For reasons that anyone familiar with Re Canada's tentacles will understand, kotchie and bowlers don't want to make a big deal out of rewards. team we've ever naa"--mto came against tne worta ne said. champion U.S. and other Pan-American nations. Kotchie has rolled six perfect games in his career It is, he says, a "tremendous thrill" to represent his although. the latest at the l989 Zone championships in country. And winning a silver and a bronze medal at the Wichita. He is one of only two player to hit the magic 1991 world championships in Montreal. was his "most 300 mark in world competition. satisfying moment" as abowler. Ironically, he says. perfect games are no longer as But there is no escaping the monetary aspect of rare as they once were, thanks. in pan, lt' .ew urethane bowling. balls-called "cheaters"--that allow a sharper hook on For reasons that anyone familiar with Revenue entry. just part of bowling's arrival into the modern age Canada's tentacles will understand. Kotchie and other of sports. bowlers don't want to make a big deal out of these "Some people don't even consider it a snort." Kotchie is on this team, has been, in fact, since 1989. He won the gold medal at the Canadian trials last year with a 211 average through 30 games and now heads the l2-member national squad--"lhe strongest team we've ever had"»into battle against the world champion U .S. and other Pan-American nations. Even the type of bowling is dif- MD I ferent. A decade ago, S-pin, a ----- uniquely Canadian version of bowling, was the game of choice. Now 10-pin takes up 65 per cent of all lanes. says Walter Valentan. executive director of the Greater Toronto Bowling Proprietors Association. There is even a Canadian national team. which will take pan in the International Bowling Federation (FlQ) American Zone championships next month in Mexico. This IS the side of bowling the public seldom sees. Frorh techno- logically-advanced balls to $l mil- lion purses, the face of one of the world's favorite pastimes is chang- mg. kotchie, an Oakville resident for the past year, tack- les like bowling like others tackle golf. He practices for two hours three times a week, plays â€"â€"-â€" in a Thursday night league and then " q almost every weekend, drives up to To be I five hours to compete in a growing number of cash tournaments. there And then there are people like Howard Kotchie: Businessman, family man and one of the country's top bowlers. There are nearly a million bowlers across the province; men and women who spend a cou- ple of hours a week, knocking down a few pins--and a few beers--at their local lane. Every week, an average of 45 players will roll a game on each of Southern Ontario's 4.000 10-pin lanes --artd this doesn't even include the so-called public bowlers, families on weekends. Beaver sports editor By JIM WILSON Still, he admits, "There is a ton of money Sports trivia...Box " 5239 Sports picks...Box " 5240 Shorldan Cotlago.{..To coma 0mm: Blades......To come 0mm. um. LnaguewJo come Bowling is no longer the pure and simple game it once Was--as Howard Kotchie will tell you WlileWe P1113119 hli1U, EVBI'VOIIB Else (an 11113110Y111. glimpse much more than a lylur Call vour comman we've also created an automobile tha 1lllll.2 LEXUS TOYOTA YOUR EXCLUSIVE LEXUS DEALER FOR MISSISSAUGA It visit us today for a lesl dr So while others stare e s Erin Park The Lexus relentless pursul Menting The New bsos, (18300. H0115 Ill , {1 "To be honest, if g there was no 7 money, I wouldn't 'i. put as much into it . as I do" , perfection meat a put ills pr I I) horsepow the mid-t500()() range lobe peeling design, you ear nut in from "Some people don't even consider it Kolchic says with a knowing smile. "The idea." He has eight, custom-drilled ch into it balls, worthabout $l50 eac.h and all of them weighing the maximum 16 do " pounds Kotchie is a slight 32-year- old but delivers the big balls-"more -t------ hitting power"--with a smooth four- step delivery and a deft hook on entry. Like a curling stone ducking around the guard, prop- erly-thrown bowling shots will curve--often harshly _ between the head, or 10 pin. and the back row. "There's not a pro in the world who throws a straight ball," he said. Each lane is different--"oiling" makes some.faster, slower and with varying sweet spots. And so, like a golfer lining up a put, bowlers must constantly analyze and alter shots throughout a game. "There's more to it than just rearing back and firing." Ill "To be honest," he says, "If there was no money, I wouldn't put as much into it as I do." A self-employed insurance broker and father of two young children, Kotchie is very competitive, almost too much so, He once took a night school course on relaxation to How much,of course, depends on how good a bowler is and how actively he pursues it. Why, it wasn't too long ago that a member of the Canadian team, Carig Woodhouse of St. Catharines, took home $250,000 for one tournament. The most Kotchie has made, he says, in one tourna- ment is $14,000, in Rochester five years ago. Most of the income comes in smaller pots-Sl/XX) here, $500 there. made dIllls 3f goof mblt HI ERIN MILLS AUTO PARK, 2411 MOTORWAY BLVD. MISSISSAUGA (416) 828-7711 'SPOR TS mpr wishbone suspc n a malmer that ensures tf, help him deal with pressure situa- tions--like a 2-7 split with the game on the line. "I would choke." he admits. He reads book on the mental approach to sports and studies videotapes of his form. HIM DEW DUNDAS 71wRelrm1m Emu " Mann school course on relaxation to him deal with pressure situa- --|ike a 2-7 split with the game Ilett Hal e no longer a: f .cw urethane arpe hook on he modern age 300 ',0AK1l1iggi) BEAVER l n Daly, 26, is in the midst of a comeback following a brief absence from the Tour while he underwent treatment for alcohol at ()akvillc's Howard kotchie-here practising at Oakville Bowlerarmr Daly, the 1991 PGA champion, added his name to those of defend- ing champion Greg Norman and l99l winner Nick Price for the Sept. 6-12 tournament at Glen Abbey. John Daly. whose persona! problems have almost outdistanced his mammoth lee shots. has con- firmed his entry into the Canadian Open Golf Championship. Big John is coming to the Open OAKVILLE B H the err.] 'ia9fli15G/s4atiyGir 'iii began I993 by Whit-wall Sin PlSS/80Rl3 PMS/BORIS P175/80Rl3 PIES/801213 PIGS/75R†Earn AIR MILEs an and scmcc Ask ya participating mail: POPULAR AU-SEASON DECA THLON ts and is currently 4 ney list with Sll7.5 hed 297 Speers Road (at Dorval) 845-4227 Prim $39.95 $45.95 $50.95 $53.95 $54.95 RH D 't2'iy, tt ssing three 59l, distan Vin 162nd th Whitewall Sin Sale Price PI 55/ 80R l 3 $43.65 P165/80R13 $49.25 PI 75/80R13 $54.85 Pl85/80ill3 $57.65 Pl85/75flld $58.55 GREAT VALUE ON ALL-SEASON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 1993 PAGE 18 h the PGA tour in driving recording 285.2 yards nearly IO full yard better nearest rival, John Adams, " VALUE I-SEASON O sas O I Sue Sale Prue _ $43.65 , $49.25 OFF $54.85 $57.65 H unded also ranked No in drivin FltOM fr tour in driving distance 0/ '5}? .. orrlf , aked No. l in driving L4) in I992 but was ving accuracy. And, by controversy, he ( 17th to 37th on the 'llll8lll.r""'.'1"..7," GOODYEAR/S BEST ALL-SEASON INVICTA GS Nhnewo“ 1ep,,t,'/, 40% oif b-." rite Price PREMIUM HIGH PERFORMANCE ALl-SEASON EAGLE 674-4 303 Upper Middle Road E. 338-0011 a cr that an ack his "is one of the country's top bowlers woewa The Shark also leads the tour, scoring, shooting an average t only 69.55 a round. t I Norman and Price, meanwhile, currently rank No. 3-4 on the PGA) money list; Norman with $497,587 in six events, Price $497,464 in! five. His three-under-par 72-7l-7l- 7l 285 total did not reflect th charge he made on the final dd when he climbed to within thre shots of Norman after nine holes, only to fall back with consecutive bogeys at. IO, II and 12. 1 money list. His tremendous length off the tee and his personal relationship with the gallery endeared him to many fans at Glen Abbey last year, when his finished l2th, five shots behind Norman and Bruce Lietzke. 74%; 99% Wy. "-e. , 4 (51% and†Gwhio 921.00 916.00 I 5mm ' 930.00 d sumo a 5mm Get $60 io SM tradtin your set Auatreds, Ask an $100 a; AQUATRED My; k VI 513.20 515.60 518.60 532.30 531.60 531.60 when vo'u WHEN ms GONE, ms ALI. GONE.,. TIL NEXT YEAR! .qualrc mm savings Per 'uir 591.60 900.30 “04.30 $1 "no 51 12.80 “16.30 l f1 Cl.†Itt