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Mar 24, 2008 12:55 pm US/Central
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Father And Son Both Bowl 300
ALBERT LEA, Minn. (AP) ―
It must be the bowling shoes.
Two members of the Kaiser family -- Loren and his son Matt -- this spring rolled matching 300 games and 800 series within a week of one another at Holiday Lanes.
"It was a lot of fun," said Loren who is the manager at Holiday Lanes. "But I enjoyed it even more watching Matt do it."
Loren, 61, rolled a perfect 300 game and an 826 series in league play before Matt, 19, followed that up with a matching 300 and an 825 series while bowling in a city tournament.
Perfect 300 games are nothing new to the Kaiser family with Loren now having 13 in his back pocket while Matt recorded his third and first in sectioned league play.
"It is always exciting ... and after you (bowl a 300) a couple of times it is a little easier to focus," Matt said. "You are not as nervous.
"Bowling that 800 was the last goal I set for myself. Now it is just to improve my game."
The fact that Matt is enjoying a lot of success on the lanes comes as little surprise as he learned the game from his father who spent time on the professional circuit. In fact, Matt rolled a pair of 300s while bowling in youth league and is still the youngest bowler in Minnesota to do it at 14 years old.
The lessons from father to son continue to this day and were in full effect the day Matt rolled his most recent 300.
"The day he had the 300, 800 I chewed him out a little bit because we were shooting doubles at the other end and he wasn't focused or ready to bowl," Loren said. "I sat him down and we talked then he bowled 268 then the 300 then a 257."
"He talked to me about focus and that is what I did those last three games which helped a lot," Matt said. "Most the time when he gives me advice I usually don't listen."
Matt said his 300 game was going smoothly until the 11th frame when he threw a ball that admittedly shouldn't have been a strike but all the pins fell anyway.
Loren said he still gets nervous every time he is going after the perfect game, but having bowled four 299s and a 298 he knows how the other half lives as well.
"The nerves are always there," Loren said. "It never gets any different, but I really enjoy watching others get a 300 because it is one of the reasons you bowl."
So what's the secret to bowling that perfect 300 game?
"You get into a zone and you stay within that zone or mental image where you can shut things out," Loren said. "I have always been able to do that even though some people have a hard time doing it and I taught that to Matt."
He said repetition is key for finding consistency with each shot.
Loren has a ring for each of his 300 games, one for each of his grandchildren, to commemorate the event.
"After this last 300 I called my stepdaughter before I called my wife because she is pregnant with our 13th grandchild," he said.
In the order of important numbers in bowling the 300 game may be the most glamorous, but the 800 series is rare. The 800 series demands consistency over three games averaging 267 to reach it.
While both feats are impressive, Loren is quick to point out that success in bowling depends greatly on your mental approach.
"This game is 90 percent mental," he said. "Once you are up on the approach you have to deal with the issue at hand. You have to concentrate on throwing a good ball to get a strike and you can't be looking all around or be distracted."
The Kaisers have found a way to be all business on the lanes and that usually isn't a good thing for the pins.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)