CANTON — Camron Little is bowling in three leagues and substituting in another — the most he has bowled since graduating from Perry High School in 2020.
“Overall, it’s been a lot better for me than the last few years,” the 22-year-old Perry Township right-hander said. “I just feel more comfortable throwing the ball and more relaxed.
“I really don’t know why.”
His comfort level showed recently during the Eastbury Wednesday Night league at Eastbury Bowling Center when the 2020 second-team Division I All-Ohio player recorded his first career 800 series.
Little, who finished 10th in the state in 2020 with a 659 series, had games of 268, 264 and 279 for 811. His previous high series was 760 and he still is looking for his first career 300 game after recording a 299 while still bowling for the Panthers.
Little admits pain in his right hand forced him to make changes to his game last season.
“I did something to my hand and just couldn’t put any hand into the ball,” said Little, who builds tires for Zeigler Tire. “I really didn’t know what it was. I would get sharp pains in the palm of my hand.
“I never got it looked at. But in past years, I also bowled during the summer. This year, I took the summer off and the hand feels fine right now.”
When Little began the night at Eastbury, he had to move off of his normal line.
“Usually, I’m standing on the second to last dot on the approach and sending the ball through third arrow to about five (board). But I had to move in practice because the ball just wasn’t coming up,” said Little, whose averages range from 197 to 220 in leagues at Eastbury and AMF Hall of Fame.
“During practice, I got that situated by moving right. I was about three boards right of the middle dot and rolling the ball over third arrow to about the fifth board. I stayed there all night.”
Using his Motiv Trident, only two 6-pins — “when I got fast with my feet,” Little added — stopped him in Game 1. He suffered his only open frame in Game 2, missing a 10-pin spare in the second frame.
The big roll came in Game 3 when he started with the first eight strikes before noticing something with his shoes.
“Everything felt good and I was rolling it good,” Little said. “But I got up in the ninth frame and I noticed my shoelace was a little loose.
“It looked like it was untied, but I felt like I was in a groove and I didn’t want to mess with anything.”
But the string still ended with another 6-pin, costing him his chance at 300.
“I got quick again. But after that, I knew I needed the first one in the 10th frame to get the 800,” Little said. “I didn’t know what the total would be, but I knew I had to have that one. After that, I was golden.
“I think I was more nervous on that one than the one in the ninth when I still had a shot at 300.”
Little’s adjustments to his game included becoming more than just a “cranker.”
“With my hand hurting like it was last year I had to learn to go more down and in. I wasn’t able to get as much hand in the ball,” Little said. “Before, I was just swinging it and making it off of that.
“But now, I have two areas of the lane I can play. It’s whatever is working that night — I can swing it or move right.””
And the new style payed off with his first adult milestone.