We all want to get better in whatever we do. After Tommy Bain qualified for the Division 1 State Finals in bowling last year as a junior, he set his sights on practicing and getting better so if he had the opportunity 12 months later, he would be in a much better “frame” of mind.

Bain didn’t have a bad showing last year competing against the best in the state. In fact, he was in fourth place after four games following a 255 game. But he rolled a 158 and 156 and fell out of the competition. He finished 22nd out of 60 – which is still pretty good.

But fast forward to March of this year, when the Wyandotte senior was clearly on a roll. Bain shot a 1,231 for six games in qualifying, which landed him in ninth place going into match play. He ended up playing Brady Pettenger, the eighth-place finisher from Jenison, in match play at Thunderbowl Lanes on March 1.

“It was a good match between us and going into my 10th frame I needed two strikes and nine pins to win,” he said. “I struck on the first ball but after a slight celebration for striking I felt a joint in my arm pop and I got a cramp in my left middle finger. I tried to work it out for my next shot but on that second shot I threw it slightly slow and left a four pin and the game was over. But I felt I did fine and I was very happy with the results.”

Bain finished in ninth place overall out of 55 bowlers. Quite the improvement from 22nd the year before.

So, how did he do it?

“Throughout the summer and fall I competed in different leagues but one specifically was a sport-shot league, which meant the oil we would be bowling on would be a lot harder than what we usually bowl on,” Bain said. “And that made me a lot more accurate and precise, so when I went back onto our normal pattern I saw immediate improvement.

“But overall I’ve been bowling consistently, trying to get better, and I know that I am better from a year ago so it feels great to see that improvement shown through my scores at regionals and states this year.”

Bain has bowled for the Bears for four years and was team captain as a junior and senior. Roosevelt has won the conference championship three consecutive years. Bain was second at regionals this year, shooting 1,313 for six games.

Tommy, 17, is the son of Tom and Ranae Bain and is rolling an impressive 3.5 GPA. His mom, an avid bowler, introduced him to the sport at a young age.

“But it wasn’t until high school that I joined the bowling team and met new people and started bowling with them that I really started loving it,” he said. “I loved that I could just meet up with my friends any day and go to a bowling alley and just bowl and have fun.”

Bain will attend U-M Dearborn and bowl on their varsity team in the fall. He plans on majoring in sports management.

“My future plan for bowling is hopefully becoming a pro but you can never count on that,” he said. “So definitely still bowling a lot in leagues making money that way and bowling in big state tournaments every once and a while.”