Josh Stretton recently scored a perfect 300, while playing in a 10-pin bowling competition in Australia. Photo/Andrew Warner.
Josh Stretton recently scored a perfect 300, while playing in a 10-pin bowling competition in Australia. Photo/Andrew Warner.
It seems that achievements come in threes for Tauranga 10-pin bowler Josh Stretton.
The 18-year-old recently competed in Australia's Queensland Junior Cup, scoring his first ever perfect 300, the middle game ofthree in which he scored a total of 832. It was the first 300 by a New Zealand junioroverseas, and 832 was the highest 800-plus series scored in overseas competition by a New Zealander.
After doing wellin the competition, and leading with three rounds to go, he eventually fellto third.
"After the 18th game I was in front with a 226 average, but after 18 I went downhill.
A couple of factors didn't happen and without that I could have won, butI can't dwell on it and can take the positives I suppose."
Venues and lanes have different characteristics and, because of that, Josh takes several balls to tournaments.
"They react differently with the surface of the lanes so I have to travel with more than one ball and it's about finding which ball works where and throwing it perfectly 12 times in a row."
"I got 279 in the first game - with 11 [strikes] out of 12 - so I didn't adjust at all because the shot I didn't get a strike was a good shot, it just didn't strike."
Josh is part of the Kiwi 10-pin bowling team, but travelled to Queensland as an individual.
"It doesn't matter if I am in a team or an individual, I am still representing New Zealand."
Josh is the No 1 ranked youth player in New Zealand and has won junior [under 18] and youth [under 21] national titles, but plays open age tournaments and travels overseas to get better opposition.
He is headed to Malaysia in November and may compete in Sydney in October.
"At most [tournaments] I make the top five or top six. I play open because we don't have many youth bowlers in New Zealand and the only way to get better is to play people who are better than you.
Responding to the good scores of other players is how you improve yourself - it's how you push yourself."
Josh Stretton has been bowling competitively for six years. Photo/Andrew Warner
Josh has been bowling competitively for six years and bowling at Tenpin Tauranga on and off for 10 years since his parent bought the business.
His father Mark is a former Australian youth and open age player.
"There is a bit money in the sport [overseas] and it's a dream to do it semi- professionally," says Josh.
"But it's a very hard thing to get into, which is why I travel as much as I can, to know that it's like in other countries and see how they train and how they play.
"When I've been overseas I've got to know some of the Asian bowlers and people come up to them and ask for autographs and it's all over TV and newspapers."
Josh hopes to represent New Zealand at the 2016 World Youth Championships in Nebraska.
