Nearly 200 high school bowlers, their families and their friends stand and listen quietly as the names of the 16 boys and 11 girls whose high school bowling careers will continue onto regionals that year are called at the 2020 Indy South Sectionals tournament on Jan. 11. Senior Madison Woodmansee spills tears of relief and joy when her name is the last to be called. After the regionals tournament, Woodmansee advanced onto semi-state, continuing a consistently strong high school career after transitioning from middle school.
“I have definitely improved a lot throughout high school with the help of some of my coaches,” Woodmansee said.
Woodmansee, a seven-year bowler, is finishing her final year of high school bowling. Woodmansee has proven she is a top bowler on the team year after year.
Woodmansee started competitive bowling in the sixth grade after her dad and future coach, Terry Woodmansee, and her friends convinced her to get involved. As she progressed through middle school, she started to see results and went to junior nationals. Woodmansee continued to bowl all throughout middle school, eventually dropping basketball after playing for six years to pursue bowling full time.
“In sixth grade my dad got me back into it after he quit when I was born, and then I started bowling for fun before I picked it up competitively in seventh grade,” Woodmansee said.
Terry has been an important part of her life as he was the reason she started competitive bowling. He started coaching her in middle school before moving on to become a coach of the SHS bowling team where he got to watch his daughter grow as a player and a person.
“I am very proud of her,” Terry said. “I can’t wait to see where her (collegiate career) takes her.”
Woodmansee showed potential on the bowling team in her freshman year. She then became a standout bowler in her sophomore year after she showed her improvement by winning semi-state. In her junior year Woodmansee finally bowled a 300 in practice and went on to place fourth at semi-state as a junior.
According to Woodmansee, improving her bowling skills didn’t happen simply as a result of hard work. Woodmansee credits her improvement to her teammates for pushing her and supporting her all the way throughout high school.
One of the teammates to see Woodmansee progress this year is junior Sarah Mendoza. Mendoza is finishing up her first year on the bowling team while still maintaining energy and supporting her teammates. According to Mendoza, Woodmansee is and has been a standout bowler on the team who is always giving her team a boost of morale and confidence with her energy.
“Her personality is very booming, (and) it spreads to the whole team,” Mendoza said. “When she is excited, everyone gets excited.”
According to Woodmansee’s mother, Tammy Woodmansee, her daughter is not just improving in the physical aspects of the game but is growing mentally as well, and she is now amassing a bigger understanding of the sport.
Oil patterns are a key example of things that can affect how a bowler performs. Oil patterns are oil on the bowling lane that are different on each lane and affect the rotation of the ball as it travels down the bowling lane.
“Her knowledge of oil patterns and what balls work better on different patterns is a big part of the improvements that I’ve seen,” Tammy said.
Woodmansee’s effort and improvements have paid off, as she has now gotten multiple Division One collegiate offers. Schools such as Nebraska University, Marian University and Insula University have expressed interest in her. Woodmansee has decided to continue her bowling career at Marian University. According to Woodmansee, she is very excited to pursue her athletic career at the next level, but she says she could not have done it without the help of everyone around her.
“I love my teammates to death,” Woodmansee said. “They have a great attitude and push me to be where I am, and I would not be where I am today without my teammates.”