By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Ryan Hanzak is a pre-med student at Walsh University, majoring in chemistry and minoring in biology.
So you would expect the 22-year-old Concord Township resident and Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School graduate to be somewhat analytical when he looks at life.
And a major part of that life has been bowling, since he threw his first ball at age 3.
“I’m really confident with where I’m at right now. I feel like I’m really enjoying bowling again, which is so important to me,” said Hanzak, a senior left-hander said of his family’s bowling tradition. “I was in a little bit of a rut there for a couple of years and I just couldn’t find a lot of confidence with my game.
“But I took a bit of a break and came back in May and was really able to find something and get into a rhythm. I just want to keep that rhythm going.”
That “rhythm’ has resulted in three 800 series since May with the first two — a pair of 836 series — coming at his home center of Wickliffe Lanes in Wickliffe.
But the latest came in the Tycor Roofing league at Eastbury Bowling Center, when he had games of 277, 268 and 258 for 803. He also owns a pair of sanctioned 300 games, but has thrown 18 overall.
“I felt really good to have one of my honor scores down here,” said Hanzak, who is bowling full-time in a fall-winter adult league for the first time this season.
Hanzak’s ball of choice was a two-year-old Storm Infinite, which had “probably taken a back seat in my bag for a while now.”
“I brought it out about three weeks ago and I really haven’t looked back,” said Hanzak, who is averaging 234 in the league. “I just found a real good look up the track board and have been really consistent with it. It’s been really respectable to the break point for me, giving me some area and miss room down lane and still popping off the spot.”
He also is subbing in a pair of leagues at Wickliffe and at Park Centre Lanes here, where he uses the Storm IQ Ruby — the ball he was using at Eastbury before the switch.
“On the fresh at Park Centre, the Ruby is really complimentary off the break point, gets me down the lane and controls the mid-lane very well,” Hanzak said. “It also has good motion through the pins.”
After three years of college bowling at Walsh, Hanzak decided to take a break last season.
“I realized that maybe I as over-bowling a little bit. I settled back a little bit, not bowling as much,” Hanzak said. “But now, I’m doing much more productive bowling, and it has proven successful for me, especially confidence wise.
“Physically, there are small improvements you can make when bowling long term. But a lot of it is mental and execution in you mind. You have to be able to have trust in your shot-making ability. I was just draining myself out. It feels good to get back to productive bowling, not draining yourself and seeing the results in the end.”
Taking the time away from college bowling also assisted in that process.
“That was a lot of it. I was putting a lot of extra pressure on myself to execute to the best of my ability and just draining myself out,” Hanzak added.
Following his graduation, Hanzak will take a “gap year” doing research at Walsh before applying to medical schools. But bowling always will be a part of his life.
“Med school is my passion in life and bowling is my hobby I go to as my break and my escape,” Hanzak said. “I would like to bowl some PBA regionals when I can, bowl leagues, go to nationals … that’s still 100 percent in the cards. It’s just about balancing the time. Bowling will never disappear from my life.”
For now though, Hanzak is looking toward the upcoming tournament season and what lies ahead.
“i feel really confident in the state of my game right now,” Hanzak said, “and that is huge for me.”