Rolling 300 game was 'one-of-a-kind feeling' for Hartland senior
As a coach, Charles Mitchell didn’t want to say something to disrupt the zone Hartland senior Logan Guibord was in last Sunday at Richfield Bowl in Flint.
But, with Guibord on the verge of achieving every bowler’s dream, Mitchell ultimately decided it might’ve been worse to not have a word with him.
Through nine frames, Guibord was perfect, but even perfection can be improved upon.
“I didn’t say a word to him until he was ready to step up to the 10th frame, because his ninth strike was a little shaky,” Mitchell said. “I was in a limbo area. Do I say something, do I not? If I didn’t say something, I was going to regret it.
“I looked at him, told him, ‘Make sure you keep it simple. Look at your mark, focus and take a deep breath before you go.’ He buried all three of them in the 10th; there was definitely no doubt.”
When the final pins fell, Guibord had the first 300 game of his 12-year bowling career in the Flint Metro Bowling Conferences Championships.
“That was amazing,” Guibord said. “Just looking back, seeing all the teammates, parents, even other teams just clapping for me. It was a one-of-a-kind feeling.”
Guibord’s previous high game was a 289 in 2018. The prospect of rolling a 300 didn’t enter his mind until after the seventh frame.
“The eighth and ninth, I was really nervous,” he said. “Both of my shots went Brooklyn (crossing over to the other side of the head pin), so I was a little bit worried. The 10th came and all the nervousness kind of went away.”
In baseball, teammates avoid talking to a pitcher who is in the process of throwing a no-hitter. During the perfect game, it was Guibord who avoided conversations.
“I was less talkative, because I was more in the zone,” he said. “I didn’t want any of them to be like, ‘Oh, you’re gonna shoot a 300’ and it messes me up.”
Guibord is averaging 198.2 during KLAA matches, ranking 18th in the league. His goals are to get the average to 210 and return to the state tournament.
He was 44th out of 60 bowlers during the qualifying rounds at the state tournament last season, averaging 168.5 for his first four games before finishing with games of 226 and 214. The top 16 bowlers advanced to head-to-head matches.
“I didn’t do too hot,” he said. “The last couple games, I did good, but not enough to carry over into qualifying. I learned it’s just another day of bowling. It’s a big tournament, but it really doesn’t matter. Get out there and throw the ball, bowl, keep it simple.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillKhan.
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Rolling 300 game was 'one-of-a-kind feeling' for Hartland senior
