Bowler took to sport at a young age

Wearing a striped bowling shirt with his name on the back, Jaylen Jamison bowled strike after strike, knocking the pins down effortlessly as his dad cheered him on.

His dad, Tracy Jamison, recalled the first time Jaylen picked up a bowling ball around the age of 5. It was at Westgate Lanes, the same location as Strikers on Christy Drive.

"He just threw it down, and he knocked down about eight pins," he said.

When he knocked down the spare pins, he knew Jaylen had a natural talent.

"Ever since then, he just fell in love with it," Tracy said. "Every time he'd go bowling, he just would get better and better and better."

Recently, Jaylen, 19, made history as the first person to bowl a perfect score at Strikers.

Jaylen said he was just focused on doing his best and didn't realize he had bowled only strikes until he was notified he was on the 10th frame.

"I forgot all about the first few shots," he said. "On the shots leading to it, I was thinking nothing about it. I was trying to keep myself from looking at the scoreboard because that really messes me up."

He'd been close to scoring a 300 several times, so it felt amazing to finally accomplish it, he said.

Jaylen said he's inspired by professional bowlers like his idol, Jason Belmonte, who's widely considered the greatest bowler of all time.

Initially bowling with just his left hand, Jaylen picked up the two-handed bowling style at around age 8, using his non-dominant hand to cradle the front of the ball in order to stabilize and support it during a backswing. As he pushes the ball forward, his supporting hand guides it to generate more spin.

It's the technique he uses to this day and the same technique as his favorite bowler.

"When I was making videos of myself bowling and looking back to see what I need to improve, that's when I started comparing myself to the world's No. 1 and saw the similarities," Jaylen said.

Other than bowling a perfect score, Tracy said his proudest moment for his son happened one day when he was bowling in Fulton. Unbeknownst to him, the William Woods University bowling coach happened to be watching. He offered Jaylen a scholarship on the spot.

"That was one of my proudest moments because we weren't expecting the coach," Tracy said. "He was just bowling. I'm very proud of him because he worked very hard to get where he is today. I just hope he continues following his dream."

Jaylen is attending William Woods University in the fall and is looking forward to bowling on a team. His dream is to become a professional bowler and compete in the Professional Bowlers Association tour.

"I hope he gets everything he works for," Tracy said. "We tell him all the time, like Fredrick Douglas said, 'You might not get everything you worked for, but you must work for everything you get.' I hope he takes that to heart and continues to be the best person he can be. I hope this is just the beginning of his journey, and I hope he reaches his destination down the road, because he's really looking forward to it."

Jaylen said he's proud of the process of getting to where he is today, even though it took a lot of hard work.

"It's worth it because it had really good results," he said. "Even though some days I don't bowl well, it all makes up for it in the end."

    Julie Smith/News Tribune Jaylen Jamison demonstrates his technique at Strikers, where he is the first person to bowl a perfect game.
  

In the digital edition, watch Jaylen Jamison in his natural element at the bowling alley, from age 5 to now, as he and his dad talk about what they’re most proud of from Jaylen’s experience as a bowler.