By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Don Ondecker refers to his string of success on the lanes as “age transition.”
“In the decade of my 50s is when I threw most of my award scores, but most of them were 300 games,” the 65-year-old Clinton right-hander said.
“But 800 always has been tough for me. But after I got into my 60s, I lost ball speed and I’ve had to learn to play farther left now. I feel like I’m trying to be consistent with the (balls) we have now, and it gets pretty aggressive.”
In a two-month period back in late 2021, Ondecker recorded three of his eight 800 series.
He added to that total recently in the Tycor Roofing league at Eastbury Bowling Center, finishing with 803 on games of 279, 279 and 245.
“With the balls we have now, you can stone anything in the back row at any time with a good shot,” said Ondecker, who still works part-time for Lamar Advertising. “The 4-pins I used to trip out when I had higher ball speed, I don’t trip as much anymore.”
But a couple of those trip 4-pins actually paved the way for his latest honor score.
Two 10-pins in Game 1 — one in the second frame and one on his fill ball in the 10th — produced his first 279. His second came after leaving another 10-pin in the sixth frame of Game 2.
A couple of 4-pin trips helped him in Game 3, with his only bad shot coming in the seventh frame when he left a 2-7-8 split, which he was able to convert en route to a clean night.
“A couple of those 4-pins showed me the transition of the lanes so I was able to move off of them,” said Ondecker, who made a couple of two-and-one (board) moves during the evening, including playing his two lanes differently right off the start of Game 1.
“On the one bad shot, I just forgot to hit it at the bottom of the swing. But I was able to run them the rest of the way.”
Ondecker used a Roto Grip Rubicon UC3 for his latest milestone. But he didn’t practice with the ball.
“I threw three balls in practice and I looked at Forest (Friley) and told him I was going to make another ball change,” Ondecker said. “I did, and it was the right one.
“From the very start they were playing 2-and-1 different from each other. In the second frame of Game 1, when I saw what it was doing, I was able to make the adjustment and got the ball right back in the hole.”
Ondecker is bowling in four leagues this season, including both the Summit All-Star Senior and Ellsworth Auto Stark Senior traveling leagues, with averages ranging from 209 to 218. But Spins Bowl Akron has been a problem for him this season.
“I used to kill that place .. I was averaging 227 during the summer and had a good look at the beginning of the year, but I’ve steadily gone down,” Ondecker said. “I love that house, but not so much this year.”
Ondecker also has 21 career 300s.
“I had the two 279s and then the next week I had another 279,” Ondecker said. “Any one of those could have been 300 games or 250 games. It just comes down to carry.
“And it’s the same thing with 800s. That night, I didn’t stone anything in the back row, and that usually happens somewhere.”
But not this night.
“I feel great and I’m really confident right now. I’m good physically,” Ondecker said. “It’s just always great to shoot an award score.”
Even with age, the award scores keep on coming.
BIG ALL-STAR GAME
Recently in the Summit County All-Star Senior traveling league at Park Centre Lanes in North Canton, a team put together a big game.
Friley (248), Jack Reed (257), Brian Buehler (279) and Mark Boron (280) combined for a 1,064 scratch game. And, on the same pair, Gene Stephens also shot 290 for their opponents.