Hobby becomes a passion for JBLM bowler

  • Published
  • By Dean Siemon
  • Northwest Guardian
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  Natasha Sanchez sent her father, Tony Szeluga, a text of how she did after each round of bowling during the 2015 Armed Forces Bowling Championships at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., May 12-16.

Early in the qualifying rounds, Sanchez, a technical sergeant with the 62nd Operations Support Squadron at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, had low games of 143 and 141 to start. Her father's responses varied with how to adjust her throw, body position and several little things that go into one single roll.

The messages helped as she finished third overall among Air Force participates to make the women's team. Sanchez bowled a total of 4,279 pins to finish fifth among all events -- team, doubles, mixed doubles and single. It was a comeback of sorts for Sanchez, who missed last year's tournament because personal reasons -- one that was hosted by JBLM's Bowl Arena Lanes.

Bowling has been a passionate hobby for Sanchez, who was first introduced to the sport by Szeluga. He was an impressive bowler through his 23 years in the Army and won individual and team titles of his own at Armed Forces Bowling Championship tournaments during the 1990s. He continues to bowl in the retired division of the Military Bowling Championships in Las Vegas, Nev.

While stationed near Clarksville, Tenn., Sanchez said she wanted to be with her dad, so bowling became their father-daughter time.

"I just wanted to spend time with my dad, so I picked up the hobby that he was in," Sanchez said. "Basically it was a way to spend more time with my dad, and I just happened to be good at it."

Even as an adult, she exchanges text messages in between rounds to give him updates on how bowled in each round. Szeluga responds with corresponding advice like how to attack specific oil patterns and adjustments she could benefit making in the next game.

When she visits her parents, who now live in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the father-daughter duo go to the nearby bowling alley and return to the roots of their close relationship.

"I want to do it more for me and to help me be a better bowler, but I don't ever want to be a pro," Sanchez said. "I just enjoy bowling."

Sanchez has had seven appearances in the Armed Forces Bowling Championships with a different legacy than her father's on the Army side. She qualified to compete in the Armed Forces Championships in 2012 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. During that tournament Sanchez finished second overall among all women with a total of 1,226 pins in six games for an average of 204.3 per game to help the Air Force win the women's team championship.

In her last appearance before missing the 2014 competition on JBLM, Sanchez helped the Air Force women win their fourth straight title in 2013 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., after a total of 4,725 pins over 24 games -- a 196.9 average.

With personal reasons keeping her from competing on her home bowling center last year, Sanchez spent plenty of time training for the number of games she would have to bowl just to complete the qualifying round of the tournament May 12 and 13 -- a total of 18 games. That's why she made an appearance during last month's Northwest Military Masters Bowling Championships where she missed the cut to the second round by less than 10 pins .

Much of her time between evenings and lunch breaks are spent at Sounders Lanes, just a few blocks from her office on McChord Field, bowling up to 18 games each day.

"What they used to do was you would bowl four days, six games a day -- now its one day you're bowling six games and then on day two you bowl two sets of six," Sanchez said. "A lot of people aren't used to that much bowling in that short amount of time, so I had been trying to get myself spun up to where I can bowl 12-18 games a day because it's 12 games, and that's not including any practice time."

This could be her last appearance in the Armed Forces Championship because she isn't sure how the logistics would work at her next duty station in Korea. But she will continue to bowl as much as she can with other goals in mind outside of the military bragging rights -- like trying to get the perfect 300 score.