Homeschooled Bowler Earns College Scholarship

He had dreams of playing College Football, but spinal injuries to himself and his brother led 17 year old Harry Haynes of Grayson, GA to pursue another college sport: Bowling.

Haynes has only been doing competitive bowling for two years. His parents, both Gwinnett County school teachers, knew nothing about the sport but would take the Haynes brothers to the bowling alley and watch them "throw the ball". However, Harry's mother read an email about a home school bowling league. The Haynes brothers joined the league, then joined a more competitive league 3 years ago. They, along with two other boys, call their team "Elite Four", and rose to the top of the league beating 15 other teams.

When Harry started bowling competitively two years ago, his average was 130. Now he bowls in the Summer League at the Brunswick Zone bowling alley in Lilburn with an average of 202. Haynes got training from a registered coach and also studied the proper techniques by watching YouTube videos. Both he and his brother, who suffered the same spinal injuries as he did, toppled 120 pairs from all over Georgia to win the Greater Atlanta City Tournament.

Haynes calls his younger brother his best friend. "We feed off each other", the younger Haynes said. "When one of us gets a strike, the other will". With the brotherly duo's success, Harry Haynes decided to look into bowling in college. Sharon Shortell, the Director of the Junior League at the Brunswick Zone, gave Haynes a list of colleges that offer bowling scholarships. Haynes chose Campbellsville University, a small Southern Baptist college in Campbellsville, KY. Haynes amazed the Campbellsville coaching staff with a 198 average at his audition and earned a bowling scholarship. He is planning to study Mass Communications and to turn Pro after graduation. "I enjoy what I do, so I'm glad I got injured in a way", Haynes said. Credit for information in this article is given to the Gwinnett Daily Post. More information can be obtained by going to www.gwinnettdailypost.com.