Syracuse’s Weisser On A Roll
SYRACUSE — Milford native Wes Weisser has had a lifelong love affair with the sport of bowling. For a few years, however, life got in the way of that passion. But two years ago, Weisser was able to return to the sport he’s loved so well, and he’s making up for lost time and pushing his game to new heights along the way.
“One day I was like ‘Let’s just go bowling; I haven’t been for awhile.’ I live two minutes from the bowling alley, so I was like ‘Let’s just go and have some fun,’ and that’s kind of how it all snowballed,” recalled Weisser.
And snowballed it has.
From that first outing on a whim after a three-year hiatus from the sport he’d played since he was around 7 years old, Weisser has steadily increased the amount of time he’s spent on his game.
Through a local connection, Curtis Smeltzer, Weisser soon began bowling with the Paper Rolls team at Wawasee Bowl’s Milford Business League on Tuesday nights. He then joined the alley’s Wednesday night league and began venturing out to individual tournaments throughout the Michiana area. He’s cashed out at two of four recent tourneys — one in Elkhart where he placed fifth out of around 50 bowlers, and one up in Manastee, Mich., where he qualified through four games for the finals before finishing fourth out of 18.
But the real breakthrough for the 29-year-old Syracuse resident began at the end of this past January, when he started a month-and-a-half stretch averaging scores in the 230s.
“I was having a lot of good games. I got a new ball, and it was working out really good for me,” Weisser explained. “I had a six-week stretch in there where I was averaging in 230s for three-game series. It was at least 18 games where I was averaging in the 230s, and I had two nights in a row where I almost had perfect games. I had a couple bad breaks at the end of the game that cost me, but I was like ‘Yeah, I’m getting back into it, and there could be some potential there.’”
In order to tap into that potential, Weisser has invested in some newer equipment and in more practice time. He now practices five to 10 games a week in addition to the three games he plays each night of league play. His job working on an alfalfa farm and a family that includes wife Tiffany and two young daughters — Emmalyn, 5, and Gwendolyn, 1 — compete with his time on the lanes so he has to balance carefully, but there aren’t any shortcuts to playing well, he says.
“If someone wants to get into it and they want to get good, you’ve got to practice,” he said. “I spend a lot of time practicing. I’ve got a family, I’ve got two young girls so I try to not spend too much time at the bowling alley. And my job also keeps me from spending a lot of time doing it, but I try and get out there as much as I can to practice.”
That practice time has already paid dividends in his game, as his average is up 10 pins from where it was last year. Since growing up in a family of bowlers and getting starting in the sport at an early age, he’s always dreamt of playing on the Professional Bowlers Association tour, and he’s starting to see a light at the end of that tunnel. Weisser estimates he’s about two years away from realizing his dream of making money on the PBA tour.
It takes a 200 game average in at least two leagues and advancement at a PBA qualifier to become eligible for a tour card. He already averages 205 in Tuesday night league play and a 209 on Wednesdays so he could sign up for a PBA qualifier at any time and potentially earn himself the right to go pro now sooner rather than later, but he’s biding his time until he’s truly ready.
“From where my game is right now I feel like I’m two years away from walking into one of those tournaments and saying not if I’m going to make any money, it’s just how high up am I going to place,” he said. “I feel like I’m two years away with the amount of time I get to practice and just working on stuff with my games, where I walk in confident, knowing I’m going to do good and not have to worry about it.”