In the Pocket: Adams a rising star on lanes and links

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bob Weiner

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Power and accuracy are assets Seth Adams uses to succeed both on the lanes and on the links.

One of the top junior golfers in the Capital Region, Adams also is among the elite junior bowlers. The senior at Christian Brothers Academy is overpowering the lanes while competing for the Brothers’ Big 10 bowling team, as well as in both the Boulevard Bowl junior program and the Joey Schmidt Capital District Junior Pro-Scoring League.

His name appears in the junior bowling leaderboard virtually every week.

“I’m bowling five or six days a week right now, but I enjoy it. It’s tiring sometimes, but I don’t get sick of it,” said the powerful right-hander.

The Schenectady native is averaging a solid 222 for his high school team, which uses Redwood Lanes as its home base. But he really excels in the Boulevard junior porgram. He averages 238 in the Saturday morning program and 225 in the Saturday afternoon program.

“I like the fresh oil in the morning,” said Adams. “I’m a cranker, and I cover a lot of boards. I usually throw around the third arrow and more toward the middle of the lanes, but I put a lot of hand in the ball. In the afternoon program, there is some carry-down with the oil, it makes it a little tougher to carry.”

Adams is uses a Cell Mutant ball. He’s been wearing out the three Ebonite Raid balls he owns. He chooses not to use a spare ball, because he throws the ball with enough speed to take out the 10-pin.

“I just flatten out my wrist a little for 10-pins, but I still like to hook the ball for spares on the left side of the lane,” said Adams with a laugh.

Even before he can bowl in adult league competition, he already has nine perfect games and five 800 triples to his credit. His top individual honor is winning a Pepsi Junior Regional Tournament this year.

“My goal is to go back to the states,” said Adams. “I made it to the state tournament last year, and I also made the team as an eighth-grader. But I got sick during the tournament last year, and it wasn’t much fun.”

He credits his father, Clark, and Boulevard Bowl junior bowling coordinator Sharon Sager with helping him learn the game, but he also said two other bowling friends have helped him recently.

“Jason Impellizzeri and Billy Cornell are my main coaches now,” he said. “Jason helps me because he noticed that my ball comes in behind the head pin when I leave a lot of flat 10-pins. I can’t score that way, and he keeps me aware of what’s happening with my ball when that happens.”

Adams got plenty of practice when he was a youngster, because his father built some bowling lanes at their house.

“My dad put in some lanes, and when I was younger, I was down there quite often, but I don’t go downstairs to bowl much anymore, because I’m too busy,” he said.

Adams’ other main passion is golf.

“I probably like golf even more than I like bowling. It’s a tougher game, and you get to be outisde,” said the winner of last summer’s Gazette Newspaper in Education Junior Golf Championship boys’ 15-18 age division at Schenectady Municipal.

Adams also qualified for the state tournament on the links, and he hopes to play college golf, preferably at Siena.

“My best club is probably my driver. I can keep it long and straight,” he said. “My wedge game is pretty good, and I’m a pretty decent putter. I try to stay in golf shape by playing at a golf simulator machine indoors at least once a week.”

A rare scholastic athlete with state tournament experience in two sports, Adams has a bright future in each.

NBA AT REDWOOD

Redwood Lanes will host the Western Diner Northern Bowlers Association “Joe Donato Classic” Sunday at 9:30 a.m.

Entry fee is $50, plus a $15 membership paid if not paid already. The tournament will be sponsored by the Joe Donato Scratch Singles tournament, the Albany Bowling News and Western Diner.

The field will be limited to 72 players. First place will be $950, based on a full field. The NBA is attempting to add prize money across the field of cashers. If there is a full field, there will be 14 paid spots.

The next 10 positions after the last casher will receive a $15 reduction to an entry into the Joe Donato Scratch Singles Tournament in March.

Reservations are suggested. Call Karl Bieber at 368-5539 for more information.

STRIKES & SPARES

— In last week’s column about the 1954 Don Carter vs. local scratch bowlers match at the now defunct Van Vranken Lanes, we recounted Carter’s victories over most of the area players, including two matches with the legendary Joe Donato. An interesting note is that Donato got his revenge in 1960, when he crushed the former PBA Tour great in a three-game match, 693-594, on the old Capital Bowling Show at Tri-City Lanes.

— Towne Bowling Academy will host the Generations Scholarship Tournament Jan. 30-Feb. 20. Teams consist of one USBC certified youth bowler, one adult (age 18-49) and one senior (age 50-plus).The adult and senior bowlers don’t have to be USBC certified. The entry fee is $60 per team, and all prizes are awarded as scholarships to the youth through the SMART program. Handicap will be 100 percent of 700. Last year’s event raised $1,189 in scholarships. Call Towne at 355-3939 to register.

— Shane Bartnicki, 15, rolled his first perfect game last weekend in the Junior/Major division of the Towne Bowling Academy junior bowling program. Two years ago, at about the same time of the season, Bartnicki rolled a 290 and a 299 game in an eight-day span.

— The Confusion Athletic Club’s 31st annual tournament will be held Jan. 30-31 at Boulevard Bowl. Top prize for the four-person team event will be $1,500, based on 120 teams. Entry fee is $80 per team. Handicaps will be 100 percent of a 920 team average. Maximum team average will be 920. Call Boulevard Bowl at 374-4171 for more information.

— The Troy Bowling Association will hold its second annual Plastic Ball Open Jan. 30 at Hometown Lanes. Bowlers will bowl three games and move after each game. Only plastic balls with a durosofthyphenmeter hardness of 82 or higher can be used. No sanding of balls during competition will be allowed, and no ball cleaner during competition will be allowed. All bowling balls will be checked for hardness upon signing in. Only 72 spots are available. John Walther III is the defending champion. Entry fee is $22. Call 496-5562 for more information or for reservations.

— The KAPL Mixed league needs one bowler. The league bowls 6 p.m. Wednesday nights at Sportsman’s Bowl. Call Marianne Hogle at 393-8907 if interested.

— Towne Bowling Academy, in conjunction with the East Glenville Fire Department and Ladies Auxliary, will be hosting a Bowl for the Cure to benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation Feb. 13 at 2 p.m. The format will be nine-pin no-tap. Cost is $20 per person. Call 355-3939 for more information.

— Redwood Lanes will host a Team Baker Challenge, sponsored by 2001 Central Insurance Agency, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. Entry fee is $125 per five-person team. The prize ratio will be one in six, with the top handicap team guaranteed $1,000 and the top scratch team guaranteed $500, based on 24 entries.The format will be 15 games of Baker system bowling. Teams will bowl on a single lane for the entire game, then switch lanes after completion of each game. Team handicap will be 90 percent of 1,100. For more information or for reservations, call Redwood at 869-3581 or Tom Donato at 496-7812.

— RJ Martinez of Ballston Spa and Jason Baker of Sharon Springs each won $300 by finishing in the top 10 of the Coors Light Scratch Challenge at Pin-O-Rama Lanes in Utica. Other local cashers included Ed McGaffin, Mark Taylor and Clay Reinger ($225 each), Josh Trippolda ($175) and Craig Taylor, Nick Miseno, Mark James, Steve Wagoner and Mike Drexel ($150 each).

— There will be a Coors Light Four-Game Scratch Sweeper Challenge Jan. 24 at Spare Time East Greenbush. Entry fee is $40. Based on 60 entries, the top four payouts will be $1,000 for first, $450 for second, $250 for third and $100 for fourth. Brackets and jackpots will be available. The tournament will be bowled on the USBC National oil pattern. Call Spare Time East Greenbush at 477-9306 for more information.

— The 500 Club Snow Ball Bowl Doubles Tournament is set for Jan. 31 at Sportsman’s Bowl at 1 p.m. Entry fee is $16 per person, and handicap will be 100 percent of a team average of 440. One in five teams will cash. There will be an A Division for teams with combined averagess of 300 and above, and a B Division for teams with averages of 299 or below. Contact Marie Moorhead at 6 Jane Drive, Scotia, NY 12302 for more information.

— One of the best double tapings of the season for the Huck Finn/Northeast Bowling Proprietors of New York’s “Capital Region Bowling Show” will be held Sunday at Redwood Lanes. The 50-and-over show will feature Bob Kavanaugh, Bill Neumann, Jim Patricelli and Frank Manell, while the other scratch show being taped, beginning at 5:30, will include former touring pro Brian LeClair, Towne Bowling Academy proprietor Marty Capullo Jr., Joe Mazuryk and Matt Sherman.