TJ was born on June 4, 1978 in Kitchener, Ontario. He was introduced
to the game of bowling at the age of 5 years, when his parents moved to
Naples, Florida in 1983, and was befriended by the manager of the
bowling house where his parents bowled. He was given a used 5 lb. bowling
ball and a bag to get him started. (He threw a mean hook with a 10-step
approach to start with).
When his parents moved back to Calgary in 1984, TJ was enrolled
in the Junior League where he started league bowling every Saturday
morning. During his "Bantam" years, TJ won gold medals in the provincial
YBC and CTF tournaments where he represented Alberta in the National
Championships in Kelowna, BC and Kingston, Ontario. He won the YBC
Bronze Medal in Kelowna and Silver Medals in Singles, Doubles, Team
and All Events in Kingston bowling against eight other provinces competing
in the Nationals.
In his "Junior" years, TJ again won the provincial gold medal and bowled
in the YBC nationals held in Edmonton, where he won a silver medal.
He attended summer camp at Earl Anthony's bowling academy in Dublin,
California, and was also coached every summer by Matt Surina, a retired
professional bowler in Spokane, and Jack Guay, a local bowler known to many.
His "FIQ" and "Senior" years in the junior league were similarly fruitful in that
he won the provincial gold medals and represented Alberta in the following
National & International Championship tournaments:
CTF National Championship tournament in Burnaby, BC - 1996
CTF National Championship tournament in Windsor, Ontario - 1997
Coca-Cola International Tournament in Memphis, Tennessee - 1998Coca-Cola International Tournament in Houston, Texas - 1999
International Junior Olympic Championship in Reno, Nevada - 1999
TJ moved up to the adult leagues in the fall of 1999, and has bowled
and won various tournaments in Montana, Ontario, Alberta and BC.
To date, he has rolled 4 perfect games, three of which are sanctioned and
one unsanctioned. He has rings from ABC and Bowling Proprietors Association
of Alberta. He currently carries an average of 215, 220 & 225 in 3 leagues. |
