By BILL SNIER
CANTON — The McCourry brothers already have doubled up on their 800 totals this season.
Brett McCourry, a 32-year-old Canton right-hander, had his first 800 during the College Bowl Tournaments singles event at Park Centre Lanes, which also became his first series victory. The second came during the Liberty Vending league at Eastbury Bowling Center.
Alex McCourry, a 29-year-old Canton left-hander, has both of his 800s in that same league.
Here’s a look at the brothers’ run to second milestones.
BRETT HIT IN SUMMER ALSO
Brett McCourry used the summer months to try out different equipment, throwing three different balls each night during league play at Eastbury, including some of his “old stuff.” It also resulted in an 811 in early July.
With a trio of 838 series as his all-time high, Brett added 827 recently with games of 279, 289 and 259 while starting with the Roto Grip Attention Star S2 and then finishing Game 3 with the original Attention Star.
A 4-pin in the sixth frame of Game 1 stopped his run at 300. Then, in Game 2, he left a 7-pin on his second shot in the 10th frame,, ruining his run of 21 strikes in a row. Only a pair of “flat” 10-pins halted his run at perfection in Game 3.
“Hey, that’s OK. Haven’t had a 300 in any of those 800s,” said Brett, who bowls in three leagues, including the Northeast Ohio Travel League and another at Station 300 in Akron, where he has his lowest average in the 220s.
“It’s been tough out there. They have fresh lanes (installed during the summer) and lots of friction,” said Brett, who also works in the offseason at Cutting Edge Pro Shop at the center. He’s the owner-operator of a landscaping service.
“This is still the work season for me so I’m still pretty tired,” said Brett, who is a member of the Storm staff. “But we’ve been throwing it good man. There are lots of new stuff to fill new bags and new things coming out all the time.
“I think things will change again in January when I’m out of work season.”
ALEX CHANGES EQUIPMENT
The last time Alex McCourry changed equipment manufacturers to Brunswick, he had five 800 series that season.
This season, it was a move to Motiv — and he had an 803 to go along with his 843 at Eastbury using the Motiv Subzero Forge.
“He’s just been on fire,” Brett said. “Since he switched to Motiv it’s been lights out for him.”
“I don’t know if that was it or not, but when I tried two or three new ones out of the gate, I shot 750 and then I came back with 840 and kept running from there,” said McCourry, who works Ace Mitchell Bowlers Mart.
“The core-cover combo just matches up with my speed and revs. I think my confidence and execution probably are at an all-time high.”
The night of his 803 he had games of 246, 278 and 279, including missing a 7-pin spare in Game 1 for his only open. Spares with a 7-pin and a 10-pin ruined possible 300 runs early in the next two games.
“It’s kind of funny really, but my new leave seems to be 10-pins,” Alex said. “I think my 10-pin leaves have gone up 300 percent since I switched.”
He stood 524 after two games, but felt an 800 was “still in the cards.”
“Then I go strike, 7-pin,” Alex said, laughing. “I knew I could still shoot 800 if I got the next 10 (strikes). The first one in the 10th was a little shaky. It kind of shredded the rack and was iffy.
“I said, ‘OK, make a better shot,’ and I buried the second one.”
Another 10-pin on the final ball meant little as he reached his 800 goal.
Alex bowls in two leagues at Spins Bowl-Akron and Eastbury, averaging 220 at Spins and a whopping 245 at Eastbury.
Alex agrees Brett will see improvement in the new year also.
“It’s really funny to say, but I’ve seen him struggle a little. I don’t know if it’s growing pains with Storm equipment or what,” Alex said. “It’s tough to say someone is struggling a little when you’re averaging 230s.”
But scores are definitely peaking early this season. After only 73 800 series being reported a year ago to http://www.snieronbowling.com, the count already is at 42 before Christmas.
“I think it’s a combination of equipment and lane conditions,” Alex said. “I see new equipment coming in and I see so much free hook and so much performance potential in these balls when you put holes in them.
“It’s kind of a new ball syndrome for people. They start feeling good about their games and the next thing you know it’s bang, bang, bang. They haven’t seen 300s or 800s in a while and all of a sudden, there they come.”
And the McCourry brothers are among them. But their runs for the 2024-25 season may just be beginning.