News>Feature - 20-year-old bowls second perfect 300 score
Photos
Davin McIntire wipes down his ball to ensure proper spin at the Stars and Strikes Bowling Center May 29. McIntire recently bowled his second perfect 300 score.(U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jake Eckhardt)
Davin McIntire, Stars and Strikes Bowling Center equipment repairman, studies the lane before he takes his shot at the Stars and Strikes Bowling Center at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., May 29, 2012. Mcintire recently bowled a perfect game during the base championships here May 8. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jake Eckhardt)
Davin McIntire,Stars and Strikes Bowling Center equipment repairman, watches his ball curve to give him a strike at the Stars and Strikes Bowling Center at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., May 29, 2012. McIntire said that he has been attempting to get his technique as perfect as possible for four years, and it has won him two championships and $2,500 worth of scholarship money. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jake Eckhardt)
Davin McIntire, Stars and Strikes Bowling Center equipment repairman, picks up his ball after successfully getting a strike at the Stars and Strikes Bowling Center at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., May 29, 2012. McIntire has bowled two perfect games so far. The first time the 20-year-old youth bowler played a perfect game was June 2, 2010 at Lakenheath Air Force Base, England. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Jake Eckhardt)
by Airman 1st Class Jake Eckhardt
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
6/6/2012 - SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- To some, 300 may just be a number, but to a select few of bowling elite, it's a goal. They push themselves day after day to fill 10 boxes with an "X" instead of a number.
For one person at Scott, he has made this goal a reality twice.
Davin McIntire, the Stars and Strikes Bowling Center equipment repairman, recently bowled a perfect game during the base championships May 8.
"It seemed like a normal day," said McIntire. "I practiced a little bit before the tournament. After the first five strikes or so, I felt like I was doing pretty good, but I didn't think I was going to get 300."
McIntire said that he has been attempting to get his technique as perfect as possible for four years, and it has won him two championships and $2,500 worth of scholarship money.
"I don't think any bowler can really say their technique is perfect," McIntire said. "Everyone is different. There are so many different styles. I'm 6'6, and I almost have a completely vertical backswing, so my style is different from most people."
The first time the 20-year-old played a perfect game was June 2, 2010 at RAF Lakenheath, England.
"I got the 300 in the first game of the first day of the league over there."
England was also the place where his bowling career began four years ago.
"It was always raining, and I didn't really know anyone," he said. "My parents asked me if I wanted to join a league. I didn't have a reason not to. I fell in love with it."
Ever since his start, his determination for the sport has remained.
"I like everything about it really," he said. "The people who bowl are really relaxed people. I guess I like the feeling of it and the culture that surrounds it."
McIntire has played long enough that he has created a ritual to relax any nerves he might have about a certain shot.
"I bring at least six balls with me to each tournament just so I can have a ball that works with the oil of the lane," he said. "My ritual usually changes. It's mostly a combination of using my grip-sack, drying my hand out and wiping my ball down."
McIntire said he is fascinated by the terminology, technology and dynamics of bowling, and he plans on taking his bowling to the next level by taking coaching courses and bowling pro shop classes.
"One day, I hope to be able to pay for at least rent with my winnings by becoming a successful bowler."
