THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9412310130
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY HOLLY WESTER, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 154 lines
TWENTY-TWO-YEAR-OLD Willie Driskell doesn't take off his prized cowboy boots for just anything.
Twice a week, however, he makes an exception.
On these two special evenings, Driskell, an airman at Oceana Naval Air Station, trades his favorite kicks in for a pair of worn-out, multicolored leather shoes, when he joins his buddies for league nights at the master jet base's bowling center.
Driskell is among thousands across South Hampton Roads who have taken up bowling - the melting pot of the sports world.
Bowlers say it's a game that doesn't discriminate, and that makes it different from all the rest. It's not just for TV couples like Dan and Roseanne or Al and Peg Bundy. Bowling leagues are for anyone who wants to bowl.
``It's not like any other sport,'' Driskell said. ``It doesn't matter what your skill level is or how built you are. Anybody can bowl.''
Reasons for joining leagues are as simple as the game itself. For some, it's the people, for some it's the competition and for others, it's the cash. Trash-talking and beer drinking are bonuses for many.
Driskell admits he ``really didn't like bowling'' when he started with his brother while in high school in Bloomington, Ill. He gave up on the sport when he was stationed here, until last year, when a friend's mother and father, Donna and John Martoncik, needed another teammate.
Now he cannot seem to get enough. Not only does he bowl in the Sunday night mixed league, Driskell spends Wednesday night in the alley with his command.
``It's just fun,'' he said. ``You meet all kinds of people.''
Donna Martoncik, who chose Driskell as her partner after her husband decided not to bowl, considers league bowling a social event.
``Everybody sits together, drinks, talks and has a grand ol' time,'' said Martoncik, holding a warm can of Budweiser. ``When I get my Bud and I get my spot (at the table), I'm ready to go.''
The atmosphere is another crowd pleaser. ``You look forward to coming here nobody's prejudiced and nobody comes to degrade anybody. Everybody comes to bowl and have a good time.''
Overflowing ash trays, empty beer cans, styrofoam cups and nacho cheese-covered paper plates crowd the two tables Martoncik routinely pushes together for her teammates, Driskell, Sheila and Ernesto Velez, her 13-year-old daughter Kimberly and ``whoever else wants to come over,'' she said.
Eighty-year-old Bea Jackson, a neighbor of Martoncik's, is one of those weekly visitors. A bowler for 41 years, Jackson crawls into the family's Grand Am to watch the action every Sunday.
Seated at the end of one table, facing the lanes, Jackson occasionally shares her bowling wisdom. ``Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't,'' she said. Jackson bowled in leagues until 1987, when she moved here from Canton, Ohio.
She wouldn't mind facing the lanes again, but after breaking her wrist, she won't dare pick up a ball. ``I'd like to, but I'm afraid to,'' she said. ``I liked all the bowlers. I miss it.''
As an observer, Jackson has noticed a few changes, but not many. Higher prices are an obvious one. Jackson said she paid $1.50 a week in the 1950s. Now, the average price is $10 per week.
``They got a lot more lanes, that's for sure,'' added Jackson, who can remember bowling in alleys with four lanes. ``There are a lot more younger bowlers, too.''
Youth leagues can be found at most bowling alleys, and children can begin as soon as they are old enough to pick up a ball and throw it.
``Everyone should get their children involved in bowling,'' said Martoncik, who enrolled Kimberly two years ago. ``It's a very safe environment and it gives them something to do. It helps their self-esteem, gives them a good sense of competition and teaches them teamwork.''
Todd Allred, 20, of Norfolk would agree. A bowler for ``practically his whole life,'' Allred got his Professional Bowlers Association card two years ago. He has competed up and down the East Coast, from New York to Florida, as part of the PBA's regional tour. He plans to join the national tour.
Currently, he bowls in five leagues regularly, at Pinboy's of Lynnhaven, Chesapeake and Norfolk. He averages 215.
``My father got me involved,'' he said. ``It's something I picked up and enjoyed, so I kind of stuck with it.'' Like many others in the sport, the competition is what keeps Allred going. The seven 300 games he bowled last year are proof of that.
Besides competing against others, local bowler Jeannie Gonzales likes challenging her teammates. ``I'm big into competition,'' she said.
Gonzales bowls Wednesday nights at Pinboy's of Lynnhaven in Virginia Beach General Hospital's league, one of the center's 28 leagues. Her teammates include her husband, Art, and her parents, Mark and Kathy Hoffman of Chesapeake. The team is called Nite Out, since it's the family's ``night out.''
``We always want to beat each other,'' said Kathy Hoffman, who works for Tidewater Health Care. Although the four have bowled for recreation, this is the first year they have bowled together on a league.
The team members love to tease and pick on each other, as well as other bowlers. ``Those are the fun leagues, when you can play around,'' Mark Hoffman said. ``You can crack on people and they don't get mad.''
Although Nite Out members don't have any lucky charms, 6-month-old Zachory, son of Jeannie and Art Gonzales, is always in their corner as the team mascot.
While some like the fun and others dig the competition, money is another reason league bowlers stick with their game.
Resident professional Gary Faulkner, who works at Striker's Pro Shop inside Pinboy's of Lynnhaven, has been bowling professionally for four years. He's earned his living by bowling in local and regional tournaments.
``It's a tough way to make a living, but you can make a good buck,'' Faulkner said. Currently, he bowls in two leagues.
A bowler for 24 years, Faulkner can remember setting up the plastic bowling pins in his family's living room and going for it. ``There hasn't been anything else,'' he said.
``This is it.''
Faulkner added that a good amateur bowler, depending on the location, can make ``anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000, easily.'' New York and Chicago are some of the big bowling cities.
Although it's Faulkner's job, getting to where he is took lots of time and practice. ``It's a game that's easy to learn, but difficult to master,'' Faulkner said. ``There are always challenges involved.''
One of the major challenges is picking the right ball for the lane condition.
``In so many other sports you can see what's up against you,'' Faulkner said. ``In tennis, you can see what's out of bounds . . . you know where not to aim. But in bowling, you can't see the oiling patterns. It's a real frustrating game.''
No matter how frustrating or challenging, Faulkner plans to stick around. ``It's something I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life,'' he said.
It is something many will continue to do, according to most bowlers. With more bowling alleys becoming bowling centers, with additions like pool tables, video games, dart boards and even miniature golf courses, the future of league bowling looks solid.
``It's a good way to meet new people, it's good exercise and the whole family can enjoy it,'' said Joe Lawson, co-manager of Indian River Lanes, who sees more than 2,200 league bowlers per week. ``Bowling will be around forever because it's something that everybody can do.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
THIS SPORT IS ON A ROLL
Craig Richards of Norfolk is among the more than 2,200 league
bowlers at Indian River Lanes each week.
Photos by L. TODD SPENCER
Ernesto Velez is aiming for a strike at the Oceana Naval Air Station
Bowling Center.
Sheila Velez, left, and Donna Martoncik bowl in the Sunday night
league at Oceana bowling center.
Rod Kybiak drinks a beer and watches the bowlers while waiting for
his turn to bowl at Pinboy's of Lynnhaven.
by CNB