Boys Bowling: Non-traditional technique comes in handy for Plainfield Central

Two hands are better than one for Plainfield Central bowler Eddie Wasielewski.

The senior is one of a small but growing number of keglers who bowl using two hands. The style is so unusual that Plainfield Central coach George Oshita is at a loss to explain it.

“I don’t know a lot about that style because I never bowled two-handed,” Oshita said. “It looks really difficult and unorthodox, but obviously these kids know what they’re doing.”

Plainfield Central, which was the surprise winner of the Minooka Sectional, has several bowlers who use the style, including Wasielewski, a relative newcomer to the sport who is in his first year on varsity. The bowlers keep both hands on the ball until just before releasing it with their dominant hand.

Despite his inexperience, Wasielewski fired a 1,404 series (234 average) to win the sectional championship. His score was the seventh-best sectional total in the state.

“I started bowling two years ago and I couldn’t bowl with one hand, so ... (teammate) Bryan Blair showed me how to do it (two-handed) and that’s how it happened,” Wasielewski said. “You get more reps and I get more speed on it. I improved a lot. I’ve gotten more consistent, better on my spares.”

Romeoville coach Tony Talley says the two-hand style is the wave of the future, but only for the most athletic kids. This weekend’s state finals at St. Clair Bowl in O’Fallon will be an interesting test case.

Wasielewski was so shocked by his sectional showing that he couldn’t explain his success, nor state an individual goal for state.

“(The individual title) feels good but I’d rather go downstate with my team,” Wasielewski said. “That’s all I’m happy about. I’m more happy to be with my team.”

Both Plainfield Central and Romeoville, who were eighth and ninth, respectively, at the 2011 state finals, figure to finish strong again.

“Last year we both went downstate and were both top 10, so I expect nothing less,” Talley said. “I would expect top 5 finishes from both of us.”

Romeoville sophomore Dakota Vostry has an even loftier goal for his school, which has never won a state championship in any sport.

“We’re determined to bring a title home to Romeoville,” he said.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.