Kelly Kulick has won eight professional women?s bowling titles (six of them majors) and one PBA Tour title. Kelly is the the only female competitor to win on the men?s Professional Bowlers Association Tour, winning the 2010 PBA Tournament of Champions in January 2010. Last week, Kelly finished second in the U. S. Women?s Open, the same tournament she won last year. She continues to prepare herself for future tournaments, including the PBA Tournament of Champions in early 2012!
SportsPie.com: Tell us a bit about your New Jersey upbringing? How old were you when you first started to bowl?
Kelly Kulick: New Jersey is a great place to grow up. I am the youngest of three daughters. I started bowling when I was 6 years old. The father of one of my friends managed a local bowling alley. We bowled all the time, and I began to bowl well. New Jersey is the best state in the country for bowling. Pennsylvania and Michigan are big bowling states, too.
SportsPie.com: Six years old is young.
Kulick: Young people are now bowling well at an early age. Bowlers are going to the pros younger and younger, largely because of technology. The equipment is better, lanes are better ? they are synthetic now rather than wood ? and the oil is not absorbed like wood, so the lanes are smoother and faster. Coaching is greatly improved, too.
SportsPie.com: When and how did your participation in bowling transition from recreation to a serious pursuit?
Kulick: I also played basketball, volleyball, and tennis. I was the kind of kid who wanted to really know how to play a game, and then get better at it. Initially, bowling was actually a release for me before I got really serious about it. I played basketball in high school; in my senior year, I quit basketball to focus on bowling. It was a hard decision. I went to college at Morehead State and concentrated on bowling during my college years.
SportsPie.com: How do you prepare yourself for a tournament? What is your routine?
Kulick: I get my equipment ready. I work out. I get very focused on the tournament.
SportsPie.com: How big a role does physical conditioning play in your success as a professional bowler.
Kulick: It plays a big role. I spend a lot of time in the gym. I give it 100% to get myself ready. I try to treat myself well.
SportsPie.com: Is your physical strength and stamina, and mental focus, equally important? How do you keep the two in balance?
Kulick: They are both important. I get myself physically ready, but it?s mental focus that carries me through. Sometimes I get a little lazier on the road, and don?t eat as well or work out as much, but I try to live in the moment. That?s when it becomes mental.
SportsPie.com: You are a winner on the women?s and men?s tour. I have a couple of questions in that regard:
1. Do you in any way prepare differently for men?s and women?s events?
Kulick: Yes. It?s why I work on my physical strength. Men are stronger, and they throw the ball harder; their ball speed, rotation and spin are different. I don?t have the ball speed, so I have to make faster adjustments when I am competing. With women I have the advantage. Liz Johnson is also very strong, also. But, with men, I have to be sharper. I enjoy the men?s and women?s tournaments equally.
2. What are your thoughts about pay equity between the women?s and men?s tours?
Kulick: Pay equity is an issue, but it?s primarily due to the number of entrants in women?s tournaments. There are more entrants on the men?s tour. Women bowlers don?t have a tour, just a number of events each year. The USBC [United States Bowling Congress] continues to support us and advocate for more money for women.
SportsPie.com: What have been your professional interactions with male competitors? Have they been collegial and supportive? Otherwise?
Kulick: Most are respectful. Some are very supportive. A few do not recognize me as a peer.
SportsPie.com: What interactions do professional bowlers have with other professional athletes? How are you perceived by them?
Kulick: Bowling gets a bad rap. We are not looked at as athletes. They think everyone is out of shape, or somehow lazy, and bowling is just a recreation. Actually, professional bowlers have a challenging schedule and bowl a large number of games.
SportsPie.com: While major professional bowling tournaments are televised, bowling does not seem to get the same airtime or visibility as other sports ? how do you feel about this? And, what steps are being taken by the Professional Bowlers Association to raise the sport?s visibility?
Kulick: ESPN owns the PBA tour television rights. We need to be in better time slots. We are often scheduled on Sundays opposite football, and that?s difficult. Television viewers don?t get an opportunity to see how exciting the [bowling] games are because they are watching football. When I beat Chris Barnes for the PBA Championship, it was the second best television rating in the history of the PBA. The PBA and USBC continually lobby for more televised events and better time slots.
SportsPie.com: Are professional bowlers invited to the big sports events ? dinners and award shows?
Kulick: No, we are not generally invited to those events. If we do get invited, it?s just a couple of bowlers, like Chris Barnes. It would be great if we could collaborate with other athletes who like to bowl ? David Wright of the New York Mets is a big bowler, and so is the former Pittsburg Steeler, Jerome Bettis.
SportsPie.com: How would you advise a young woman who is considering taking her bowling skills to the collegiate or professional level?
Kulick: There are many college scholarships for bowling now, and very good coaches. I would advise girls to live on their own, develop their life skills. Learn how to communicate. When I went away to college I developed these skills. Bowl every day, concentrate on the game. In the end you want people to think: ?She?s an even better person than a bowler.?
SportsPie.com: You were invited to the White House last year?
Kulick: Yes, it was a celebration of women in history, women who have changed history in all walks of life. It was an international event and included women from around the world. I met so many amazing women. I was the only athlete in the auditorium. It was an honor to be there.
SportsPie.com: You?ve racked up a very impressive list of accomplishments in the world of bowling ? at every level. What?s next for you? In bowling? Outside bowling?
Kulick: Well, in bowling, keep winning, and win another men?s title. Outside bowling, find a special man, someone to share my life with. I have been a substitute teacher, and I am comfortable in that environment. I may possibly go back to teaching, as well as bowling clinics and coaching. I really love cooking, and I think I lean a little more toward cooking than teaching; I may do something in that area. I love a house full of people eating good food.
Share This Post
williams syndrome true grit progressive insurance mma news baltimore orioles sea world san diego nepal
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.