Penner, T-Birds primed for youth bowling provincials

Jordan Penner is hoping to go out with a bang.

The 19-year-old will be one of 14 athletes representing Brandon’s T-Birds Youth Bowl Program at the five-pin youth provincial doubles championship in Winnipeg this weekend. And for Penner, it will also be his last time, as he will be graduating from the program’s senior age category next month.

Penner said while the feeling is bittersweet, he’s extra motivated to bring home a banner.

“It’s definitely going to be hard being at my last tournament, but we’re going to make it a good one,” said Penner, who’s the oldest bowler in the program. “Hopefully we’ll end on a high note and there’s lots of other men’s tournaments too, so I definitely see myself going into those.”

The youth provincials will be at Polo Park, where five of the T-Birds doubles teams will compete on Saturday, while the other two will get into action on Sunday. Three teams will compete in the bantam division (ages seven to 10), three more in the junior division (ages 11 to 14), and one team in the senior division (ages 15 to 19) with boys’ and girls’ teams representing the T-Birds, which will be the largest turnout they have ever had at the event.

Last year, Penner and his doubles partner Darius Corrigal took home the senior hi/low doubles provincial championship, an event that scored based off points over average, and had no national event. This year, however, the competition is five games of total pins knocked down, with the winner advancing to nationals in Winnipeg in May.

Penner, who will play alongside 15-year-old Jacob Allen, believes he has a good shot.

“This is actually one of my favourite events because it’s completely scratch,” he said. “Averages don’t mean anything and it’s just about knocking em down, so I’m excited.

“I’ve actually never bowled with Jacob so I’m really looking forward to it. His game’s been stepping up quite a bit.”

While the duo of experience and youth should be a force to reckoned with, so is the entire T-Birds program, which just continues to expand.

When Penner began bowling at T-Birds in Grade 6, he said there were only a few kids taking up one to two lanes in the entire alley. Now, there are at least eight lanes going at all times thanks to a new wave of younger bowlers rising behind him as he ages out.

“The growth is just insane,” said Penner. “Having absolutely nobody to pretty much bowl with to having all these kids want to come out every weekend and throw some shots down is really exciting to see for the sport. Bowling is such a fun environment and it’s been a great experience for me, especially to build my game, so it’s been quite a long journey.”

And it didn’t happen by accident.

GROWING THE GAME

Brad Rusnak was born to bowl.

Born in Thompson, and raised in Winnipeg, the T-Birds program head was thrust into the game when he was seven years old, swinging away at the youth bowl program at Village Inn Bowling, which is now known as Westwood Lanes & Games. He played there for 11 years and continued to develop his game, but it didn’t all come together until the adult ranks, where he eventually racked up 13 national appearances.

Seven years ago, he competed at the Western Canadian Bowling Tour in Regina, playing cash tournaments which were live streamed for anyone to watch — including his son, Jake, who would always tune in to watch his dad play. Jake must have also been a good luck charm because Rusnak ended up finishing in fourth place, earning himself around $4,000.

That value doesn’t even come close to what Rusnak gained after the trip, though.

“I came back and it was obviously pretty exciting and the first thing Jake said to me was, ‘I want to play, I want to bowl,’” Rusnak said. “After that, I called the lanes and we kind of jumped in on Saturday mornings with our oldest and it’s just ballooned from there. He’s loved every week.”

Fast forward to now and Rusnak’s middle child Ryan, who’s in his final year of Bantam, and youngest Jessica, will also compete in provincials this weekend too, making bowling the ultimate family bonding activity every Saturday, and not just for them.

Rusnak, and his wife April — who’s also an avid bowler that’s competed in multiple provincial championships in youth and adult events — started coaching with just eight kids in the T-Birds program seven years ago and now they have 33 with five seniors, eight juniors and 20 bantams — eight of whom will move up to junior age group next year. Steve Derksen, whose son Connor is competing in the junior category, is also coaching.

“Our program’s very inviting for the sake that anybody can play it at their own level and at their own pace.” said Rusnak, who retired from pro bowling two years ago. “They can develop their own game and don’t have the pressures of being cut and stuff like that.

“We do a mix of everything, applying pressure, having fun weeks. We goof around with it. We have some fun bowls. We invite friends out to play every once in a while and family bowls and stuff like that, so we try to be as inclusive as we can be.”

All while proving to put up results too.

The T-Birds have collected four provincial championships in seven years thanks to their detailed focus on development, which includes working on everything from fundamentals to foot and arm movement and building up the mental side of the game.

The process doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s proved to be effective.

“The kids all have different arm sizes, different wrist strengths, that sort of thing, so it’s a game where they can develop at their own pace,” Rusnak said. “Some of them don’t develop a stronger game until the senior age group and we have some that get it really early at bantam age group.

“We’re always trying to motivate and build their ability as they get older and stronger and it’s especially at this age, it’s more mentality to teach them that they can do it, and go from there and I think that’s what’s been an appeal for our kids. They just develop a passion for the game, much like we did. It’s a love for the game.”

T-Birds runs two 12-week sessions every Saturday morning from the end of September to March. The first session runs until Christmas, while the second begins after the holidays. Each session is $159 plus a one-time $60 registration fee that goes to Youth Bowl Manitoba and Youth Bowl Canada.

This season may be coming to an end, but it’s not too late for more families to get their kids involved in the future, as they may also have a chance to compete on a provincial or national stage.

Rusnak is excited for what’s to come in the program, but for now, he’s looking forward to what happens this weekend.

“All my children will be there, so I’m trying to balance the hat between parent and coach at the same time,” he said. “I’m excited for them all and to me, they’re all my kids.

“I just hope they have fun and enjoy the experience and take everything that you’ve taken in so far and take it to the tournament. Just enjoy it, meet new friends because these are kids you’re going to grow up with for a lifetime if you stick with it.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com