By Ron Rop
LocalSportsJournal.com
GRAND HAVEN –Ben Prokopec learned something about himself last year in the Division 1 state bowling finals in Allen Park.
“I’m ready for this,” said Prokopec.
It was in the Division 1 state bowling finals and Prokopec, then a junior on the Bucs’ bowling team, was making his first appearance in the finals.
He qualified for state without much trouble, having finished second in the regionals at Sherman Bowling Center. The top 16 bowlers advanced to the final meet at Thunderbowl in Allen Park the following week.
But the state finals are a whole other level of competition. The best bowlers in the state gather and one team and one individual is crowned state champion. There’s plenty of skill, strategy and even luck if you want to claim that top spot.
Grand Haven’s team also qualified and finished fourth in the team qualifying. In the opening round of the brackets, the Bucs fell to OK-Red rival Grandville, the eventual state champion.
But, Prokopec wasn’t finished. He returned on Day 2 for a bowling adventure that he will never forget.
In his six games of qualifying, Prokopec and Michael Pupin from New Baltimore Anchor Bay, finished with identical scores of 1,200. That prompted a one-game, winner take all match with the winner moving into the 16th spot in the brackets and the loser going home.
When informed of the tie, Coach Prokopec tracked down his son, who was eating lunch, and told him the news.
“We had to go get his equipment and I wanted to make sure he was in the right mindset. He stopped me and said, ‘Dad, I’m ready for this.’”
In a game that went down to the 10th frame, Prokopec survived 204-195 in front of a large crowd of 400-500 spectators. Ben, a lefthander, converted a 7-pin spare in the 10th frame to advance.
“That tells you how important spares are,” said Ben, who would have come up one pin short had he failed to convert that spare.
But, finishing 16th means the first-round match is against the top seed. Prokopec took on Hartland’s Andrew Clark, who had averaged 219 on his way to a pinfall of 1,319 in his six games of qualifying.
Undeterred, Prokopec rolled games of 160 and 215 to win that first-round match by 83 pins as Clark struggled to a 135 and 157.
Next up for Prokopec was Brady Pettenger from league-foe Jenison. Prokopec advanced with games of 188-195 to Pennenger’s 162-165.
Now things were getting much more serious for Prokopec, who, as the 16th seed, was paired up against Davidson’s Joe Merz in the semifinals. Again, Prokopec hit his mark frame after frame and finished with games of 204-243. Merz led after one game with his 225, but finished with a 192. Prokopec was heading to the finals with a 30-pin victory.
In the finals, Prokopec had a 179-196, but fell to Dylan Hamden from Utica Eisenhower. Hamden won by 18 after rolling games of 180 and 213.
“I never really thought about making it to the finals,” said Ben. “I wasn’t like I’m going to win this whole thing. I was just happy to be in the arena and wondering how far could I go. But, obviously, as it progresses, it becomes more and more of a thought in your mind.”
“As a father, I enjoy telling that story,” John said. “We teach a lot about the mental game and so he had asked me if I thought he had a chance to make it in because he really want to get back into the arena and have a chance at that.”
Now, Prokopec is in the midst of his senior season and is rolling an average that is near 200. His confidence is high as they make their way toward regionals next month.
“I’m just building on what I did last year, but I think it’s gotten better and I’m better at my spares this year than I was,” Ben said.
Bowling is a family affair for the Prokopec family. John is employed by Brunswick and an accomplished bowler with an average well over 200. Collin is the oldest of the siblings. He was a Buc bowler who graduated in 2021.
“I remember getting my first bowling bag and ball in the first grade for Christmas,” said Ben, who started bowling just for fun, but things got serious pretty quickly.
Nowadays, you’ll find Coach John at the lanes with his triplet children – Ben and Ethan on the boys’ team and Lauren on the girls’ team. Lauren has been on the Buc girls’ team that qualified for state the last 2 years. While John is the boys’ coach, the Buc girls are coached by Brad Batka.
“When Collin finished, that was a lot of emotions for me, but I knew they were coming in as freshmen the next year,” said John. “And now here we are in their senior year. For me, it’s the focus of coaching the team, but on the parent/father side of it, I want to enjoy their senior year and see them enjoy it. I try not to think about it too much, just stay in today.”
Having dad as the coach means there are more father-son conversations about bowling.
“We talk quite a bit about bowling,” said Ben, who is considering becoming an orthodontist. “Car rides home and around the table we’ll talk about that stuff. Especially after practice, we’ll break it down.”
Following the high school season, Ben and Ethan teamed up to win the Michigan State Youth Championship. Ben and Ethan captured the doubles title and Ben also won the singles and all-events titles.
So, who is the best bowler in the Prokopec family? There are a number of good choices.
“He’s better than me,” Ben said of his dad, who has bowled 10 perfect games. “But, he’s been bowling a lot longer than I have.”
