“They really are like my uncles,” Parker said. “I’ve basically grown up with them.”
The 16-year-old cannot remember a time when he wasn’t bowling. Not surprising when your dad has been a high school coach for close to two decades.
“There is actually a picture of me in a diaper at the lanes,” he said.
Those longtime relationships have translated into trust.
“I think I’ve known Drew pretty much as long as he’s been alive,” Dobran said. “We have a lot of fun together when we bowl. We ride the strikes but if something isn’t working, we can flip the switch and get serious and then go back to having fun.”
Dobran, now 26, bowled for Drew’s dad Andy Parker when he was the Centerville High School coach.
“Because of Andy, we both understand bowling and have essentially the same background and knowledge of the game,” Dobran said.
Parker and Conty bowled in an early shift at the state event at Madison Lanes in London with the Miamisburg High School junior posting a 651. Parker made an equipment change before he and Dobran bowled. While having a veteran coach as a dad is helpful, Andy lets Drew make his own decisions.
“We talk about it, and I always ask him, ‘what’s your gut telling you,’” Andy said. “He’s making better ball choices all the time.”
The change paid off as Parker posted a team-leading 729 with Dobran finishing with 645.
“I honestly didn’t bowl that well, but he definitely did,” Dobran said. “I didn’t have any big games or any bad games, just very even. I just didn’t want to let him down.”
The duo’s score held up through another full weekend of competition giving them the state title. For Parker, however, celebrations are short-lived as there is always another tournament on his calendar.
“This kid loves to bowl anything and everything,” his dad said.
Those weekends on the road, however, will soon come to an end as the high school season gets underway in a few weeks. The Vikings qualified for state last year with a young roster that included three sophomores and four freshmen. So, Parker’s next goals are team-oriented.
“Of course we want to go back to state,” he said. “And we really want to win the conference.”
Ohio State USBC - Bowling Centers Association of Ohio Adult/Youth Tournament
Adult/teen Scratch Division - Local Top 10 Placers
- Drew Parker/Dylan Dobran, Centerville, 1,374; 2. Drew Parker/Anthony Conty, Centerville, 1,350; 4. Philip Duncan Jr./Philip Duncan Sr., Fairborn, 1,295; 7. Colton White/Payton White, Washington Twp., 1,274.
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