MOSES LAKE — After a three-hour youth clinic Saturday, Lake Bowl hosted the Washington Youth Bowler’s Tour Tournament of Champions on Sunday, which meant a packed house, full lanes and stark competition.

The organization is open to all skill levels, said Washington Youth Bowler’s Tour Executive Director Michael Lennox, pairing competitors with similar skill levels. That means anyone can compete, and it’s fierce from bottom to top.

Against bowlers from across the state, Moses Lake High School senior Matthew Berg was the only one competing on his home turf. Having played baseball since it was on a tee, competition runs through his blood, he said.

“This is my hometown,” Berg said, “so if I don’t win, what is it?”

Berg started bowling at the Kids Bowl Free days at Lake Bowl, 1165 N. Stratford Road, in the summer just three years ago, he said. He then joined the high school level team sponsored by Lake Bowl. Now, he’s one of the top youth bowlers in the state and received a bowling scholarship at Ottawa University in Arizona.

His early days at Lake Bowl led him to watching professionals on YouTube, he said, and figuring out how they did what they did. This led to studying bowling balls.

Next came tournaments.

The Washington Youth Bowler’s Tour was established in 2019, but the season was cut short halfway through due to COVID-19, Lennox said. This year, it’s been able to have a full season.

Thirty-two boys and 24 girls from all over the state came to compete, Lennox said. With three divisions per gender, the winners walk away with a banner, a trophy, Dexter bowling shoes and scholarship money.

“Lake Bowl is pretty excited about it; their facilities, their hotel, they’ve been very accommodating, very willing to work with us,” Lennox said. “They are very happy to have us here and we’re happy to be here. It’s so centrally located for the state, it just works out perfectly.”

Saturday’s clinic was hosted by United States Bowling Congress Silver and Kegel Training Center Coach Dean Buchanan, Silver Coach Kevin Hong and Bronze Coach Sheila Buchanan.

The first half was on branding, Lennox said. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, second tier colleges and private universities all offer full ride scholarships for bowling.

Branding is important, he said, as it’s a factor college recruiters take into account when assessing students. Someone could be a good bowler or a bad bowler, but that doesn’t affect their reputation.

Coaches taught students how to optimize their brand for recruiters and looked at how professional bowlers use social media.

The second half of the clinic was all about technique, he said: axis, tilt, rotation, ball, pattern recognition and more.

Berg missed the clinic, he said, as he doesn’t like to bowl right before a tournament.

At day’s end, he placed sixth. While he didn’t do as well as he hoped Sunday, he was still invited to the Top 8 Invitational tournament, he said.

“My parents reminded me that for how far I’ve come in such little time; there’s no reason to be upset,” he said. “This is my first year actually competing at tournaments, so to be the fourth best in Washington, that’s pretty cool.”

Berg looks forward to Ottawa’s incredible coaches and what he might learn, he said.

“My physical game’s there, my mental game’s there, I can’t read the oil pattern I guess,” he said. “There are some things that I lack. I’m always learning every day. I guess you never stop learning.”

Sam Fletcher can be reached at [email protected].