About two years ago sophomore Coda Becker attended his younger sister’s birthday party, which happened to take place at a bowling alley. Becker did not realize it at the time, but bowling would eventually evolve into a passion. Later down the road, he would even go as far as to qualify for a national tournament. But all that he knew in that moment was that he enjoyed the sport and wanted to do more of it.

“I found it to be really fun,” Becker said. “So I just kept practicing, and I got more into it, so I started taking it a little bit more seriously.”

Even though Becker just started competitive bowling within the last two years, he has already accomplished a lot. In November, he won first place at a qualifying tournament, which made him eligible for this year’s Junior Gold National Championship in July.

“Bowling has a lot of tournaments and qualifiers,” Becker said. “There are rounds —you play a tournament, you qualify for another tournament, and it just keeps going on.”

Professional youth bowler Garrett Andrus, a member of Junior Team USA, who has bowled with Becker, says that Becker has come a long way and foresees more success for him in his future.

“Coda is a great upcoming player who has been excelling in tournaments around the Austin and San Antonio area,” Andrus said. “I can see him becoming a well developed bowler, playing in events around the nation and even around the world. If he keeps working hard and putting in the work, he can become one of the best players on the PBA [Professional Bowlers Association] tour.”

Part of what Andrus believes makes Becker such a good bowler is his ability to improve, a strength Becker recognizes that has already taken him far.

“I’ve really made a lot of progress,” Becker said. “I’ve been practicing a lot. It’s really fun, and I’m going to keep working on my skills and keep practicing.”

This ability is what sets Becker apart from other bowlers in Andrus’ eyes.

“He reminds me a lot of myself when I first started getting into competitive bowling,” Andrus said. “He shows grit and great strength through adversity, which inspires me to keep working at my game no matter how challenging it gets.”

Andrus feels Becker’s perseverance, along with his many other positive qualities, make him a great person to bowl with.

“Coda is humble, kind, genuine and unassuming,” Andrus said. “He’s great to talk to about all aspects of the game and is eager to learn just as much as he is willing to teach you about the game.”

But Becker doesn’t limit himself to just bowling; he also plays basketball. Playing two sports, he stays busy.

“It’s a little tough on the schedule,” Becker said. “You wouldn’t think bowling would be, but if you do a lot of [competitions], then you’re always pretty active. Weekends, I have league; on Sundays I’ll go practice, and then all during the week I’m playing basketball.”

Junior George Brode, a basketball colleague of Becker’s, sees Becker both on the court and at the alley.

“I’m not a huge bowler myself, but my friend group is close friends with Coda, and we go [bowling] sometimes together,” Brode said. “Coda’s like a professional. He’s got his two custom balls, and he’s got his own shoes. And his form is great; it’s a lot better than mine for sure.”

Even though he’s been playing basketball for a lot longer, Becker doesn’t favor it over bowling.

“I like them [basketball and bowling] both equally,” he said. “I really like playing both, and I like them in different ways.”

While the two sports are very different, both are similar in that they require precision.

“Bowling is not as physically taxing as basketball, but there’s a lot more that goes into it that a lot of people don’t understand,” Becker said. “It’s a complicated sport; there’s a lot of details, it’s not just rolling the ball down the lane and knocking all the pins down.”

Becker’s understanding of the sport is part of what Brode believes makes him so skilled.

“It’s just hard to wrap your head around because it’s hard to be good at two sports like that,” Brode said. “For that, I just gotta give him a lot of respect.”

Becker has always played basketball as his main sport, but his love for bowling continues to grow.

“I’m proud to go to a pretty unique sport where there’s fewer people, and no one’s really aware of it,” Becker said. “A sport like this is more fun to get good at because it’s obscure. Not many people would think, ‘Oh he’s a good bowler.’ Basketball’s awesome, but bowling is different.”

This story was originally published on The Shield Online on March 11, 2024.