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Bowling opened doors for WSU coach
Sunday, October 12, 2008
KETTERING — Her license plate says it all: LUV2BWL.
Jessica Fleck started bowling when she was 8 years old, but she didn't consider herself a bowler until almost 10 years later.
The two-time member of the Dayton Youth All-Star Team who helped the Morehead State (Ky.) women finish third in the country in 2006 is now finding success in adult leagues. Fleck, 24, has posted both 300 and 299 games in just the past two weeks.
The daughter of Wright State men's bowling coach Jeff Fleck, Jessica shares her love of the game with a new generation of bowlers as the coach of WSU's women's team. The Raiders had a second-place finish at the Heartland Conference tournament last month in Lorain.
In her words
"Bowling was more of a pastime for me for a long time. I played soccer and basketball and did dance and gymnastics. I was a junior in high school when we got high school bowling at Centerville. That's when I decided to take it more seriously.
"Bowling in college was something I hadn't even thought about. I was going to stay home and go to Wright State. But I bowled in a tournament the summer after I graduated and I ended up being recruited by Pikeville College (Ky.). The tournament was in June and I was at Pikeville in August. And my experience at Pikeville opened my eyes to other options (Morehead).
"I wanted to work for the FBI when I was in college. I have a double major in criminology and sociology and I did an internship in a juvenile female correctional facility. I'd like to find a position in my field, maybe as a counselor, something that would really make an impact.
"My intensity is exactly the same as my brother's. I think we get that from our dad. I got into bowling because of my dad, and he coached my high school team. It was a lot more pressure, not because of anything he did, but because I felt the need to impress him. That's probably why I've never shot an honor score with him around.
"The way things are going for me right now, I think I could beat my brother and my dad if we bowled against each other — and that's not easy. The week I shot the 300, my dad had already bowled a 290. I came in and told him I had the high game in the house that week. And my dad made a comment to my brother, who is a senior now at Wright State, that he better start bowling better because I'm kicking his butt.
"People think bowlers are all overweight smokers and drinkers. They think it doesn't take a lot to be a bowler and that's completely incorrect. All they would have to do is watch a college tournament to realize it's completely different than they think. There are mascots and cheering like any other college sport, and a lot of physical and mental strength is required to be successful.
"I'm a pretty big daredevil. If I wasn't bowling, I'd probably be at Kings Island — I love roller-coasters and I do the bungee jumping and the ripcord, too. I love that kind of stuff."
