Shoemaker sets his sights on bowling in college

Cody Shoemaker is accustomed to his high school friends not taking bowling seriously. Some of them don’t think bowling is even a sport. It doesn’t bother Shoemaker.

The fact that the 17-year-old right-hander from Hanover averages 220, owns a 769 series, finished seventh in a national high school tournament in Indianapolis last year and has won three Pennsylvania Junior Bowlers Tour (PJBT) events this season doesn’t impress them.

Of course, they have no idea how difficult Shoemaker’s achievements are. After all, he makes it look easy.

They don’t see how many games he practices a week, how he studies other bowlers and how he’s constantly adding to his knowledge about the game.

“Cody is very motivated and focused,” said Joel Logan, who helps coach junior bowlers at Suburban Bowlerama, where Cody bowls on Saturday mornings.

“He’s a student of the game, constantly seeking out others for advice. Cody has worked hard at improving his game.”

When Shoemaker started bowling at South Hanover Lanes three years ago, he averaged 150. His grandfather, Earl Shoemaker, helped spark Cody’s desire to improve his game.

“Bowling appeals to me because everyone in my family bowls and I grew up around the sport,” said Shoemaker, who is turning heads on the PJBT Tour, which attracts the top junior bowlers in the region.

In addition to three titles this season, he is the points leader and has earned more than $1,400 in scholarship money. He sports the best match play record, going 36-15 and winning 70 percent of his matches.

The Hanover high school senior has set his sights on competing for a college bowling team. He hopes to attend Saginaw Valley State in Michigan, where pro bowlers Bill O’Neill and Tom Smallwood attended.

“I met Dan Brown, coach of the Saginaw Valley State team this past summer at a PJBT tournament in Allentown,” said Shoemaker. “He liked my game, encouraged me to apply and try out for the team. I hope to be accepted and try out for the A team.”

Shoemaker plans to major in business management with the hopes of running a bowling center some day.

“Cody has a lot of potential,” stressed Logan. “He has a lot going for him. I expect him to bowl for a college team.”