By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — Change again is coming to Ten Back Pro Shop inside Park Centre Lanes.
After leaving the pro shop he started just six months again, Massillon resident Frank Testa has decided to leave his new position as Brunswick Bowling Products’ Great Lakes Region product specialist to return to Stark County.
In the process, he has purchased back the inventory,, equipment and lease for the pro shop from Jackson Township resident Jesse Gonzales.
“It had a lot to do with my family,” said the 42-year-old Testa, who opened his first pro shop inside Park Centre in August 2022. “I loved the job and I had a great relationship with everyone at Brunswick and still do. But it got to the point that the sacrifices I was making at home were starting to take its toll.
“So after some long talks with my wife (Mandi) and kids, we all agreed it would be best for me to come back.”
A restriction of his new position was that he needed to remain in Muskegon, Mich., when not on the road. His family remained in Massillon during this period.
Gonzales, a career military man, is stationed at the Army National Guard Base at Akron-Canton Regional Airport. He was working in both positions.
“I will tell you that with hard work, determination and a good support system, you can do anything you want in life; if you try hard enough. We are our own worst enemies and the reason we get held back from pursuing our goals and dreams,” Gonzales said in a Facebook post upon leaving the business earlier this week while thanking Park Centre management and staff for the opportunity. “You owe it to yourself to try your best, and if your best isn’t good enough you figure out how to get better. The pro shop as you all know will be back in great hands and I will still be around.
“Thank you to all the customers and friends that I have come in contact with and I hope I provided a quality service that was as close to perfect as I could have been! It’s not an easy job, so cut your local pro shop operator a break every once in a while because this is a specialty skill … and it is not easy.”
Another move may be in Gonzales’ future, opening the door for Testa to return.
“Fortunately, the stars aligned where at some point Jesse was going to be leaving his current position,” Testa said. “I have to thank him for giving me this opportunity to come back and thanks to Chuck (Smith) and Mitch (Sommers) and everyone at Park Centre who have been more than supportive.”
For the next couple of weeks, Testa will be operating the shop alone. But his stepson, Cooper Smith, may also be returning following his release from the U.S. Navy in Rhode Island.
“I want to let Cooper figure things out. He is still going to be around, but in what capacity, I’m leaving that up to him,” Testa said. “There’s no pressure on him to return, but he loves being here and my door is always open for any of my family. I also have talked with Jesse if it gets to the point where I’m overwhelmed.
“Our pro shop has always been family oriented and we plan to keep it that way. But our family is not just my wife and kids but everyone who steps in the shop. If it’s a one-man operation for a while, so be it. We’ll make it work.”
Hours will be adjusted beginning next week: Monday through Friday from 3 to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“We wanted to expand our hours and we also want to make a point of helping out the youth programs here at Park Centre,” Testa said. “We want to be able to serve them as much as we can.”
Testa said many things will remain the same at the shop, but he also will be expanding and adding some new programs.
“We have some interesting programs we will be rolling out in the future through Facebook posts,” Testa added.
But he emphasized that his short period at Brunswick proved invaluable as he returns to pro shop life.
“That whole experience … you can’t put any monetary value on or the amount of knowledge I’ve gained. You could never get that staying in the shop,” Testa said. “Being in the industry you get a greater understanding and respect for what the ball manufacturers go through.
“We have our ups and downs and frustrations we go through, but to see the process and the inner workings of everything … the process, technology involved and the new technology being introduced combined with just the travel and visiting other shops that do things the right way. I wouldn’t have learned or seen a lot of that if I would have just stayed here.”