3,500 of this country’s best youth bowlers competed at Junior Gold last week. So many bowlers. Not so many winning spots. Only 8 went home as “champions” after 4 days and 16 games (qualifying, then advancers round, then matchplay rounds).

In the U18 division, against 588 other great girls, Gianna Brandolino found a way to win. It’s a pretty spectacular achievement for anyone, but this was also her first year in the U18 division. 

Junior Gold is HARD TO WIN. 

A lot of things have to go your way. Gianna is a remarkable bowler – but even when you’re that good, this tournament is a tough one. 

Junior Gold always brings up so many memories for me. I bowled the very first Junior Gold – Reno, 1998. The event has grown so much since then. The numbers attending were definitely not 3500 back then. The first event was 1 squad, girls and boys. 1 division. I didn’t know it then, but man  was it the beginning of something special.

When I think of Gianna winning Junior Gold this year, I am so proud of her. Mainly because I got to see her journey.

I know how good Gianna is. But… She. Just. Keeps. Proving. Herself.

From my vantage point running EYT, I don’t see just the good part. As youth bowlers rise, I have been able to also witness all of the hard parts.

Gianna started bowling with EYT in 2016. She was a cute little 9-year-old when she joined EYT, and I have very specific memories of going to check in with her to see how it was going.

I remember one day in particular. She was so frustrated that she was in tears and had become a bit huffy. She confessed, “I don’t know what to do. This is so hard.” At that time, she was a preteen, so she was growing quickly, and her emotions were going a bit wild on her. That added to how tough it was for her on the lanes to keep it together. Whether she lost, or just thought she wasn’t doing well enough, these misses were always bringing her to tears.

When you’re young like that, it can be hard to understand why it has to be so difficult. At that age, the level of challenge feels cruel. It’s hard to understand that this is how it works – that you have to grow through those challenges. You have to decide to show back up even when the pins aren’t always falling in your favor – and they often won’t.

It isn’t meant to be easy. In fact, it can’t be easy…or you wouldn’t grow and get better.

In difficult moments, your reaction is a choice.

One choice is to quit. The other choice is to figure it out and work through it to get better. But figuring it out means showing back up each day, knowing that the day may bring more tears and frustration.

A lot of kids make the choice not to come back and not show up again after frustration and failure. When you’re a kid,  you don’t necessarily realize you are making a choice – you are not consciously thinking through it. But you are subconsciously making that choice nonetheless.

Little Gianna had that choice. But champions like Gianna choose to stay. They continue to put themselves in hard situations with the intention of figuring it out. Gianna showed up early, and stayed late. She put in the time. She submerged herself in her game.

In Gianna’s case, I actually know that she made the very conscious decision to continually work on her game.

And now she’s making her mark. Junior Gold isn’t her first big win. She’s also on Junior Team USA. (And yes, this is the same Gianna who earlier this month had the honor of presenting the game card at a White Sox game.) She has also won USA bowling with her EYT Phenoms teammates – Landin, Griffin, and Abby. 

That little girl who was once brought to tears by the game is now a Junior Gold national champion.

The truth is that there are so many new young bowlers on my tour now. And I see their struggle because it’s hard. They don’t realize that the best in the game, like Gianna Brandolino, were once them.

I always look at the new U12 bowlers arriving at my EYT, and wonder…. Who is the next Gianna Brandolino? Or Landin Jordan? Who will have what it takes to fight through the tears and continue to show up. Who won’t make the excuses but will make the time to figure it out?

Who else has it in them to keep showing up through it all?

Back when Gianna Brandolino was a little girl, I wondered which one of them would become the next Mabel Cummings. At that time, Mable was the winningest bowler in EYT history. No one could beat her. She went on to become a Junior Team USA member, winning around the world, and then dominated in college at the very strong NCAA program, Vanderbilt. 

Now I see Gianna managing the pressure at the top so well. When you start rising and making waves, that new level presents new challenges. The better you get, the more pressure you face. All of that requires having the right perspective. Otherwise, it can break you. That’s when mental grit becomes just as important. It’s the difference between continuing to show up or running away.

I can’t wait to see how Gianna continues to show up.