By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — Dustin Dingler can remember doing it only a couple of times during his bowling career.
Liking a particular ball so much that he gets a second one and has it drilled up a different way.
But the 49-year-old Jackson Township right-hander feels that way about the new Roto Grip Transformer.
“(Roto Grip brand manager) Chris Schlemer sent it down to me and Les Mann (Bowlers Sanctuary) drilled it. I had it done with the pin down the first time about a month ago and had some really good games with that ball,” Dingler said.
“So I decided I wanted to try another one, this time drilled with the pin up.”
He nearly made history with the new one.
Bowling in the Pizza Oven Classic league on March 18 at Park Centre Lanes, Dingler had games of 279, 288 and 300 for a career-high 867 series— failing to strike on only two shots all night. Both times, he left a 10-pin spare.
“Just two 10-pins kept me from the pinnacle. It’s really crazy to think about,” said Dingler about a potential run for a perfect 900 series. “It doesn’t really set in at the time, but when you sit back and think about it later, it’s like, wow.”
The Jackson High School bowling coach and owner-operator of 3-D Sanitation did not arrive at the center that night in a confident mood. He had been battling illness in recent days.
“I really hadn’t been feeling good … the hot and cold temperatures … you know, typical Ohio weather,” said Dingler, whose company has his in and out of his truck on a daily basis. “I got to the bowling alley late and really only got about four shots in for practice.
“I told the guys I wasn’t feeling good … that I’d been fighting (a cold) all day. I was going to give it a go for the first game, but if I didn’t feel any better, I might shut it down early.”
Game 1 resulted in his first 10-pin leave after the front eight strikes.
“It’s funny, but some of my better days have come when I’m tired or just not feeling like myself,” said Dingler, whose previous high series was 845 when he missed just four times all night. “I guess you tend to get a little slower and let muscle memory kind of take over.”
In Game 2, he ran off the front 10 strikes before his second 10-pin of the night. He didn’t miss in Game 3.
“The first 10-pin I guess was a little flat, but it could have gone. The other, I thought was a really good shot,” Dingler said.
He was not doing the math along the way — something he prefers not to do.
“The funny thing is, I don’t like to get up and do the math. I just want to keep my head clear,” Dingler said. “After the front six in that game, I was like, ‘well, that’s cool. Just throw some good shots and you should be good (for 800).’
“But then I kept stringing them, but in my mind, I didn’t know how far I had to go to clinch it. So I asked one of the guys if I got it and he said, ‘yeah.you had it two frames ago.’”
But adding to his 300 total — he now has 14 overall to go with eight 800 series — did mean something.
After getting his new Transformer two weeks ago, he rolled a 298 with it fresh out of the box in the Saturday Night Fever mixed league at Park Centre, leaving a 6-10 on his final shot. So, he is averaging 291 through four games with the new equipment.
“I was disappointed when I looked back on that. I was a little firm with the shot. I think I’ve had only one other 298 in my career,” Dingler said. “So after having time to think about that, I just wanted to make sure I threw a good shot this time in the 10th. I’ve been so close so many times this year and fell a pin short.
“I like to have at least one a year. No matter how many you get, for me it always seem like you are pressing a bit … it’s the nature of the game.
“It’s bowling as a sport. You can be in a different place, in a different atmosphere … it’s always something different. It’s a perfectionist thing that no matter how long you do it or how old you are, you’re always trying to get better.”
LIFE AND BOWLING
In addition to running his own business, which takes a big physical toll, Dingler also just finished his third season as the Polar Bears head coach.
“I tell everyone I’ve never worked any harder in my life than I do now, but I’m starting to see some rewards from that,” said Dingler, who expanded his 3-D Sanitation business to include trash pickup. “The company continues to grow month over month.”
Earlier this week, he also was part of a WHBC-AM 1480 broadcast with host Pam Cook discussing his business. It has paid dividends.
“My phone has been blowing up all week since then,” Dingler said. “Not everyone is on social media and there is another part of my business out there and that’s the older crowd. I feel there is an opportunity there and it’s been well worth it.”
Dingler himself is just one year away from senior bowler status — something he really hasn’t grasped as of yet.
“Thanks for reminding me,” Dingler said, laughing. “It will open some new doors, but I don’t foresee changing anything soon. There is always going to be that adrenaline rush like (Wednesday). You have those nights where it like a tunnel thing where everything gets quiet and you just don’t hear anything.”
Dingler plans to continue high school coaching, but admits his work is cut out for him and the Jackson staff as they head into the 2026-27 season.
“We have the home stretch coming up with the banquets and postseason meetings,” Dingler said. “I can take a couple of extra breaths and it gives you a couple of extra hours during the week.
“But I think back and ask how did I do it? People tell me you can’t keep up this pace .. you have to give up something. But I think of what I want to do and what I want to be a part of … you want to make a difference. That’s what it’s all about.”
But with missing 12 total seniors between his boys and girls teams next season, the program faces a “critical” stage.
“We are going to sit down with the athletic director and address that issue. How can we extract more interest from the student body?” Dingler said. “It’s a big student body and there’s no reason why we can’t find athletes. We have to figure out a way.”
But for one night earlier this week, all of it took a back seat to near perfection.
“It’s just something,” Dingler said, “that you don’t think you would ever get close to.”