The best way to strike for success on the bowling lanes is to spare.
That’s the philosophy of first-year Ewing High bowling coach Dave Angebranndt. A 2007 graduate of Ewing—where he was a standout baseball player and bowler—Angebranndt took over this season for longtime coach Mike Tucker. He stresses the importance of spares over strikes to his bowlers.
“Anyone can get lucky and throw a strike, but you’re not going to get lucky and make a 10-pin,” said Angebranndt, who as a player helped Ewing to the 2007 Group II state bowling championship. “You’ve got to practice. Strikes look good on the board, but spares are what going to get you to a championship. You could very easily miss one or two spares at the beginning of a game and it could cost you the game at the end.”
Angebranndt took over a boys’ team that returned only one varsity performer, Trey Zaggi, and has no seniors. Last year, the boys went 14-0 during the regular season and won their third consecutive state sectional championship.
“When I found out Coach Tucker was retiring, I had no second thoughts about applying for the position and hoping that I got it,” said Angebranndt, who last year took over as the baseball coach at Ewing. “I felt being part of the program once before as an athlete gave me a better chance to connect with the athletes.”
His approach to coaching bowling is equal to his baseball mindset. The sports, he added, are the same at their roots—accountability is key.
“If you can’t be accountable for your actions, it’s going to be hard for you to get better,” he said. “There’s no excuse when it comes to bowling because it’s not anybody else’s fault but yours if things don’t go right.”
Making adjustments is also important. Angebranndt carried a 210 average his senior year at Ewing and continued to bowl after graduating high school and college, so he’s familiar with what his players might need to adapt to most frequently.
“If you’re going to bowl against another team at their bowling alley, they have an advantage because you’re bowling on lane conditions that they’re used to,” he said. “If you notice they’re making a move because the lanes are starting to break down, in my eyes, I’d move the same way if I threw a similar ball. You’ve got to know when to adjust.”
Ewing won four of its first seven matches of this season. In addition to Zaggi, the Blue Devils have received contributions from Reese Hunt, Justin Macellaro, Sean Swanhart, Chase Springett, Kyle Briggs and David Baffuto.
Zaggi hopes to see the young, largely inexperienced team come together and make a deep tournament run.
“Not only for this year, but for next year too,” said Zaggi, who is a junior. “If somebody is doing badly, we’ll try to figure out what they’re doing wrong, help them get better, cheer them up.”
Most of the bowlers on this year’s team might be new to varsity competition, but the Blue Devils are serious about trying to maintain the success of the program. Ewing has won five state group championships in its history, second most in New Jersey.
“We compare ourselves to past teams all the time,” said Hunt, a junior. “We want to keep up the name of Ewing High bowling.”
Hunt averaged 161 last year on the junior varsity squad, but he has pushed his average to 185 this season, with a high score of 246. He credits Angebranndt and Chip Slocum at Slocum’s Bowling Center in Ewing for aiding his improvement.
Angebranndt believes the Blue Devils as a group can get in the groove the remainder of the season and add some hardware to the trophy case.
“The lack of varsity experience might play a little role, but bowling is bowling,” he said. “I hold my athletes to high expectations.”
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