Nick Hoagland receives Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award
February 03, 2025
ARLINGTON, Texas – Nick Hoagland of Zionsville, Indiana, was presented with the 2024 Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award Sunday prior to the televised finals of the 2025 U.S. Open presented by Go Bowling.
Hoagland, 46, was previously notified by the United States Bowling Congress that he was the 2024 award recipient, and USBC Vice President Mike Cannington made the official presentation of the award to Hoagland before friends and family at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis.
The Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award winner, which recognizes a person for their behind-the-scenes work as a laneman, is selected by the USBC Equipment Specifications and Certifications team from submitted nominations.
“For a lane guy, this is different because we’re just trying to hide in the shadows, and we’re not looking for any credit,” Hoagland said. “But this is a big deal, and I appreciate that people get recognized for this work although that’s not why I do it. And just to tie this to Jim Jaryszak, what I remember most about Jim is that he took chances and was not afraid to do something different because he understood that lane maintenance is always evolving, and you can’t keep doing lanes the same way you did 10 years ago. That took courage to do that.”
Hoagland serves in many roles these days, including the last nine years as USBC’s Lane Pattern Development Team Leader in charge of the creation and implementation of lane patterns for all USBC events. He also is the Chief Revenue Officer for Backhaul Direct and owner of H2M Management, which runs about a dozen college bowling tournaments per year, including the Hoosier Classic.
Hoagland is an accomplished bowler in his own right, starting at age four when he bowled a junior league on four lanes in the basement of an American Legion Hall in Canton, Ohio, where his grandfather (John Mrkvica) was a member.
Hoagland noted that his journey as a bowler was shaped heavily by watching the pros on TV when he was growing up, and his love for the sport continued into high school where he competed in a proprietor’s travel league in the Canton area.
He bowled collegiately at Indiana University where he was a three-time All-American and collegiate player of the year (1997-1998).
Like his interest in the sport, Hoagland’s interest in oiling lanes and lane maintenance also started at an early age.
“My grandfather, in his basement, had a miniature bowling machine,” Hoagland said. “It was built in the 60s and had actual (miniature) bowling balls. When I was around 10 and I would watch the pros on TV, Bo Burton would draw the lines on the lanes for the lane pattern, and I would try to replicate the oil pattern. I would do that on this miniature lane that was about 13 feet long. I had towels, I had spray guns, I used Pledge, I used Ajax, just everything. Then, one day, the mechanic at the local center finally gave me some real oil. That was the start of it all.”
Hoagland did some lane maintenance during college, before being hired by the Professional Bowlers Association in 1999 to do lane maintenance for the Midwest Region. He also did an internship at Kegel in 2000.
Following that, Hoagland was hired as an assistant tournament director for the PBA Tour, which quickly transitioned into a position developing oil patterns for the PBA. The first PBA event he provided lane maintenance for was the 2001 PBA Great Lakes Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Pete Weber shot 299.
It’s always been Hoagland’s love for the sport and his passion to learn more that has fueled his career in lane maintenance, but he’s also quick to point out that he’s had some great mentors along the way. Hoagland cites four in particular – Joe Petrick, Ed and Polly Limbach and John Janawicz.
Petrick was Hoagland’s coach during his high school years, and Hoagland noted he had “an out-of-the-box way of looking at lane maintenance and passed that along to me.”
The Limbachs, owners of North Canton (Ohio) Recreation Center, allowed Hoagland to bowl for free at their center for 10 years as part of their travel league team. That access, according to Hoagland, allowed him to “learn everything about ball reaction” and provided him with a foundation in lane maintenance.
Janawicz, a USBC Hall of Famer and 2023 recipient of this award, first mentored Hoagland during his internship at Kegel. Hoagland cited Janawicz’s “professionalism, how he approached his craft, his seriousness and work ethic” as leaving lasting impressions on him.
Hoagland also admires Len Nicholson (2011 Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award winner) who Hoagland said has provided him with “all his lane patterns, his PBA Tour reports and all his concepts,” along with “everyone at Kegel, especially Chris Chartrand.”
Hoagland notes the job of a laneman certainly has its challenges. When asked what he felt was the most difficult part about it, Hoagland said, “Keeping up with the ever-changing environment. And that’s not just a ball discussion. It includes lane surfaces, oils, everything. All that stuff is constantly changing and evolving, and it’s a challenge to stay on top of it.”
Despite those challenges, there is no denying Hoagland loves what he does.
“I had a couple of experiences when I was a junior and senior in high school at some tournaments where things happened with the lane machine that affected the competition and it shouldn’t have happened,” Hoagland said. “From that point on, I wanted to make sure things were fair when it came to lane maintenance, and what I mean by fair is that the process is fair and consistent. That’s why I got into it, and I continue with it today because I think I’m contributing. I think I have a skill, and it’s part art and part science, and I like the accountability of it. With me, the effort and passion to always try to do it the right way is always going to be there.”
The Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award is named in honor of the USBC Research Manager who passed away in late 2010. Jaryszak was instrumental in setting up the USBC Sport Bowling program and served as the point person when the PBA was updating its animal patterns.
Past recipients include names such as Sam Baca, the first Director of Lane Maintenance for the PBA, and Kegel founder John Davis.
For a complete list of past recipients and to learn more about the Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award, click here.
Hoagland, 46, was previously notified by the United States Bowling Congress that he was the 2024 award recipient, and USBC Vice President Mike Cannington made the official presentation of the award to Hoagland before friends and family at Royal Pin Woodland in Indianapolis.
The Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award winner, which recognizes a person for their behind-the-scenes work as a laneman, is selected by the USBC Equipment Specifications and Certifications team from submitted nominations.
“For a lane guy, this is different because we’re just trying to hide in the shadows, and we’re not looking for any credit,” Hoagland said. “But this is a big deal, and I appreciate that people get recognized for this work although that’s not why I do it. And just to tie this to Jim Jaryszak, what I remember most about Jim is that he took chances and was not afraid to do something different because he understood that lane maintenance is always evolving, and you can’t keep doing lanes the same way you did 10 years ago. That took courage to do that.”
Hoagland serves in many roles these days, including the last nine years as USBC’s Lane Pattern Development Team Leader in charge of the creation and implementation of lane patterns for all USBC events. He also is the Chief Revenue Officer for Backhaul Direct and owner of H2M Management, which runs about a dozen college bowling tournaments per year, including the Hoosier Classic.
Hoagland is an accomplished bowler in his own right, starting at age four when he bowled a junior league on four lanes in the basement of an American Legion Hall in Canton, Ohio, where his grandfather (John Mrkvica) was a member.
Hoagland noted that his journey as a bowler was shaped heavily by watching the pros on TV when he was growing up, and his love for the sport continued into high school where he competed in a proprietor’s travel league in the Canton area.
He bowled collegiately at Indiana University where he was a three-time All-American and collegiate player of the year (1997-1998).
Like his interest in the sport, Hoagland’s interest in oiling lanes and lane maintenance also started at an early age.
“My grandfather, in his basement, had a miniature bowling machine,” Hoagland said. “It was built in the 60s and had actual (miniature) bowling balls. When I was around 10 and I would watch the pros on TV, Bo Burton would draw the lines on the lanes for the lane pattern, and I would try to replicate the oil pattern. I would do that on this miniature lane that was about 13 feet long. I had towels, I had spray guns, I used Pledge, I used Ajax, just everything. Then, one day, the mechanic at the local center finally gave me some real oil. That was the start of it all.”
Hoagland did some lane maintenance during college, before being hired by the Professional Bowlers Association in 1999 to do lane maintenance for the Midwest Region. He also did an internship at Kegel in 2000.
Following that, Hoagland was hired as an assistant tournament director for the PBA Tour, which quickly transitioned into a position developing oil patterns for the PBA. The first PBA event he provided lane maintenance for was the 2001 PBA Great Lakes Classic in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Pete Weber shot 299.
It’s always been Hoagland’s love for the sport and his passion to learn more that has fueled his career in lane maintenance, but he’s also quick to point out that he’s had some great mentors along the way. Hoagland cites four in particular – Joe Petrick, Ed and Polly Limbach and John Janawicz.
Petrick was Hoagland’s coach during his high school years, and Hoagland noted he had “an out-of-the-box way of looking at lane maintenance and passed that along to me.”
The Limbachs, owners of North Canton (Ohio) Recreation Center, allowed Hoagland to bowl for free at their center for 10 years as part of their travel league team. That access, according to Hoagland, allowed him to “learn everything about ball reaction” and provided him with a foundation in lane maintenance.
Janawicz, a USBC Hall of Famer and 2023 recipient of this award, first mentored Hoagland during his internship at Kegel. Hoagland cited Janawicz’s “professionalism, how he approached his craft, his seriousness and work ethic” as leaving lasting impressions on him.
Hoagland also admires Len Nicholson (2011 Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award winner) who Hoagland said has provided him with “all his lane patterns, his PBA Tour reports and all his concepts,” along with “everyone at Kegel, especially Chris Chartrand.”
Hoagland notes the job of a laneman certainly has its challenges. When asked what he felt was the most difficult part about it, Hoagland said, “Keeping up with the ever-changing environment. And that’s not just a ball discussion. It includes lane surfaces, oils, everything. All that stuff is constantly changing and evolving, and it’s a challenge to stay on top of it.”
Despite those challenges, there is no denying Hoagland loves what he does.
“I had a couple of experiences when I was a junior and senior in high school at some tournaments where things happened with the lane machine that affected the competition and it shouldn’t have happened,” Hoagland said. “From that point on, I wanted to make sure things were fair when it came to lane maintenance, and what I mean by fair is that the process is fair and consistent. That’s why I got into it, and I continue with it today because I think I’m contributing. I think I have a skill, and it’s part art and part science, and I like the accountability of it. With me, the effort and passion to always try to do it the right way is always going to be there.”
The Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award is named in honor of the USBC Research Manager who passed away in late 2010. Jaryszak was instrumental in setting up the USBC Sport Bowling program and served as the point person when the PBA was updating its animal patterns.
Past recipients include names such as Sam Baca, the first Director of Lane Maintenance for the PBA, and Kegel founder John Davis.
For a complete list of past recipients and to learn more about the Jim Jaryszak Laneman Award, click here.