As of Jan. 21, the Bordentown High boys’ bowling team was 14-2-2 and coach Ron Jones was asked how much the addition of freshman Lucien Carr had impacted the Scotties.
His citing of the statistics said it all.
“It helped tremendously,” Jones said. “Last year, with pretty much the same team minus him, we only had seven wins out of 17 games. This year we have 14 wins in 18 games.”
That’s quite a difference.
Then again, Carr is quite a bowler.
Through Bordentown’s first 18 contests he led the team with a 166 average that included six 200 games. He was the lone Scottie with a 600 series as he rolled a 632 against Delran.
That’s not to say there haven’t been a few bumps in the road. Jones noted that in tryouts Lucien averaged 199, which he has not maintained during the season. But the youngster shows maturity in understanding that.
“I came in with a really high average, but with bowling the ups and downs come,” he said. “You gotta get used to it and get ingrained in it. This is my first year of doing it, I’ve got many more years to go with the team.
“I’m starting to get back on track, getting my average up. But with all these matches, bowling constantly, you get a little tired here and there. But you just gotta keep that mindset and really put your best out there on the lanes.”
For the most part it has been a winter of contentment for the 9th-grader as he learns what it’s like to be a teammate instead of just bowling for one’s self.
“All through the year I’ve become good friends with all of these guys and we’ve created that bond,” Carr said. “It’s really different from bowling by yourself in regular tournaments in singles. When you get put on a team you have to have that team effort.
“It’s slower than your average singles tournament. You’re still bowling by yourself, but you gotta support your teammates. It can’t be all about yourself. I’ve seen a big, huge difference, bowling singles as opposed to playing with a bunch of five. It’s fun being out there with these four fantastic bowlers.”
Carr rolled his first ball down the lane at age 9 at Colonial Lanes in Lawrenceville. He started with a plastic ball and enjoyed it to the point where he wanted to start playing for real. Lucien quickly became enamored with Australia’s Jason Belmonte, the six-time Pro Bowler Association’s Player of the Year.
Belmonte is part of the new breed of two-handed bowler, which came into vogue this century. Carr watched and admired his hero, and decided to copy his approach.
“I started bowling two-handed and progressively got better at it,” he said. “I realized I have potential with this. I just kept practicing. Once I started having a little itch for bowling, I started taking it more serious. I got my first ball drilled. I got better balls, better equipment and I started scoring over 100 and it just went from there.”
A two handed bowler puts two fingers in the ball and cradles it like a baby before releasing. It produces a big break in each delivery.
“That really boosted me up,” Carr said. “It’s a better position to be put in for hitting the pocket and getting strikes out there.”
Lucien began bowling at Hamilton Lanes – which is Bordentown’s home lanes – and was introduced to DKJ Pro Shop owner Dave Kline.
“He lined me up and made little tweaks to my throw,” Carr said.
The result was a continually improving bowler, whose reputation preceded him at Bordentown.
“I had heard about him,” Jones said. “Last year when we were at Hamilton Lanes practicing, his father would bring him over sometimes. He knew all the kids on the team. I saw some good stuff and said ‘OK this will be good, if everything holds up, he’ll be fine.’”
And while Carr is not putting up the same scores he did during tryouts, he has still been solid enough to turn a losing team into a winning one, with help from teammates John Bassett, Sean Horner, Aidan Bramley, Ryan Misner and John Murphy.
“He does have the talent, no doubt,” Jones said. “He needs some more consistency, but that’s just more of an experience thing. High school bowling is a whole different experience than casual bowling with the local leagues unless you’re in an adult league. Then you’ll start running into good bowlers every time you’re out there.”
Carr actually does play in an adult league as well as a junior league at Hamilton, and he also bowls on Friday nights in Howell. He averages around 170 in his leagues, and Jones feels the difference in his average there and in high school could be the pressure of performing for a team.
Jones noted that, “I’ve had many a conference with him to say ‘Hey chill, I know you want to be good, and we all want you, but don’t take it on yourself where if you don’t do good that nothing else is going to go right. The rest of the guys are gonna help you.’”
As far as assessing Carr’s skills, Jones said “His strong point is his mix on the pins when his ball gets in there. As long as he’s at his target point he’s tough.”
Carr also possesses the important quality of being able to shake off a bad frame and look forward to the next one.
“Definitely,” he said. “A really big thing with bowling is mentality. You gotta have that positive mentality. Just because you have a gutter ball or an open frame, you have to put it aside and bowl a 10 on the next frame.
“It happens. We all bowl bad games and have bad frames. You just gotta push yourself, keep that mentality of bowling good frames. I just really enjoy it.”
And the Scotties enjoy having him, as their record might indicate.
The addition of freshman Lucien Carr has helped Bordentown win more of its games this season. (Photo by Rich Fisher.),
