The World Championships just ended. I watched and followed the results the best that I could and rooted on so many friends that were competing in Dubai. I was also actually getting really, really vivid flashbacks of my first international experience.

The first international tournament I ever bowled was the World Championships in Abu Dhabi, in 1999. I was 19.

That event was monumental in my career. The number one thing that I learned there was that I had a lot to learn.

One of the bowlers who was my teammate the entire time I was on Team USA, almost every year of the 15 years, was Kelly Kulick. At that first World Championship in Abu Dhabi when I was 19, something special happened. She won the Gold medal in singles. It was significant to me for a few reasons. 1. She was my friend and teammate and I was so proud of her. But also 2. While I looked up at her standing on the #1 podium, accepting her Gold Medal, and listening to the national anthem play because of HER performance- I felt incredibly inspired. I remember it vividly. Wearing my red, white, and blue Team USA jacket, squeezing through the crowd so that I could see it up close. I remember the chills. I remember fighting back some tears. This moment was a defining moment in my career. It’s the moment that inspired me to want to feel that one day. And I would do anything it took to feel what Kelly felt. 

I wanted to win those world medals. I wanted to be good enough. 

Back in Abu Dhabi in 1999, the emotions that I was feeling went beyond just being proud of my teammate. I was inspired by seeing how it made her feel. I was inspired to one day feel that myself one day, to be in a position inspiring others the way she did me.

This year, 22 years later, she led the singles event at the World Championships in Dubai. Watching this year and admiring her on television was such a full circle moment for me. Seeing how she competed this week was inspiring once again. 22 years later… still elite. Still inspiring.

And now, she’s back at the World Championships. She has really withstood the test of time. Team USA always sends a great team. But there are so many really great bowlers in our country that it’s hard to make the team. They used to send six to the championship but now there are only four. Kelly really is deserving of one of those spots. She’s an elite bowler in every way.

Any time someone stands the test of time at anything, it’s inspiring. Someone who can maintain their greatness over the span of more than 20 years is exceptional. Because it’s not easy. There’s always going to be someone younger competing against them. Technology and techniques advance. So it requires constant growth and learning to stay relevant. And instead of feeling like she doesn’t belong anymore, Kelly approaches it with the attitude of, I’m going to figure out what I need to do to keep up.

I would even say that while I’ve bowled with some really incredible bowlers in my career, she is the most extraordinary. She’s the most extraordinary because of her tenacity, her willingness to stay with it, to stay relevant. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. And she’s that tough. When things got tough, she just always figured it out. She wasn’t turned off by it and didn’t go in another direction. There are years that have definitely been tough for her. A couple of years ago, she looked at me and admitted, I just don’t know how many more years I’m going to be able to do this. I told her she had such an incredible career and so much to be proud of, and to just follow her heart in whichever direction it led her. You know how I am about following your intuition. She followed her heart right back to tour. And earlier this year, she won a title against much younger bowlers. At World Championships last week, the team won the gold medal and Kelly dominated the singles event.

Photo courtesy of IBF

I feel honored to have been able to cross paths with such inspiring women who are on another level. When I think about my life though, there aren’t many people who I could say have been truly exceptional with what they’ve chosen in their life and for so long. But Kelly Kulick, to me, is the definition of exceptional. That doesn’t mean she always wins. It just means she just keeps going. She just keeps showing up. She keeps getting back up and learning with the times. When the times change, she changes. I don’t know many who work as hard as her.

I don’t know if she truly understands the magnitude of her impact, and how inspiring she is to other bowlers. I really wanted to acknowledge it here. It’s hard to stay elite for so long. And she keeps crushing it and inspiring so many people. 

I have had the privilege of bowling three World Championships. After Abu Dhabi, my second World Championship was in Malaysia in 2003. There, I broke records and won a gold in the Masters event.  My next one was 2007, in Mexico, and I also won the Masters Gold medal. I even was elected to the World Bowling Hall of Fame because of my international accolades. But it all started with a spark of inspiration. Thanks in part to Kelly.

Who have you crossed paths with in your bowling life that has really inspired you? 

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