Rolling
to strikes
Disabled bowler knocks down pins — raises
score and awareness
By Phil Sandoval
Free Press Sports Editor
February 14, 2007
 |
| Jon Musgrave releases
the ball during a recent practice at GJ
Scores. Musgrave practices five times a
week for three hours daily and competes
in a weekly league. |
Jon Musgrave angers other bowlers.
That’s not his intention when he wheels
his way up the GJ Scores alleys. It’s
just that the wheelchair-bound Musgrave usually
outscores most able-bodied bowlers who happen
be in the next lane.
“Today, he bowled next
to an able-bodied guy, and Jon beat him every
single game,” said Musgrave’s wife,
Tricia. “He beat him by at least one pin,
if not 20 pins every game.” Seeing those
results on the scoreboard is pleasing. But that’s
not the reason Musgrave took up the sport. Rather,
it gave him an opportunity to get out and compete.
“The best thing is being able to bowl
with my son,” Musgrave said. “It’s
nice to have the chance to be competitive again.
I think it’s bred in you.”
Musgrave, who’s wheelchair-bound
as a result of a 1991 accident when a large
truck hit his motorcycle after running a stop
sign, has been bowling for a little more than
a year. He’d tried the sport in the past
without success. But last year, Tricia discovered
a mechanical bowler that produced success. “There’s
a magazine that we get that has handicapped
devices,” she said. “I came across
this bowler. It looked really neat.” She’d
bought her husband different types of devices
in the past — they usually didn’t
work. But this particular device was the exception.
“He put it on and rolled the ball down
our hallway and he said, ‘Let’s
go to the bowling alley,’” she said.
“He used it, and he’s pretty much
used it every day since.”
Musgrave normally practices three
hours a day, Monday through Friday. The practice
hones his skills for league play, where Musgrave
bowls with his son, Jon Jr., on Monday nights.
The bowler Musgrave currently uses creates the
spin on his bowling ball upon release. A helper,
usually Tricia, places the bowling ball on top
of the device. Then, it’s up to Musgrave
to control the action. “There’s
a weight in every ball. You have to figure out
where to place the weight to put the spin on
the ball,” he said. “Then, its all
controlled with the action of my wheelchair.
The breaking of the wheelchair, causes the ball
to release — It’s my driving. So
it’s really me.” And Musgrave has
driven himself to high scores.
He’s rolled a career best
of 231 and averages 158 per game in league play.
“The best thing is seeing Jon bowling,
then looking around, scoring and beating able-bodied
people. And being able to compete again,”
Tricia said. “(Instead of) sitting at
home in front of a TV thinking about being in
a wheelchair or something. He’s out here
competing with able-bodied people.” “It’s
a lot of fun,” Musgrave added. “Bowling
is a great way to take your mind away from everything
and just be happy.”
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