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As COVID-19 restrictions eased up and bowling lanes reopened, Mackenzie Gill looked for a private coach. Gill, now a senior, wanted to maintain her success after the majority of Liverpool High School’s scheduled games in the 2020-21 bowling season were canceled. 

Gill found Mike Tryniski, a veteran PBA bowler who owns Lakeview Lanes in Fulton, New York. The pair spent the past two years teaching Gill techniques and rectifying her motion, increasing her average score from 194 to 220. 

“She is a very athletic bowler,” Tryniski said. “Her athleticism shows through her bowling and what she’s capable of. I’m really looking forward to seeing what she can do this year and in the future.”

Liverpool finished last season as the third-best team in the Salt City Athletic Conference with a 9-3 record. In the sectional tournament, Liverpool placed second. Gill and teammate Ashley Hardy were both selected to the All-Stars roster in Central New York. This season, Gill hopes to achieve the same success as last season with the Warriors’ revamped roster.  

“I literally hope we do best, we stay as a team, we stay positive with each other, we win the shoot-outs and go to the state (tournament) again,” Gill said. 

Gill has been bowling since she was six. When she enrolled in Chestnut Hill Middle School in Liverpool, she joined the school team and received training for the first time. Gill continued with the sport into high school, playing in youth tournaments outside of her time on Liverpool’s squad.

Liverpool head coach Greg Roth said Gill’s achieved what she has because of her knowledge of techniques and situational strategies. Roth said Gill is adept on identifying whether the lanes are oily or rough. Roth also makes sure his bowlers are prepared to move forward after a mistake.

Roth said that sometimes Gill was frustrated about missing a strike in one frame. So, Roth suggested Gill to make adjustments on her motion to find the best angle that can achieve the strike consistently. Besides this, Roth always encouraged her to be prepared mentally for the next frame and keep cheering for her teammates on the side.

“What I try to promote with all the athletes I coach is being a positive person, being a good teammate, and being a good role model,” Roth said.  

Tryniski helped Gill become a more aggressive bowler and a high-scorer in every frame. Tryniski added Gill has always been “well-rounded,” pinpointing the ball inside or outside depending on the arrangement of the pins at a given time.

“Her physical game, her mental game, her versatility and her knowledge of bowling balls itself has all increased,” Tryniski said. “She’s learned to become more disciplined. I think that’s an area that she needs to work on.” 

Gill scored 6,630 points throughout the 2019-20 season, but she increased her total to 7,206 last season as she worked with Tryniski. Her success also came in the most critical moments, which usually come in the third game of bowling matches. She scored 2,450 points in the third game, more than in the first two games. 

During the last season, she contributed 200.2 points per game, the most in her high school career.

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“It’s a lot of hard work and she practices a lot,” said Aimee Gill, her mother.

This season, Gill has been without Hardy, who graduated. Gill said she is nervous about her new responsibility as Liverpool’s captain because of the team’s small roster. But she’s ready to face the challenge head first. 

“It’s bitter-sweet. She’s obviously talented so it’s exciting to see her go into her final year and wrap up her high school career,” Aimee said.

Published on October 17, 2022 at 12:20 am