BIOGRAPHY
Bowling has been my life and from my early teens onward the only thing I wanted to do was bowl and be involved in the bowling industry. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to do that—as a competitor I had success as an amateur and professional bowler and on the business side I’ve been a pro shop operator and owned and operated Hawthorn Lanes in Vernon Hills, IL. I began coaching and giving lessons in 1980, and I’ve written over 400 instructional articles for various bowling publications including Bowling Digest magazine, The Chicago Bowler newspaper, and Bowlers Journal International magazine. I’ve been a USBC Gold Level Coach since 2000 (I was one of the first 20), been the Performance and Head Coach of the Vernon Hills High School Boys’ Bowling Team since 2003, and a Team USA Assistant Coach since 2017.
It was through bowling that I met my wife Barb in 1980 and we have two sons, Robby and Jimmy, who are both excellent bowlers. Both are also involved in the bowling industry.
Outside of the lanes Barb and I enjoy going to our health club daily where we do a variety of classes including Yoga, Pilates, Total Body Conditioning and Spin. I also enjoy playing golf.
I’ve had many highlights in my career on and off the lanes, but I feel being inducted into the USBC Hall of Fame in 2001 is my biggest honor. Also being the 29th person to knock down 100,000 pins in the USBC Open Championships in my 55th year of participation in 2023 was a special day for me.
