Page 14 - Holiday Bonus 2021

s| ACTIVE LIVING
Bowling hobby leads to scholarship offer
Bryan Holcomb turned a family tradition into a scholarship opportunity.
Bryan, a recent graduate of Oconee County High School, had a major knee surgery that threatened his athletic future. That’s when he found bowling.
His mother, Rebecca Verner Holcomb, invited him to play in a bowling league with her. She was in a competitive bowling league during her own middle school and high school years.
The game quickly became a passion for Bryan and, eventually, it netted him a scholarship offer from Life University, a private school in Marietta.
By Justin Hubbard
“Bowling became a passion for me about two years ago in the fall,” Bryan said. “My mom asked if I wanted to bowl in a league because I had just come out of an ACL and meniscus injury, so it was just something to pass the time with.”
The knee injury occurred during an Oconee County football game against Jefferson High School. Bryan planted his foot while trying to make a tackle and his cleat got stuck in the Warriors’ then-new turf field. Bryan spun around on his knee and fell over, causing the injury.
Bryan eventually recovered to the point where he could play another of his favorite sports: baseball. But the game was too stressful on Bryan’s reconstructed knee. He was sad to give up playing baseball, a game he played from a young age, but he found joy in bowling.
“I had just had a massive surgery on my knee, so that would consider me a liability on any college team,” Bryan said, acknowledging the potential long-term effects the surgery had on his baseball career. “But when I started bowling, I was like, ‘Hey, I’m actually pretty good at this.’ Then last summer, I had gotten a job at our local bowling alley and almost every day I just started bowling.”
Bryan worked at Showtime Bowl in Athens while he continued competing in a league. Sometime later, Bryan and a friend participated in a bowling tournament in Marietta.
What they did not realize at the time was that the competition was hosted by Life
University. Bryan bowled against Nate Garcia, Life University’s head bowling coach.
“I had been bowling across from the head coach of our team, and he was watching me the whole time and afterward came up to me and said, ‘Hey, are you going to college, or do you have any idea of wanting to bowl in college?’” Bryan recalled. “At first, I thought he was just some person asking me if I wanted to bowl in college, but he proceeded to tell me that he was the coach of Life University’s team.”
Garcia was hired as the Eagles’ coach in August 2020. He was at that event alongside his assistant coach, Elise Bolton.
The coaches liked what they saw out of Bryan, prompting the conversation and scholarship offer.
Life University primarily focuses on training chiropractors and teaching other areas of health education.
Bryan intends to study exercise science and one day become a physical therapist.
“I know how it is having knee surgeries and pains and all that other stuff,” Bryan said, explaining the reason for his future plans. “I like helping people, and that’s something that I would want to do. With bowling, of course, my main goal is to go professional and do all that, but I always have to have a backup plan in case something falls through.”
Two years ago, competitive bowling was not a part of Bryan’s routine. Now, the game has completely changed his trajectory and his life.
Bryan Holcomb is a 2021 graduate of Oconee County High School who will soon begin his college bowling career at Life University.
sJustin Hubbard is the sports editor for The Oconee Enterprise newspaper in Watkinsville, Ga. PAGE 12 | OCONEE THE MAGAZINE | HOLIDAY 2021