One of the best Lithuanian bowling players of all time made whole American bowling society check where our little country is, after taking PBA Southern Region Rookie of the Year title of 2019 season. All about his personal achievements, hard decision of moving to USA and unfading desire to bowl in exclusive interview with Kristijonas Sergejevas.
You are undoubtedly one of the most talented Lithuanian bowlers, a virtuoso of the first trickshots on the YouTube channel and probably the only Lithuanian bowler currently known outside the Atlantic. But how did this sport emerge in your life? When did you start bowling?
If I remember this right, I started bowling when I was about 10 or 11 years old. My dad would take me to a bowling alley with him on weekends and let me bowl. It seemed like I was enjoying the game and wanted to bowl more and more. I tried other sports like swimming and basketball, but bowling was the one that I stuck with, which now looks like a good choice.
When did you start participating in LBF (Lithuanian bowling federation) ranking tournaments? When did you sense them not being enough to fulfill your bowling drive?
I believe my first official tournament was in 2002. It was a National rankings tournament in my hometown – Kaunas. There was no youth division back then. I believe I got to bowl one squad and I was ranked with men, so making it to the next round was close to impossible for me. I do not remember how I did, but I know that tournament gave me more inspiration to keep bowling.
Back in the day, I was happy to be able to compete in any tournament. I was fortunate enough to have the ability to compete in many national and high-level international events when I was younger. I always enjoyed bowling any tournament; therefore, the hunger for the game was always there regardless of the importance of the tournament. One thing I knew for sure, I needed to get much better to achieve something outside of Lithuania.
Could you remind the readers about your most memorable tournament moments or biggest achievements while still here in Lithuania?
I have many very good memories from various tournaments before I left Lithuania. The most memorable wins are all of my National Championships: First National Youth Championship in 2006; First National Men‘s Championship in 2009 (I believe I am still the youngest bowler to win men‘s title); First National Team Championship in 2009.
European Youth Championships in 2009 was also very special because I happened to qualify for the „Masters“event, which had never been done by any Lithuanian youth bowler.
Lastly, I very well remember the last tournament I bowled in Lithuania in 2016 where I won my second National Men‘s Championship. I happened to stay in Lithuania for the whole 2015-2016 season; which allowed me to bowl some tournaments. The ranking tournaments during the season didn‘t go well for me, I just couldn‘t win, something was missing. It all came to together at the National Championships, where I had one of my best tournaments ever. Great memory for sure!
What made you decide you wanted to move to the United States? Was leaving your homeland difficult? How did you pick a university in the first place? What did your typical day at a university look like? Was it bowling all day long?
I cannot really remember the moment where I decided I wanted to go to United States. I think it was my mum that made the decision for me. We both knew that I needed to get better coaching if I wanted to achieve something more in bowling.
I have applied to several universities and got replies with their interest before I heard about Webber International University. I found out about WIU at European Champions Cup in 2009 where I met Sid Allen. Sid is a World-Class coach who was coaching Team Latvia at the time. He was the one who recruited me to WIU. I chose that school mainly because of their bowling program and their practice facility – Kegel Training Center. Working with the top coaches in the World, getting good education and living in sunny Florida sounded like a great deal to me.
Leaving my home country wasn‘t easy. I didn‘t know where I was going or what I was going to get there. The thought of living by myself was scary but knowing that I was getting an opportunity to train in the best facility in the World kept me going forward. Once I arrived and settled in, I realized that I am in the right place.
There was a decent amount of bowling done every day. However, student bowlers just do not have the whole day to bowl. A typical day of a bowler athlete looked like this: 3 classes in the morning and team practice in the evening. On some days, a bowler has an individual practice sometime during the day. Bowlers, like any other athlete, also have to attend team and individual workouts in the gym. Add homework, tournaments over the weekends and you can see how busy the schedule was.
When did you bowl your first 300? Do you still keep count of your perfect games? What helps you keep the hand firm and legs straight when the only thing separating you from perfection is a single shot?
My first 300 happened pretty late in my career. I think it was in 2011. It was the summer after my first year at WIU during the V.I.P. Cup in Klaipeda. I had many 299s and 298s prior to my first 300. I now mainly count 300 games that I achieve in tournaments, which I now have 10.
The last shot of a 300 game is as hard as you make it. It is all about how you perceive the moment and how much pressure you put on yourself for that final shot. I think what makes it easier to make that shot is the realization that the final shot of such game is just another shot, no different from the other shots in the game.
Do you still get nervous before tournaments? What is your way of dealing with this type of anxiety? Do you get more nervous during individual or team competitions?
In my eyes, being nervous before any important tournament is normal. Having that pre-tournament excitement or anxiety shows that we are alive and what we do is important to us. I do get nervous before major tournaments up to this day. The way I deal with that is simple – I just embrace it, I perceive it as normal occurrence. To me, I always feel less nervous when I put less pressure on myself.
I think there is more pressure and anxiety in team competition. In team bowling, you have however many teammates behind you. For example, in college bowling, you have 7 teammates on your team, who all rely on you making a good shot or making a single pin spare. Throwing a winning shot for your team is much harder than throwing a winning shot just for yourself.
Everyone in Lithuania is waiting for the miracle of bowling becoming an Olympic sport. You most probably agree that this will sooner or later be the case, but do you personally think it will in the near future? Do bowlers in the United States converse about that? Now, if Lithuania had a spot on the Olympic bowling lanes, would you represent your homeland?
I really hope to see bowling in the Olympic Games. I am not sure if it will happen soon. The sooner the better. The talks about bowling being an Olympic sport are constant around the United States. Everyone wants this to happen. That is, in the end, the ultimate goal.
I always said that I will bowl for Lithuania every time I get an opportunity. In recent years, sadly, I didn‘t have a chance to bowl any international events for Lithuania. Hopefully, in the near future, with some upcoming championships, I will be able to bowl for team Lithuania again.
Let‘s bring the interview back to the titles. This year you achieved something most other bowlers could only dream about. I am not only talking about Lithuanian players. What made you a PBA Southern Region Rookie of the Year?
This award is voted by PBA Regional Managers around the country. They chose the recipients in each region based on tournament rankings, averages, earnings and several other statistics. I had a decent season where I bowled pretty well in several tournaments. I guess it was enough to earn this award.
Was that your aspiration since the very beginning of the season? What does this award mean to you? What new opportunities has it given to you? Did it inspire you to achieve even more? What is next?
Receiving the PBA South Region Rookie of the Year award is definitely very special to me and is one of the top achievements so far. You only have one attempt to win this award and I managed to get it. This was something I was hoping to achieve when I got my PBA membership, so I am glad it happened.
There is definitely more I want to achieve. I want to win a PBA Regional tournament this year. Becoming PBA South Region Player of the Year would be another goal for the future. I also plan to participate in a couple of PBA Tour events, like the USBC Masters or US Open and see where I stand with the best bowlers in the World.
You having a close relationship with professional bowling player Verity Crawley is no secret. Is bowling the main topic of your conversations? Do you practice together? Which of the two is more likely to give advice to the other? If you had to bowl one game competing 1 vs. 1 – who would win?
We definitely speak a lot about bowling. We both are very passionate about this sport. We want to help each other to get better. I would say that 50% of our conversations are bowling related. We have a few other hobbies that we like to talk about as well.
Currently we don‘t get a chance to practice much together. Verity lives and works in another state couple of hours away. We only get to practice together on the weekends.
I believe I am more willing to give advice to her. However, we both try to share our knowledge to each other as much as we can. She has more experience from bowling at a professional level while I have more experience with the technical side of bowling.
I think we both have a 50/50 chance at winning one game. But, I am very competitive and will always say that I can beat her anytime. Now, in reality, that may not always happen.
Since you live and play in the motherland of bowling, a country in which the conditions and opportunities of this sport are undoubtedly the best in the world, do you have an overall picture of how bowling could become a popular sport in the countries where people still only treat it as a way of entertainment and cannot imagine it without a beer mug and fried bread in their hands?
Bowling is ultimately a game and people come to bowling centers to have fun. Bowling centers don‘t make money out of professional bowlers, so party bowling is an essential part of the business. To me, it is about identifying and emphasizing the differences between sport bowling and party bowling. In my opinion, starting some leagues and showcasing the professional side of bowling could be a good start to get some more people involved into this sport. We also need more enthusiastic people like you guys to emerge, enjoy and help grow bowling as a sport.
