By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Jordan Norris has two previous sanctioned 800 series along with the same number of sanctioned 300 games.
“I’ve had more 800s in tournaments and practice and plenty of 300s that way,” the 23-year-old Plain Township two-handed right-hander said. “I just don’t do it a lot when the lights are on.”
But bowling as a substitute in the Liberty Vending league at Eastbury Bowling Center, Norris reached a milestone doing something he had not done before.
He never moved his feet or target all night. Instead, he opted for three different balls.
Norris had games of 280, 258 and 268 for an 806 series, one of two shot that night in the league. Alliance’s Richard Elliott III also had his first 800, tying Norris with 806.
“I just squeaked it out,” said Norris, who finished about 45 minutes before Elliott. “I needed to have the first strike in the 10th in Game 3 and I felt the pressure then. After that, it really didn’t matter.”
Norris started the night using his Hammer 3D Offset Attack, leaving only a 10-pin in the second frame. But he felt he needed a different look, so he tried his 900 Global Zen on the fill ball, struck with it, and decided to start Game 2 with that ball.
That’s when things changed.
Norris left four 9-count spares on his opening four shots — including the whole back row with a 7-, 8-, 9- and 10-pin — before making another decision.
“That ball just wasn’t working. I just couldn’t get anything going,” Norris said.
So he went out to the parking lot and retrieved his Track Theorem.
“I got it last summer and Chase (Barstow) threw it more than I did during the trios,” Norris said of his friend and former Walsh University teammate. “I’ve just recently been getting used to it. I needed to get the right lane shine on it and now it has what I like.”
With the new ball, Norris struck out the rest of the way (eight in a row), stayed with it in Game 3, and left just a pair of spares to earn the 800 series. He needed a double from the ninth into the 10th frame to accomplish the task.
“I don’t think I’ve ever done that before … stay in the same spot all night,” Norris said. “All I did was make ball changes.”
Did he know what Elliott was doing?
“I don’t usually get into side action, but I got into the eliminator that night so I hung around. I saw him and Kevin (Schott) were getting into it,” Norris said. “So I knew he was going for a big number. Then everyone was watching him at the end. The funny thing is we had just bowled against each other the night before at Park Centre.”
Norris is bowling regularly in just one league this season — the Northeast Ohio Travel League — carrying a 219 average.
“That’s down a little bit for me, but it seems like everyone is down a little bit,” Norris said, “except for the lefties.”
One of Norris’ goals is to start coaching, and he is looking into those possibilities on the college level.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do since I was a kid. I just have a certain passion,” said Norris, a Faircrest Memorial Elementary School teacher in the Canton Local School District.
“I think it will be better for me to be with older bowlers who understand the game and transform them instead of teaching them how to bowl. I can teach them how to attack an oil pattern, make their spares and play the game smarter instead of hoping to strike every time.”
Norris did not convert to a two-handed delivery until his senior year at Green High School, then refined it while bowling at Walsh.
“I want to help the younger generation of bowlers as some level where I have had success,” Norris added.
TAKING APPLICATIONS
The NEOTL still is accepting applications for the 2025-26 season. The trio league bowls on Thursdays, beginning at anywhere from 8 to 9:30 p.m. and includes 16 teams and four divisions.
The 30-week league has weekly fees of $25. The league’s annual draft is set for 7 p.m. May 17 at a site to be announced. There is a $10 application fee.
For information and draft applications, go to its Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/NEOHIOTL