{"id":114068,"date":"2019-02-28T05:12:01","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T10:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=114068"},"modified":"2019-02-28T05:13:03","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T10:13:03","slug":"decker-bidlack-ready-to-bowl-in-cbus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2019\/02\/28\/decker-bidlack-ready-to-bowl-in-cbus\/","title":{"rendered":"Decker, Bidlack ready to bowl in C’bus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL<\/strong>\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One is a sophomore, one is a senior, but both are heading to Columbus to represent Van Wert High School and compete in the 2019 Bowling State Tournaments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After qualifying for State as a freshman, Lorrie Decker is making a second consecutive appearance at Wayne Webb\u2019s Columbus Bowl, while Nathan Bidlack is closing out his high school bowling career at the highest level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lorrie Decker<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Decker competed against 102 other Division II bowlers and was the highest placing freshman in a field of mainly juniors and seniors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was extremely challenging and I finished 14th overall last year,\u201d Decker said. \u201cPersonally, I should have slammed the pattern but I didn’t, and my spare game isn’t where it was now and I kept \u2018rubbernecking\u2019 as what my coach and I call it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the experience from last year will definitely benefit for me this year,\u201d I’m prepared, my spare game is there I’ve made a lot of adjustments to my game mentally and fundamentally, and I’m ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her father and Lady Cougars head bowling coach Kevin Decker also believes his daughter has made significant improvements since last season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Two Van Wert High School bowlers and their coaches are ready for the State Tournament. Pictured from left to right: Lady Cougars coach Kevin Decker, Lorrie Decker, Nathan Bidlack and Seth Blackmore.<\/strong> Scott Truxell\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLorrie has become more versatile and can play deeper inside and swing the ball if needed, but she tends to have higher scores and more success playing up the boards on the outside,\u201d the elder Decker said. \u201cHer spare shooting is better then most bowlers and it\u2019s unusual to see her have a bad spare day.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople will see her throw a lot of strikes and probably think that’s her strength, but spare shooting even on big splits, she has a higher rate of converting them than even some of the more experienced bowlers no matter what age.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having a father who\u2019s also the team\u2019s head coach has some pros and cons but the benefits seem to outweigh any negatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI view him as my dad and he’s my mental mindset, he gives me pep talks when I need them, he’s my role model but he gives me the truth \u2013 no sugar coating, and I don’t mind that at all,\u201d Decker explained. \u201cHe’s my number one fan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThen he is my coach and that has benefits, as he will always give me the best answer possible when he has it. I get tips, pointers and stories with a lot of experience as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are downfalls of him as my coach we don’t get as much time together on the lanes because he will be working with someone else that needs help or asks for it, he will never turn anyone away. Yes, that can be frustrating but he does put a lot of time into my game with me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoach will do what best for the team first \u2013 it\u2019s always team first. There is no \u2018I\u2019, \u2013 we’re a team and have a purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one could imagine, Decker has been around the sport for a big chunk of her young life, which is paying dividends now. She\u2019s also helping younger bowlers improve on the lanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy sister is a head bowling coach at a university (Lourdes University) and my dad has been a coach since the late 1970\u2019s, Decker said. \u201cI’m a coach for the Van Wert Middle School team, so I understand when he (Kevin) doesn’t have enough time for me during practice individually because, and I don’t always get around to every single player during my practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut when a player comes to me or my dad one on one and wants help we will never deny it, we will always give our knowledge to those who ask for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decker is scheduled to bowl at 10:15 Friday morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nathan Bidlack<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bidlack qualified for Division II district competition in 2018, which served as a springboard for this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI quickly learned what I needed to practice for my senior year,\u201d Bidlack said. \u201cI knew that with some of the scores I rolled this year, I had potential to move through tournament as an individual and I also felt I had a great chance of being the state champion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 636 series at last weekend\u2019s Division II district at Interstate Lanes in Rossford was good enough for an individual runner up finish and a qualifying spot at the State Tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t necessarily nervous at districts, but I did feel a lot of pressure knowing that it could have been my last high school bowling tournament,\u201d Bidlack said. \u201cAs the prominent anchor bowler and starter for the past two years, I have been under tremendous pressure on many occasions, so I felt that I was extremely well mentally prepared to take on tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel that my biggest strength on the lanes is my mentality when I bowl,\u201d Bidlack continued. \u201cActually, throwing the ball is only a very small percent of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have to be mentally prepared each time it is my turn to bowl. If I throw a bad ball, I forget about what I did and make the necessary changes needed to make my next throw a good one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Head coach Seth Blackmore believes Bidlack\u2019s intelligence and experience will suit him well in Columbus this weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is smart and knows the game well,\u201d Blackmore stated. \u201cIn bowling you have to be able to remain calm and keep your emotions under control when struggling. Nathan is great under pressure and always stays positive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNathan is able to read what his ball is doing on the lanes, he can adjust how many revs (revolutions) he can put on the ball, he can move his feet and his mark on the lane to get the best angle into the pocket. He throws a great spare ball and just has a natural talent for the sport of bowling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bidlack has bowled at Wayne Webb\u2019s Columbus Bowl, but it was many years ago for State as a youth bowler. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince then, I bowl much different and know a lot more about bowling,\u201d Bidlack explained. \u201cIt is impossible to know for sure how the lanes will be at State, but I feel confident I can do well since I have much exposure to different lane conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the ultimate goal is to win a state title, Blackmore said there\u2019s another important aspect to Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is Nathan\u2019s first trip to State and of course I want him to go do his best but also to have fun no matter the outcome,\u201d Blackmore said. \u201cNot every athlete gets a chance to say \u2018In high school, I made it to state.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bidlack is scheduled to bowl at 10:15 on Saturday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor One is a sophomore, one is a senior, but both are heading to Columbus to represent Van Wert High School and compete in the 2019 Bowling State Tournaments. After qualifying for State as a freshman, Lorrie Decker is making a second consecutive appearance at Wayne Webb\u2019s Columbus Bowl, while Nathan Bidlack […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 21:52:12","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}