In late August. Perry High School graduate T.J. Owens agreed to become the fifth commissioner in the 21-year history of the Stark County High School Bowling Conference..
The 30-year-old Owens, who was recently promoted to operations manager at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes, takes over following the one-year commitment of three conference coaches — McKinley’s Kim Heaton, North Canton Hoover’s Jeff Sabella and Lake’s Pat King — to fill the role left vacant by J.C. Heighway, who resigned due to his coaching commitment at Walsh University. Other past commissioners include Marie Schwab and Bob Kolarik.
Beginning his second stint at Hall of Fame, Owens also attends Stark State College, where he is studying business management, finance an entrepreneurship.
“That’s a tough question,” Owens said when asked about his ultimate goal. “There are a lot of steps along the way, but I would say it is to own a bowling center. I know that is ambitious to say, but it is something that has been in my mind for a long, long time.”
A 2010 Perry graduate, Owens was never able to participate in the high school bowling program due to his commitments with the Panthers varsity basketball team.
snieronbowling.com sat down with Owens recently to discuss his new position and his outlook for the conference, which will operate with 23 teams this season following the withdrawals of Dover, New Philadelphia and Indian Valley — all from the Southeastern Division. The SCHSBC will maintain four divisions for this season.
The conference will officially kick off its 2022-23 season with the annual Early Bird Tournament, set for 9 a.m. Nov. 19 at Park Centre Lanes. Owens has tournament experience, running the Hall of Fame Summer Series from June through August at AMF Hall of Fame.
Here is what Owens had to say on a variety of topics:
SOB: How did you find out about the position?
TJO: Joe Altimore (Perry High School bowling coach) told me about the opening. He said the conference was talking about hiring for the position, and what they were looking for. He asked me if I was interested and if it was something that I thought I could handle with my schedule. He knows I have a lot going on.
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SOB: What interested you about this position?
TJO: I think there is a large disconnect between what the bowling alleys do for the kids and what they can do. I don’t think that high school bowling especially can be done without the bowling alleys’ cooperation. That’s one of the big problems I’ve seen with scheduling and availability. The alleys are not providing the kids with the opportunities that they can. I’m in a unique position working (at Hall of Fame Lanes) so hopefully we can do something about that.
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SOB: You’ve have probably looked over the basic framework of the conference at this point. What are your impressions?
TJO: I think some of the issues have been communication, which I think is very important. Without it, things just can’t run smoothly … in life, in relationships, in organizations. I think there has been a misunderstanding of who is supposed to be doing what, people thinking that it is being covered by this person. Just a lack of a central organization.
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SOB: What things do you need to do immediately to get things the way you want?
TJO: I don’t think there is a clear way that I want it at this point. I’m trying to absorb as much information as possible from coaches, athletic directors and from people who have seen the transition the last 10 years. From information comes improvement. And piecing together all of that will paint a clear picture of some of the areas that need improvement and work, and I will go from there. I want to try to let the conference tell me what needs to be done.
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SOB: Coming into this, what was you knowledge of high school bowling as a whole?
TJO: Perry has had a good program so I was exposed to coaches like Roger Webb and Russ Warrington from a very young age. I didn’t bowl in high school, but I was still part of junior programs (at Hall of Fame). My mom worked here from the time I was a young kid. I bowled with a lot of those kids. But basketball and bowling never matched up. I’ve been around it for a long time, and I’ve seen other teams bowl, I’ve seen tournaments. I think not bowling in high school is a good thing for this position. Yes, I did go to Perry, but I want people from other schools to do just as well. There is no bias here toward a particular team or school.
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SOB: I know that you have worked as a coach before.
TJO: I never coached bowling. I’ve helped with junior programs, but I’ve coached basketball and shot put and discus here and there. I coached at Perry for sixth-graders and seventh and eighth graders at East Canton for basketball.
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SOB: So you have empathy for what coaches go through on a yearly basis?
TJO: Absolutely. There is a lot more than what people realize. Just the time commitment. The state doesn’t make it easy for coaches, They have to pay out of their pockets to get certifications and approvals just to get the job and a small stipend. They are not doing it for the money; they are doing it because of a passion for the sport and the kids, and sports are losing a lot of people who are willing to do that.
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SOB: How much advice did you solicit before you decided to take this position?
TJO: I really tried to reach out and gauge the position and some of the struggles that it faced. And a lot of the feedback was that iit was daunting. A lot of the responses were “good luck.” But I think that fuels me a little bit more … you’ll see. Hopefully, we will make it work.
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SOB: Where would you like to take the conference?
TJO: Initially, better off than when I started. There’s a lot of things between here and where the conference could go. It’s just important that we get back to being organized and structured, Back to being all about the kids, all about growing the local community of bowling.
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SOB: How much of a struggle has it been to gain a familiarity of what is going on in the conference?
TJO: Again, just there was no clear-cut picture of this is your job title — this is what the job title needs. There was no order of operations. This is all the information I was given, and a lot of it was because of not one person doing it last year. All of the responsibilities have been spread out so much, That’s where a lot of the miscommunication was coming from.
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SOB: What do you feel you need to get done to be better prepared?
TJO: We are off and running and caught up with everything but the website. All accounts and emails are transferred over, putting the lines of communication in place to handle when the season starts. We’re organizing the Early Bird Tournament on Nov. 19. That’s coming together well. We’re still looking for help a lot with banquet committees, fund-raising committees … I would really like to involve coaches from different programs to get as much involvement and opinions from the most people. In numbers there’s power and knowledge. I’m trying to get as many people as possible to reach out for the banquet and fund-raisers. I think the kids would benefit from it.
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SOB: You are expecting help from the 23 teams and their coaches to assist with these committees?
TJO: I hope. There’s lot of time being put in. I know they are putting a lot of time in with their teams and I’m not looking for a big commitment from one person or team, but I’m looking for a little commitment from a lot of different people. I’ll handle the brunt of it, but I’m hoping for some help.
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SOB: You are looking at this in the long-term at this point?
TJO: Absolutely. I don’t plan on leaving here anytime soon. My life has been really good since going back to school. I’ve been going year-round full time and I don’t see that stopping anytime soon. This is something that I think aligns with my goals and interests for the next five or 10 years. I’d like to see where it goes.