Mason Kelley brought up the game of bowling in conversation with his father during freshman year.
“He said, ‘What did you know about bowling?’” the Hamilton High School senior recalled. “‘All you know how to do is pick up a ball, and you throw it at the pins.’”
It became more than just that for Kelley, who got his personal bowling ball a short while later.
That’s when his career on the lanes officially began.
“I didn’t want to go the traditional route — one-handed,” Kelley said. “So, I converted into a two-hander and really wouldn’t change anything about it.”
Why would he?
Kelley will compete in the Ohio High School Athletic Association state bowling tournament March 7-8 at H.P. Lanes in Columbus.
Kelley bowled a 777 series — which included a high school career-best 266 game — to claim first place at districts and earn his first-ever trip to state.
“I still have that potential where I could shoot my first 300,” Kelley said. “It brings that motivation up to the table all day.”
“He brings a positive attitude,” Hamilton first-year varsity coach Chris Brunner added. “He works really, really hard. This goes to show all the hard work he puts in. He’s got a really good head on his shoulders.”
Kelley said he isn’t going to change his gameday routine at state.
“I come in here, listen to music almost every time,” Kelley said. “In season, you always see me wearing my blue Nike hoodie backwards, Nike hat backwards, and I wear my Oakleys usually — coming in having both my bags.
“But I’ll definitely wear that blue backwards hat up there for sure.”
Joining Kelley at state is Middletown senior LaMarcus Ward, who has been eyeing the prize all season long.
“It’s about mostly staying focused,” Ward said. “Practicing has gotten me through with a lot of help from coach. All of that has brought me to where I’m at.
“It’s really just about staying focused on state.”
Ward averaged a Greater Miami Conference fifth-best 206.7 during the season, which is up from last year’s 193.4.
Middies coach Larry Cupp said Ward, a Monroe transfer, is bowling at his best heading into state.
“He’s just been on a tear,” Cupp said. “He doesn’t play around — even when it comes to our practices. It’s the extra time that he puts in and the focus that he has. He’s all about doing what he needs to do to not only help himself but help his team.
“He’s one of those guys that is very dedicated to his craft. Anybody that is good in any field, you have to put the work in and you have to practice. You have to do it outside of our practice and do it on your own, and he’s the guy that will do that.”
Ward shot a 240-238-258—736 series at districts to finish fourth individually and qualify him for state.
“With his attitude, and the way he maintains his composure, he’s just a person that changes the mindset of his peers and his teammates,” Cupp said. “He came in, and we did very well last year. We went 16-1, and he pretty much changed the whole morale of the team.
“Nothing disturbs him. He gets up there, he knows what he’s got to do, and he just does it. I don’t have to coach him all the time. He knows, ‘Hey, I need to do this. I need to throw the ball like this.’ He knows when he needs to change to a different ball that reacts differently to knock those pins down.”
Ward hit a spare on his first frame and then struck his way out to bowl a high school career-high 290 during the regular season at Oxford Lanes on Dec. 18.
“That’s the highest game he’s ever had, and it’s the second highest we’ve ever had in Middletown history,” Cupp said. “But along with that, he’s just continued to just bowl so well.
“When he steps on the lanes, he’s got the three C’s — calm, cool and collective.”
