By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Love him, hate him — or somewhere in between — bowling has become fun again for Brian Ball.
The 51-year-old Massillon right-hander finished the 2024-25 fall-winter season with eight total 800 series — with a high of 846 — spread across two leagues at Eastbury Bowling Center.
On Tuesdays, he bowled in the Las Vegas Trio league with Joyce McCourry and Tabatha Barnett. Friday, it was the Liberty Vending league with Matt Coffelt, Don Sprout and Renae Shafer.
He averaged 245 in each league — which averages out to nearly eight strikes per game.
“My kids (Branden and Jessica) also are in the Tuesday league. The people that I have in my circle now are more trustworthy and I just get along better with them,” said Ball, who works at Carter Lumber in Canal Fulton. “The Friday league is the best league (at Eastbury). We don’t worry about the outside stuff. You just have to ignore the idiots.
“I don’t care what anyone says … I know who I am. If you dictate what you see from me on a weekend bowling, you don’t know who I am. I am the most competitive person you will ever see in a bowling alley. But what happens between the 60-foot lanes on a Saturday where there is money on the line is not who I am.
“It’s just what I do. Bowling in that atmosphere is not fun; it’s a business trip. When I’m spending money, I want to make money, so it’s a business trip … and what happens in that 60 feet happens.”
He is unsure of his career numbers of 300 games and 800 series, although he threw “three or four” 300 games this season to add to his total. But he does know, as a senior player, his game had to evolve.
“I don’t do it like I used to. We’re more of a chuck it up the lane now. But it’s cool,” said Ball, who still jokingly refers to himself as a “house hack.”
“Bowling has just been more fun than it has been. We choose when and where we bowl and who we bowl with. We keep it tight.”
Ball used three different balls during his run of 800s this season, including three with his personal favorite — the Storm Ion Pro.
“I drilled it in August and I just can’t put it down,” said Ball, who also had 800s with the Brunswick Mesmerize and Track Stealth. “I’m surprised that Storm didn’t come out with a stronger solid in that line. They did have the Ion Max, but that was just a different weight block.”
Ball is one of those players who believes rolling an 800 series is easier than 12 strikes in one game for 300.
“I always preach to people I work with that you can only throw one shot at a time. But’s it’s easier to throw five out of six (strikes), make a spare and then another five or six,” Ball said.
As for his run at the center he grew up in, Ball said there were two different ways to play the lanes in the two leagues — but the approach is similar.
“You can play right for a long period of time, and if you get lined up and execute, you can throw some strikes,” Ball said. “But you have to clamp down on the right part of the lane.
“In the mixed trio league, they don’t break down as much so there’s not as much transition. Fridays, if I can catch the transition right, I can shoot some good scores.”
It also happened again during the Stark County USBC Open Championships at Eastbury, where Ball finished second in overall scratch events with 2,145 total pinfall. Canton left-hander Alex McCourry was first with 2,182.
Except for bowling a Senior Singles Open (SSO) event in Michigan this weekend and the College Bowl Tournaments series finale at Park Centre on May 31 (an event he won a year ago), Ball will put the bowling balls away during the summer months.
“I won’t worry about it again until August,” said Ball, who now will pay attention to his golf game over the next three months. “I enjoy bowling more, but I pick and choose where and when I want to bowl.”
But his success as a senior player is not lost on the right-hander.
“I’ll ride the wave until it doesn’t let me ride it anymore,” Ball said.
“I’ve done more these last three or four years than I ever could have imagined. I have nothing left to prove. I just go out and bowl.”