010
It's pretty tough to describe the past 10 days of my journey out here at the USBC Women's Championships, but I'm going to try anyway. Don't worry. I'll eventually get to some kind of point.
As mentioned in my previous blog, we were preparing for the rush I like to call "Queens/Senior Queens week."
Starting Wednesday, April 21, the best female bowlers on the planet laced up their shoes and proceeded to put on a show at the Women's Championships. It was surreal to realize that every squad for three-consecutive days had the potential for an earth-shattering performance. And the ladies didn't disappoint.
On the first night of this journey, I saw Bowlers Choice Pro Shop post the highest team total in Women's Championships history (3,424). The following night, the world saw, via live stream on BOWL.com, the fifth 800 series and 10th and 11th 300 games in 91 years of tournament competition. Amongst the chaos of that 6 p.m. team event, Jodi Woessner quietly shot 764.
Then, on Friday, I witnessed two lead changes in doubles, one in singles and another in all-events during the first two squads. With only one squad left before we kicked into Queens/Senior Queens practice, I wasn't sure if I could handle any more excitement (physically, mentally, etc.).
But tucked away on lanes 1 and 2, Woessner had a different idea for this already-exhausted young lad. Not only did she tie the record for the highest series in tournament history (816) during her doubles competition, she rolled her lowest set (750) of the week in singles to beat the all-events record by 99 pins! 2,330! Jiminy jillikers, Batman!
After getting her story out to the world with the help of USBC's own Lucas Wiseman, I had the opportunity to relax and rest. My workload for Saturday and Sunday was relatively light, but I was warned to prepare for long days Monday and Tuesday as we made our way through match play.
Monday and Tuesday ran smoothly, the live-streaming efforts went off without a hitch, we had a great storyline for the Senior Queens finals and an amazing array of talent for the Queens live telecast on Wednesday evening. I truly believe it was one of the best team efforts I have ever been apart of in my days.
But as Char Hammel won two-consecutive matches to win her first Senior Queens title, I was on a plane just getting ready to land at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. As Kelly Kulick made her way up the ladder for a second Queens title, I was at a funeral home in Schererville, Ind., paying my final respects to my grandmother, who had passed away Monday morning.
Without getting into too much detail, the rigors of tournament-life were exactly what I needed to make Monday and Tuesday easier to bear. We had quite a task in front of us, and it took each individual effort to make it work.
With the job complete, my focus changed quickly to my family (a very special thank you to the staff of USBC and the Women's Championships for their support). I was able to spend much-needed time with my family and friends to help remember and celebrate the life of my grandmother.
My time back home in Northwest Indiana seemed much too short, however, as I prepared to return to El Paso. I really thought of all the time I had lost with the people I cared about. I hadn't seen most of my family, including my grandmother, since Christmas. I felt nostalgic hearing friends talk about bowling the Indiana State Tournament this upcoming weekend and another season of Olympia Majors being in the books.
I really didn't want to get back on the plane. Not yet, at least.
Sun City didn't change in my 48-hours away (although it was cloudy). My office looked the same. The smiling faces behind registration were still there. Amigo Man roamed the convention center. It was business as usual.
The homesick feeling was still lurking until I received a 40-word e-mail this afternoon, which single-handedly made my day. It's amazing how such a simple gesture completely changed my attitude.
In so many words, I received a thank-you note for an article written during the past week. I won't mention any names, but she knows who she is. And I sincerely thank you.
In this line of work, criticism is something you hear more than you would like. You learn to take your hits. Some hurt more than others. Compliments and appreciation aren't always expressed in words, but rather by seeing the same faces year in and out.
It's easy to lose track of that.
And that's why reading the appreciation for what we do motivated me. It reminded me of my grandparents and the values they lived their lives by. They wanted to see their efforts paid off in smiles. They would go the extra mile without asking why. If we forgot to say thank you, they knew we were still grateful. In turn, we hoped to make them proud of us as we grew as individuals each day.
And I think that's what we all want. We really, really, really care about our bowlers. When things don't go according to plan, we learn a little more about ourselves, and we grow from those experiences. Sometimes, that's the only way.
As mentioned in my previous blog, we were preparing for the rush I like to call "Queens/Senior Queens week."
Starting Wednesday, April 21, the best female bowlers on the planet laced up their shoes and proceeded to put on a show at the Women's Championships. It was surreal to realize that every squad for three-consecutive days had the potential for an earth-shattering performance. And the ladies didn't disappoint.
On the first night of this journey, I saw Bowlers Choice Pro Shop post the highest team total in Women's Championships history (3,424). The following night, the world saw, via live stream on BOWL.com, the fifth 800 series and 10th and 11th 300 games in 91 years of tournament competition. Amongst the chaos of that 6 p.m. team event, Jodi Woessner quietly shot 764.
Then, on Friday, I witnessed two lead changes in doubles, one in singles and another in all-events during the first two squads. With only one squad left before we kicked into Queens/Senior Queens practice, I wasn't sure if I could handle any more excitement (physically, mentally, etc.).
But tucked away on lanes 1 and 2, Woessner had a different idea for this already-exhausted young lad. Not only did she tie the record for the highest series in tournament history (816) during her doubles competition, she rolled her lowest set (750) of the week in singles to beat the all-events record by 99 pins! 2,330! Jiminy jillikers, Batman!
After getting her story out to the world with the help of USBC's own Lucas Wiseman, I had the opportunity to relax and rest. My workload for Saturday and Sunday was relatively light, but I was warned to prepare for long days Monday and Tuesday as we made our way through match play.
Monday and Tuesday ran smoothly, the live-streaming efforts went off without a hitch, we had a great storyline for the Senior Queens finals and an amazing array of talent for the Queens live telecast on Wednesday evening. I truly believe it was one of the best team efforts I have ever been apart of in my days.
But as Char Hammel won two-consecutive matches to win her first Senior Queens title, I was on a plane just getting ready to land at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. As Kelly Kulick made her way up the ladder for a second Queens title, I was at a funeral home in Schererville, Ind., paying my final respects to my grandmother, who had passed away Monday morning.
Without getting into too much detail, the rigors of tournament-life were exactly what I needed to make Monday and Tuesday easier to bear. We had quite a task in front of us, and it took each individual effort to make it work.
With the job complete, my focus changed quickly to my family (a very special thank you to the staff of USBC and the Women's Championships for their support). I was able to spend much-needed time with my family and friends to help remember and celebrate the life of my grandmother.
My time back home in Northwest Indiana seemed much too short, however, as I prepared to return to El Paso. I really thought of all the time I had lost with the people I cared about. I hadn't seen most of my family, including my grandmother, since Christmas. I felt nostalgic hearing friends talk about bowling the Indiana State Tournament this upcoming weekend and another season of Olympia Majors being in the books.
I really didn't want to get back on the plane. Not yet, at least.
Sun City didn't change in my 48-hours away (although it was cloudy). My office looked the same. The smiling faces behind registration were still there. Amigo Man roamed the convention center. It was business as usual.
The homesick feeling was still lurking until I received a 40-word e-mail this afternoon, which single-handedly made my day. It's amazing how such a simple gesture completely changed my attitude.
In so many words, I received a thank-you note for an article written during the past week. I won't mention any names, but she knows who she is. And I sincerely thank you.
In this line of work, criticism is something you hear more than you would like. You learn to take your hits. Some hurt more than others. Compliments and appreciation aren't always expressed in words, but rather by seeing the same faces year in and out.
It's easy to lose track of that.
And that's why reading the appreciation for what we do motivated me. It reminded me of my grandparents and the values they lived their lives by. They wanted to see their efforts paid off in smiles. They would go the extra mile without asking why. If we forgot to say thank you, they knew we were still grateful. In turn, we hoped to make them proud of us as we grew as individuals each day.
And I think that's what we all want. We really, really, really care about our bowlers. When things don't go according to plan, we learn a little more about ourselves, and we grow from those experiences. Sometimes, that's the only way.