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Salutations listeners and welcome back to the Player Profiles Podcast. I'm your host, I'm Israel and if you're looking for a spot to hear all the great stories that the athletes of St. David University have to offer, then you have come to the right place. Today's athlete is Michael Harman Jr.
Hailing from Rockledge, Florida, he is a bowler on the SSU men's bowling team. Without further ado, let's roll into this interview. See what I did there. Michael, thank you so much for taking the time out to come in and do this interview with me, man.
No problem, man. I'm excited. So, bowling, right? What got you into this board in the first place?
I mean, I've been bowling since I can remember walking. I'm from Florida. My family owns a bowling center down in Florida and I was kind of born in there. You could say there was a crib in there.
I spent some nights as a baby in that bowling center after a long day work from mama. But yeah, I've been bowling ever since I can walk and the path has kind of been laid before me and I just got to walk in it, honestly. You know what I mean? Growing up in a bowling center like that and then I just started bowling a lot and I realized I really liked it and then I realized I was pretty good at it.
So then I kind of got into more of the competitive stuff when I was like a younger teenager. And then yeah, here we are. I had a lot of success and when I was like 15, 16, 17, you know, my peak high school years. And then got recruited out of high school to go play some college bowling for Indiana Tech originally.
So I'm a junior. So I spent two years there. We won a national championship, my freshman year, and my second year, and I'm a bowling on Fox Sports 1. I'd be wished I'd stay on TV.
That was pretty cool. Had a little bit of disappointment at the end. But you know, now I'm here for my junior year and I couldn't be more ready for it. So yeah, that's a good summary of the journey.
But I want to take you back to your days at Edgewood High. You know, obviously, you talked about, you know, basically being born a bowler and being around bowling your, literally your entire life. When you got to high school, like what was the mindset? Like you had been, you know, figuring out, you know, things about bowling your whole life and you obviously been, you know, around the game your entire life.
But when you got to high school, what was the mindset going into, into, you know, high school competitive bowling? So high school, right when I was getting into, I went to a junior senior high school. So I spent six years at Edgewood seventh and eighth grade and then all four years of high school there. So I was able to actually bowl six years of high school bowling, which was really cool.
And in Florida, it's kind of a little bit of a different system as they have it. It's different in each state, you know, I mean, the format of the bowling, just to, you know, key interest, a couple of viewers, there's things called Baker games in bowling. And that's basically when you got five guys on a team and they all fill two frames of that game. So, you know, five guys a bowl, two frames makes a complete 10 frame game.
We did in high school bowling in Florida, you do one individual game sets five guys on each team bowl. So you got 10 guys in that parable in that game. And then it's basically total from the fault wins there. And then we do four Baker games right after it.
So it really, it really teaches you a lot about the teamwork aspect of it. I mean, because, you know, during an individual game, I can shoot, you know, 260, 280 and really like help carry my team to victory during a Baker game. I can only bowl two frames, you know what I mean? I'm only 20% of that game.
So it's really a big deal that you got, you know, five, seven, if you're talking about college bowling, because there's eight guys on the team. You know, it's really a big deal. You got seven other guys that are, you know, really good and can help back you up. But for, you know, the way I looked at college bowling was, you know, it was kind of like a preview of what, or I mean, the way I looked at high school bowling, it was like a preview for what college bowling would look like if that's what I really wanted to do.
And then, you know, I kind of halfway in there decided, yeah, I really want to do this. Going into my ninth, my 10th grade year, so in the summer of ninth grade and 10th grade, holding the junior gold championships, which is the biggest youth tournament that they, you know, have to offer. And I was fortunate enough to bowl really well. I made the TV show on that for the U15 boys and finishing third in the nation.
So that was like a big stepping stone. And, you know, I was realizing like, you know, hey, I'm, I got a lot of potential here. I'm pretty good. So then, yeah, and then that carried into my high school.
I had a lot of success in high school, not only on the team level, but also in the individual level. We have the same, you have a conference tournament. I was able to win it three years in a row on the running. And I wanted my eighth grade years.
So I made, I was the youngest ever when it and I had a 798 for three to win my eighth grade year. Yeah, and then I want like three years on the on the row on the back. And so like I have the record for the most times when it, I mean, I only went four for six. Other people only get to bowl that tournament four times.
But yeah, and then I've finished really good in like our district tournament. Didn't really have much success on the state level, unfortunately. That's one thing like, you know, I look back on I wish I would have been able to do better there. But you know, personally, the other tournaments that I bolded at the individual level was like, kind of sometimes felt a little bit more important to me because I felt like, hey, you know, I know when I get to college, I was, it's going to be, you know, that's when it's like really going to be important with the team stuff and all that because, you know, I love the guys I bolded with in high school.
You know, they were always cool. It was always a great time. It was always fun. But like, you know, we never really had best teams.
And I knew that. So it's like, you know, it's kind of hard when you're putting all the weight on all the pressure on yourself every time to perform and, you know, your performance basically is a team performance. So but, you know, that's why those individual tournaments I really strive hard for in high school. And I got a lot of big wins when I was in individual, lower in high school.
So yeah, I mean, that's, that's a ridiculous list of accomplishments for someone, you know, at the high school level, just all those accomplishments going on national television. Yeah, like bold on TV, made match played in your goal three years in a row. So I met the top 16 in the country three years in a row, which was really cool. I finished my last year of high school.
I finished second at team Masters, which was pretty big accomplishment, which that's like the second biggest tournament you could say for youth bowling. And then I won us an S Y C, which is Storm Youth Championships, which those are pretty big tournaments. And I was able to win Parker, Beaum, the third scholarship tournament in New Jersey, which I was like a two grand win for smartphone money. So, you know, helps pay for a little bit of college, which is a lot of fun because like, you know, if you think about it with all the other sports, you know, I mean, if you win, like, if you're a traveling team in football or baseball wins, it's not like they're getting that you guys aren't getting like any smartphone money and bowling, like it's all about you get a lot of money, you know what I mean?
You're competing in these tournaments and you're bringing home, you're not actually bringing at home, but when you, you know, when you go to college, you reap the benefit and the reward of how much, you know, money you've earned over your youth career to then help pay for college. So it's like, you kind of get a little bit of return, at least, I think for the parents sake, you know what I mean? So yeah, it kind of reminds me of when those teachers always used to tell me, make sure you're striving for all A's because you never know that my savior, a couple of thousand bucks when you have to pay to it's just college and yeah, stuff like that. That sounds like the bowling version of that.
But I do want to ask you about the limelight, you know, being under the lights, you know, being on national television, you know, doing what you love in front of so many people. I mean, what goes through your mind when you, you know, when you experience those, you know, competitions where, you know, all the eyes are on you and you see, you know that you're going to be on national television. You prep the same way or are you, you know, a little more motivated by it? Like, what do you feel when you bowl on national television like that?
I would say it's utter excitement, you know what I mean? Like, it's, our sport is not one that gets to be in the limelight as much as others. You know what I mean? You know, football, college football is everywhere, college basketball is everywhere.
We, you know, we don't get that same recognition. So like to know that, you know, you're going to go on TV with your team and you're going to, you know, bowl on FS1 on like a big channel and you know, people are going to see you. It's just it's just really cool. It's a really cool experience.
And instead of, I can't from, I can't remember the way I put it when I was talking to the guys, but like it was more of like, don't be, don't be afraid of what can go wrong. You know, look forward to what could go right. You know what I mean? Like have that mindset as in, don't put all the pressure on yourself, you know, because you got seven other guys behind you there that are going to hold you high if you know, if you mess up or whatnot, but just don't cut yourself short by being worried about what could go wrong, you know what I mean?
In those situations. And I'll definitely say I was a lot more comfortable than any of the other guys on the team because I had that experience of being able to bowl on TV before. But yeah, if you're going to get nervous from those moments and what are you doing it for? You know what I mean?
Those are the moments you should live for. So that's kind of how I feel about it. And I think I'm a very confident person and I don't really lack confidence in myself. So I think it was easy.
It's a little bit easier for me to say that, you know what I mean? That's somebody else. But you know, those are the moments you live for. So why would you get afraid of it?
You embraced it with open arms. Exactly. Exactly. I hope you're good on team.
That's got to feel pretty good. But one aspect of bowling that I think goes over people's minds and a lot of people's minds, especially those like me who, you know, don't pull competitively as much as you do. A lot of people don't know that bowling is a really, really mental game. You know, it can be driven by, you know, the mind a lot as much as, you know, the physical, you know, actual action of bowling.
What do you do to make sure that you're always not only physically prepared to bowl, but also mentally prepared to bowl? I feel like over the last five years, one of the main reasons behind my success individually and even in the team aspect is my mental mentality being able to be strong in the head and not not let mistakes, you know, get you because it's in, like you said, it's in every sport. And I, you know, would tend to believe that, you know, it shows up a lot more in our sports and others because everyone's physically capable of, you know, throwing good shots and striking and stuff like that. But it's the people who are mentally, you can give them more focus and, you know, are more concentrated for every single shot.
Those are the ones that are advantageous at the end of the day. And the biggest thing about, you know, I'd say bowling mentally is say you go up there, you leave it, you leave it, you know, a single pin spare and you whiff it. You go on the, you go on the next frame, you make a little bit of a bad shot, you leave it another single pin, the same single pin. Guys are going up there standing up on the approach thinking, crap, I just missed this last one.
I'm probably going to miss this one and then whatnot and then whatnot. And it's like, when you have those shots running through your head, it's way harder to make a spare than it is when you're just concentrating on making a spare. And I feel like a lot of the other time is like, it's kind of an interesting, the fact that you can see everyone else's scores around you, you know what I mean? You can see what's going on on the scoring monitors of everyone else around you.
So say you get up there and you go split, you go six, three, you know, strike six, three and you're sitting there with like 30, not even 30, you're sitting there with like 27 in the third frame and you're looking around you and a couple guys got, you know, four timers up on the board, you know, they're striking ridiculously and stuff. If you're all focused on all what they're doing, then how are you going to be able to focus on yourself to, you know, get your game back, you know what I mean? Make the, make the right moves, maybe you got to make a ball change, maybe you got to make a, you know, zone change, move your feet left, your eyes left and stuff like that, which some people are not going to understand exactly what I'm trying to get at here, you know, because they don't know the bowling terminology. But you know, the thing I'm getting at is the fact that you can see what's going on around you.
And if you're just more consumed and what everyone else is doing than what you're doing yourself, those 10 frames are going to go by like that. And all of a sudden you just shot 150 and you're chasing the leader by 100 after the first game. So it's like, that's the uniqueness about our sport, I feel, is that you can see what's going on all around you from everyone else. And it's like the people who do the best are the ones who can ultimately zone out what's going on around them and just, you know, being their own little world.
What's that? What's the one movie, that one golf movie where he like shuts his eyes, opens his eyes and the crowd just goes away, you know what I'm talking about? And he's like, I can't think of the name right now. Everyone, everyone in the gallery just like disappears.
And all you see is the whole. So it's like the greatest game ever played or something like that. Like straddle buff. I don't have the follow up on you on that.
Yeah, I don't know exactly the name. But why don't you know what I'm trying to get out here? You know what I mean? Just like a moment.
Canceling everyone else out and just focusing on yourself zoning in. Yeah. But yeah, dude, you actually laid it down perfectly with all the, you know, the bowling mentalities. And obviously when high school was over with, you had to decide, you know, you have to decide where you want it to bowl, collegially.
And at first you went to Indiana Tech and first season, you know, you're used to being a big time bowler and then boom, you go to new school, you deliver, you know, you and your guys delivered of schools at first ever national championship. What was it? What was it like to be a part of history like that at Indiana Tech? It was crazy.
Because like they're in college bowling. There's tier one events and there's tier two events. We won both tier one events in Pennsylvania that year and the school never ever won a tier one event. So we were like set and set, you know, not like we're just like setting new records each week.
We pulled practically there. And think about it was, there was four freshmen, including myself that went there that year with me. It was my three other roommates. And like we just made a huge impact on the team.
We were all on the varsity team. You know, three of the four of us were always bowling pretty much in the lineup. And then we had this one, we had two seniors, which gave us a little bit of guidance. You know what I mean?
They had the experience they'd been there before. And we had one really good guy. It was an all American that year too. It's going really well.
So yeah, we had the experience and we had the new blood of us. And it was just crazy. And you know, we basically set records every weekend. We went out to bowl and then we ended up winning the national, the NAI National Championship at the end of the year, which is really cool.
And we did it in a pretty cool fashion. We lost to, so it's like, it's a double elimination format. And we lost to St. Francis in one of the rounds.
And then we had to bowl them again for the title. And we had to beat them twice. So then we beat them once. And then we beat them twice.
And it was pretty cool. It was, and it came down to the last frame in the last game. So it was exciting. But yeah, I mean, I would, I wouldn't trade anything to, you know, live those moments again.
Those were the, those were the glory days over there. Yeah, let's talk about that, you know, final showdown with the Saints. It obviously you said it was exhilarating, but it did not come easy, man. It did not come easy at all.
So big moment of the, you know, the, the match was you're down two to one in the game that, you know, you got to win the force, another, you know, another set, another match. You're down, your team's down to the one, you're on a brink of elimination. What was the vibe like, you know, for the guys, you know, knowing that your guys, your backs against the wall, you know, you got to come out and win these next two games. Like, what was the mindset?
Like, what was the vibe like, you know, and what was the moment like, you know, experiencing, you know, that type of, you know, high pressure situation like that. Oh, crap. You put me on the spot. It's two years.
Sorry. Longer than two years. That's so damn easy. Oh, yeah.
Yeah. It was, it was, um, so to give you a little insight, I was kind of like the team leader on the team. The guys always looked to me when, you know, I had engaged all the huddles and, you know, I, you know, I talked to him in the huddle before that game. I was like, you know, this is our moment, you know, wherever this is what's going to find us.
Where are we going to, you know, get up off the floor and keep fighting? Are we just going to lay down and take it? And it wasn't the fact that like, we weren't trying hard enough. It's just, we needed the lanes to just come to us a little bit to help us out.
And they did. We got a couple of good breaks. And, you know, my saying is, once you get a lucky break, it's not a good break unless you throw a good one after it. And then, you know, we always, we kept on capitalizing and they threw us a couple bones.
They threw us a couple of open frames. And then when we won that game, I mean, all the momentum's on our side now is two, two, heading into that first, the first set last game. And then we end up winning that game. And then like I said, like all the momentum's on our side, we go into the next set.
We win the first two games. We snap them off real fast. And then don't look now, but they won the next two. So then now it's like, shoot.
Now they got it. Now they're feeling like they, you know, it's theirs to lose again, which it kind of is. And yeah, it goes down to the last frame. The guy, their bowler in the 10th frame had a chance to strike out to beat us.
And he threw the first one, he threw the first one pretty good. He threw the second one. All right. I think it like crossed over and tripped a trip to six pin forward.
And then the last one, you know, I tugged it and I went through the face, we ended up winning, but it was crazy to, and the crazy part about it was our guy missed a single in spare in the 10th frame that would have ended it. If he just made the spare, it would have been ended. So then like the emotions of he misses a spare, we're like, holy shit, this is over. You know, I miss this bear and it's just absolute disgust.
We're like, all right, well, crap, you know what I mean? And the guy didn't strike out because it wasn't automatic, but he was striking a lot that day. And it's like, there's certain guys that you just expect to get up there and throw three in a row. So it was crazy, man, because there was a lot, you know, I mean, that was the crazy part, this part about it is there's a lot of that, like a motion of, you know, we're on cloud nine, you know, we literally got the game in our hands.
All we got to do is make the spare. Misses that spare. We're like, all right, we just lost the national championship. We went all this way.
We bold all these games just to lose it. And then he didn't strike out and we won it. It was crazy. It was something that, you know, probably won't ever experience anything like it again, but you know, I wouldn't be surprised if I do.
So yeah, no, I mean, it's very rare to win a national championship, but it's also even more rare to win it in, you know, such a nail-viding fashion, you know, I mean, it wasn't it wasn't rare for us that weekend. Any eyes, we literally only had one match where it didn't go to game five. Oh, wow. So you guys were pretty much used to the we bold like we both like probably eight matches, you know what I mean?
And all of them went to game five. So it's like we would keep in. I mean, so diamonds are built in high pressure, you know what I mean? And like, I think those every time we would win one, it just would bring us more confidence and more confidence as we're going to do it.
And that's why I think we both really well, those last couple games and stuff, but it was crazy. Yeah, it sounded crazy. But last thing I want to ask you about that moment is to just take me through what you did the exact moment you knew. Oh my goodness, we just won a national championship.
We sold it, but they sold it even harder. Like, what was that feeling? Like, you said that after that missed, you know, one pin spare, you felt you felt like it was, you know, probably slipping away. But then you realize, boom, we just won.
What was that? What was that feeling like between, you know, it was like a tightrope between win and loss, wasn't it? Yeah, it was, it was an interesting. I remember it was his kid on our team.
His name was Dylan, Dylan MacArthur, we called him DMACC. I remember he was a super senior. So he was a graduate student. He was kind of like a, you know, the mentor to us for freshman that year, or at least me, we spent a lot of time together and stuff.
And that was like, and the first thing I did when we won was I was like, I told him, I said, you go grab that trophy and bring it over here, big dog. And he was the one to grab it first, not just pure elation, you know what I mean? Like just all the hard work that we put in as a team and practice and stuff, all that just paying off. And like the feeling of, you know, going to a school so far away from home with these, you know, these other guys that, you know, I felt like we had a lot of promise together and, you know, then to actually do it and snap it off and win that national championship, it just, it felt amazing.
It'll be something, you know, I'll never forget with those boys, no matter what. So it was, it was really cool. And then, you know, after it to spend some of those moments with, you know, some of the players and then my dad was there. That was pretty cool.
And then I was on the phone with my mom because she wasn't able to make it there. But yeah, it was just, it was really cool. It was an awesome moment. Are the scores 175 to 171 still still etched in the back of your mind?
I don't remember what the scores were now. You tell me, I remember they were low though. I remember that game. They were low.
They weren't very good. But yeah, it's crazy, man. It's crazy. Yeah, I could tell just, I mean, I'm just looking at, I just looked at the box scores and I'm like, okay, that's that looked like pretty intense, you know, there was comebacks and there were, you know, mist spares and a lot of mist throws and it's just a lot of points being left on the lanes.
A lot of back and forth action. It's just, it's such a momentum game. And it's like, especially like I told you in Baker games, it's so much built off momentum because what that guy does in front of you, no matter what, it's going to have effect on what you're going to do if you're up next. You know what I mean?
And the way that guy walks off the approach, if he's walking off the approach with his head down, you know, pissed at himself, like that's not good for you. But if, you know, he's really energetic and like, hey, you know, I mean, go get this one and stuff. It's like, but no matter what that guy does in front of you, it's going to affect your shot. So it's like, it's so much of a momentum game.
And that's why like, teams can have really big games and teams can have really bad games. And then apparently we both had pretty, pretty bad games. I think a lot of people were, there's this term grabbing it a little bit, squeezing it a little bit, thumbs were getting a little tighter and stuff. Yeah, that's what was happening that game.
It wasn't coming off of people's hands cleanly anymore. Yeah, do what you do with yourself. Like when you guys, you know, had the red banner in your hands, you know, did you just start to, you know, really kick in that we just won a national championship when you held that banner? I mean, it took a couple weeks to cook in the honest with you.
It took a little bit of a hot minute for it to really set in, but I mean, it felt really good. So it felt really good to walk around campus knowing, yeah, we brought a national championship here. Oh, yeah, that's got to be so cool, dude. But you guys had a chance to defend the title the very next year didn't exactly pan out that way.
But you made an interesting move and as you decided that, you know, you want to take your talent somewhere else and you chose St. Xavier as your next destination after Indiana Tech. So I have to ask him, like, why, why was St. Xavier the place for you after those two years in Indiana Tech?
It's no easy way to answer this. There was a little bit of a fallout between me and the coaches there at Indiana Tech and, you know, a couple of players. It was, you know, difficult to make that decision and stuff. But after that, after any I in nationals, after that term, I knew I was like, I'm not going back here.
You know, I mean, I felt like I'd been wronged. And, you know, that's for me to decide in the beauty of this now transfer rule where people don't have to set out if they feel like they're in a bad situation in a bad place. They can just leave, which is really awesome, especially in my situation, because it's just like, you know, I was living in hell there. Didn't want to stay there.
So, yeah, I was like, I knew I was going anywhere but there kind of the next year is how I was feeling. And then, funny enough, Bobby, a bit like one of the kids on the team this year, who was on our team at Indiana Tech, he transferred with me. Me and him, just, you know, after the first semester, we really hit it off. We just, you know, became really, really close.
Our parents came really close. And kind of met a girl that goes here. So, yeah, she really made it easy, made a hard decision for me everywhere I was going next. But Bob knew he wanted to be closer to home.
So, Bob lives only 45 minutes away from here here in Park Ridge. So, I was just like, you know, we knew we wanted to transfer together somewhere. And this was feeling like a pretty good option. And then, you know, now my girlfriend goes here too.
And I was exposed to the campus a lot last year because I was coming here on the weekends. And I really liked the place and stuff. And the bowling program, I felt like I had some promise. I liked the coach.
And I was really looking for, really looking for just a better environment for myself. And I felt like I was going to get that here. And so far, eight weeks, nine weeks in, it's like, yeah, I made a really good choice. So, that's kind of how, maybe we can, we can credit this one to Olivia DeJada.
That's why I'm kind of here. We can honestly do that too. So, yeah, I mean, hey, they got themselves a pretty high experience bowlers. So, you know, you can't say that they did not do a good job recruiting.
Yeah, coach, coach made me a good offer. So, I was like, yeah, I'll be here. Come August. Yeah, funny story.
I remember last year was around like March, late March, early April, it was the day of spring formal. And it was a rainy day, or it was going to be a rainy day. And I remember I was going back home, my mom was picking me up. And I had saw all the girls that I knew on the bowling team.
And I'm like, oh, there's Liv, there's Monica, there's Megan, there's all them, there's all them, there's people. I'm like, but they're all dressed up. So fancy. I'm like, okay, possibly be doing an party going to stand in what looks like is going to be a hail thunderstorm coming up.
What are they doing? And I'm like, oh, mom, it's spring formal. They're going to go to spring form. That's why they're dressed up like that.
And I'm like, I know Alex, I know, you know, a couple of the other guys, I don't know who that guy with. I've never seen him before. I've never seen him around his star plus one time. He didn't look familiar, but I'm like, I wonder who that guy is?
Does he go here? Obviously the answer was no, but I was like, huh, I was like, that's, that's, I'm like, all right, now I'm getting, oh, that was Michael. I'm like, oh, that was that was that guy, Michael. I'm like, all right.
Well, I mean, it's a heck of a pleasure to beat you, obviously, but I'm, I'm sitting here, I'm like, dang, I could have said what's up before he became here. Yeah, crazy. Crazy. It didn't rain that day, by the way.
It didn't rain on us. Yeah, I knew y'all wasn't going to last too long before it started pouring, but yeah, dude, that was a funny little tidbit. But yeah, you're here now. You're bowling as a matter of fact, you got through with a few weeks of competition for your first, you know, few weeks of, you know, bowling competition here at St.
Xavier. What are those, what are the past three weeks feel like and what did it feel like to finally, you know, get in the lanes with the people here at St. Xavier? It felt pretty good.
I mean, we're bowling pretty well, especially these last two weeks were going really well. First week, first, first competition was a little rough, but it's a tenth, you know what I mean? We didn't, didn't bowl to our expectations, didn't bowl to what we thought we were, you know what I mean? And that was all right, though.
I feel like it was good for us. It told us, hey, you know, give us a little bit of reality check it. Hey, you know what I mean, you guys need to start working a little bit harder and stuff. And we did that.
And then we came back next week and we finished second out of, you know, I don't know how many teams. There was a bunch of them. It was a tier one event. So it was a big event we did when we finished second, which was really, really awesome.
And then, yeah, last weekend, we finished second again, we were really close to winning. We were leading going into the last four games. So I mean, we got that, we got that taste, you know what I mean? We got what it tastes like to feel victory again.
And I think we're gonna, I think we're really close, you know, I mean, some of these tournaments in the next, you know, month and a half, two months, we should be, we should be right there up with the best of them. And I think we showed our true colors these last two weekends. So, yeah, so, you know, progress, you know, that's something that you kind of highlighted out. Obviously, it's not very likely that, you know, you're just going to come out to shoot and think, oh, yeah, this seems definitely going to win the National Championship.
We're going to, you know, we're going to cruise through. Obviously, that's not really how it ever goes. So how do you expect to, you know, progress, not just as an individual bully yourself, but you know, helping the team, you know, put rest as well? Are you planning on going forward?
I feel like, especially with how long bowling season is compared to other sports, we just got to peak at the right time. You know, I mean, I feel like it's should be some, you know, we just got to slowly get better and better till, you know, next March when any national is are. And I feel like we've shown, we've shown we've been pretty good at that these last two weeks. You know, we're showing progression, you know, already.
So, and I feel like it's only up from here. Me, I've personally been bowling really well, and I'm proud of that. But I'm, I'm trying to make an effort to, you know, these next three, we got three weeks off here coming up. And I'm going to try and make an effort.
Hey, we're going to work really hard and practice. We're going to come out even better, you know what I mean? Then we were these last two weekends. And you know, that comes from, we got to be practicing the right stuff and we got to be working hard on, you know, what's going to help our scores get better.
And that's ultimately, we got to be better on spare shooting. And we got to be better on, you know, doubling percentage, which doubling is striking after a strike. So, and we shown progress in both those areas over the course of each weekend. And if we keep, you know, getting 1% better every day, then you know, by the end of the season, we'll be pretty damn good.
So, and there's no guarantee to, you know, which team's going to win ever, you know, I mean, in bowling, Wichita State has had the most talent on its team pretty much every single year, but they don't win the title every single year. They come real close every single year. That's for sure. But you know, I mean, they don't win the title every year.
So it's like, in bowling, it's, you know, you just got to put yourself in that sit, you just got to put yourself in the situation to succeed. And you know, whatever happens happens, it's not a coin flip. I'm not trying to say that. But, you know, if you keep putting yourself in that, you know, you keep putting yourself in that place, you're going to eventually win one.
So kind of like if Daniel Jones keeps going on Monday night football, he'll eventually win one. Wow. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know.
Probably not. Honestly, I don't know they should have given that back that soon. But you know what, that's this, that's just because of another tension. So you guys have a little time on from competition.
Obviously last weekend, you know, was the last of a three week, you know, stretch of, you know, competition, your next competition isn't until, you know, four weeks from now in November. So what are you guys going to do with, you know, with this time off of competition, you know, kind of stay fresh and get yourselves ready for, you know, the next path of competition ahead? Personally, I'm taking seven days off job. No, no, I'll be back in there.
We were practicing four times a week. So it's not like we're not practicing. We just got to be really, you just got to be really on what we're practicing, you know what I mean? By like, you know, paying attention to, we're doing the right things in practice.
Because if we keep doing the right things in practice, it's going to show up on the days of competition. And it's kind of hard to put yourself in those, you know, and game day situations while you're practicing. But the more we can do that, I feel like the better too, just because we got a couple of freshmen on the, on the team too, who just if they had like a little bit more experience, you know, help them in that moment. Because let me tell you, if you, if you don't have the right mindset going in there, it's like, it's difficult to perform no matter how good you are in practice, it's really difficult to perform if you don't have that right mindset.
And it's like, sometimes sometimes I'm getting their heads and be like, Hey, you know, if I don't strike here, you know, I mean, I'm going to get pulled or, you know, I'm letting the team down and whatnot and you're forgetting the fact that go out there and perform the best you can. Don't be nervous. Don't put pressure on yourself because if you mess up, there's four, there's seven other guys behind you to be there for you and get your back. So it's like trying to make that as apparent as I possibly can to some of the guys and I feel like they're really buying into it and they're listening to what I'm saying.
And yeah, I feel like we're really trending in the right direction. And that's easy to say when you go 10 second second, easy to say. But you know, I hope this isn't just, you know, a little, a little spell of like a really good ball. And I hope this is, you know, the long run, what it's going to look like.
And I really believe so too. So I just, we just got to keep doing what we're doing. You know what I mean? Yeah, head down and keep working.
Yeah, that's a good mindset, especially for, you know, a team that has a lot of new faces on it, not just yourself, but also a lot of freshmen as well. So pretty much anybody on the team that, you know, we're going to have three transfers on this in the varsity team in the next semester, because it's going to be me, Bobby and then Ryan Spears to come along on the next semester. So it's like, and he's going to be a huge addition to the team next next semester. He's a really good player.
And yeah, we can't wait to get him in the starting lineup in the starting bunch with me and Bob and a couple of the other guys. So we can't wait for that too. Yeah, I can't wait. That should be very interesting to see the trio back together like that.
But you are, in addition to a bowler, you are also a student. So I got to ask you, you know, what are you studying here for? I'm studying business management. So it kind of seems like the blandest of blandest, but you know, I'm playing on going home probably after college to help out at the bowling center and run that.
So it's like the grief fits perfectly for what I need to sell. I mean, I was usually I ask, you know, my interview, what inspired you to, you know, pursue this, you know, certain profession, a certain career, but I don't think you need to explain any more than the fact that, hey, man, I was practically born in this place. You know what, if I got the power to give back, I'm going to give back. Yeah, that's yeah, that's that you got my respect with that one is that I mean, to know a place like that for so long and a place that you know, is so, you know, dear your heart.
And to have a chance to, you know, go back there and, you know, get on the other side of the back to what's giving me so much, honestly, you know, I mean, to get the practice for free whenever I want, get to put out whatever patterns I want and stuff and you know, just it's given me the ability to become who I am. So it's like to get feel like I can give back a little bit to that would be awesome. So yeah, dude, I mean, that's that's awesome. But, you know, as a student, as just like a, you know, college student, you're transferring, you know, midway through your collegiate, you know, career, I mean, have you gotten settled in, you know, yet I know it's mid October, but you know, it's been, what, eight, nine weeks of school?
And you've been on campus, obviously, you know, not going to queue for Florida. So how is life as a, as a same-savior student been life so far? I like it, man. I mean, the food is a lot better than it was when we were at an attack.
That's like something I always say to people when they ask me this question is like, that's a big deal, but the food is really good here. I really love that. And I mean, the way the classes are structured was a little bit different. So I was like a thing to, you know, kind of get used to and stuff and then like the small things are like the software that we use is different and stuff here than what we used to use at tech.
But yeah, I feel like I've pretty much settled into it and gotten into the group of schooling and stuff. So yeah, it's not that big of a deal. And it's kind of like me and Bob are living together. So it's like, I feel like it's not that big of a change because of that.
And it's awesome with him. So yeah, I feel like I'm pretty nice and settled in here. Yeah, because I've been a little more than just you and Bob. Yeah, whatever.
But yeah, dude, I mean, obviously I can't argue with you on the food part. Not even just, you know, the school's diner that, you know, gives my attention. I like the accessibility to just go over and walk over to Subway. Me personally, a lot of people really underrate that Subway pizza.
I think it's free. Oh, really? I know it sounds so outlandish to say, because when you think of Subway, you think of sub sandwiches, but you know what, I'm coming here on the record and I am saying their pizza is criminally underrated. I just think their pizza is really freaking good, dude.
That's an interesting take right there. That's an interesting take. I can't comment on them. I never had it.
But I can't say I'm going to have it, but that's a very interesting take there from Jotham. Yeah, do some people I wonder, do people even know that Subway offers pizza? Probably not. I didn't until you just said so.
It's such a small option with me. I remember just looking one time and I'm like, wait, Subway starts pizza? That's like, that's a new one. Yeah, I'm like, there's been a lot of like weird like food additions to these, you know, notable restaurants over the past few years.
Like remember when everybody was on that chicken sandwich crate, like, oh yeah, we're restaurant got an averaging sandwich. I don't see my homes ever in the Subway commercial is holding up a pizza. So it's like, don't know, probably most people in the country don't know that they serve pizza either. I mean, like I said, I didn't know.
Subway with pizza. Subway. Sub is in the name. It's interesting.
It's interesting. Yeah, but you know, occasionally I would literally walk down here. You know, it's right there by the business management school, business management doing, which I'm sure you're pretty familiar with right now. Had a couple of classes in here.
Weirdly enough, I had a philosophy class in here. I'm like, why am I having a philosophy class? Interesting. But I was like, yeah, interesting.
It's my mo. Yeah, it's my mo. But yeah, I remember I was just, you know, like we should get off the topic of Subway pizza. It was making me uncomfortable.
I don't think it's good. I'm not trying it. I don't think it's good. Hey, I'm not pushing it on.
Sorry. Sorry. I mean, I'm not going to push the pizza on you. I wouldn't tell you go to Chick-fil-A for a steak burger.
See what I mean? Come on. Yeah, no, I would go to that Texas Roadhouse steakhouse down here, but 99 and something. Yeah, no.
Get you some bread. The hot buns are good. Yeah, dude. But I got one last question for you, Michael, before I let you go.
So when you ultimately get done with your bone career here and you ultimately graduate and you go back to Florida, what do you think you want your legacy to be here as a player, as a man, as a human being? What do you think you want your legacy to be? What do you think you want your lasting impact to be here at Singsavior? It's a crazy question.
I asked it all the time. It's a bundled question. That is, I don't know. I just want, this is a difficult question to answer.
You're not very philosophical. I just want to be remembered as a nice guy that was always there to lend a hand to people when they needed help and stuff. Was a good bowler. That'd be nice if I got remembered as that.
Halfway decent bowler. But yeah, I mean, it's a team sport. And if there's one thing that I could leave an impact on to the incoming bowlers and stuff like that, it's like, don't be so focused on your individual performance when the team is what is more important. There's an individual portion to every weekend.
There's an individual, all tournament team award that's given out and stuff. And that's always awesome. That's always cool to be in a limelight for individuals and be the one that's holding trophy and stuff like that. But it's so much more worth it to win as a team than as a individual because there's a lot more people that want to come to dinner with you when you win as a team.
There's a lot more people that are happy. When you win as an individual in a field of 100, there's 99 people that still don't like you. They might come up and shake your hand and say, good bowler and an awesome job, but they don't like you still. They wanted to be the one to win.
So winning as a team is something amazing. I want my impact to be that I was always a team player and I was always for the better men of the team and stuff like that. So that's kind of what I'd like to be remembered as. I think that'd be pretty cool.
Yeah, you have a notable history of being a leader. Yeah. I mean, considering the experience that you usually have, you know, when you're on your you know, the majority of your bowling teams, whether it be Edge, Wood, or it, you know, Tech, even though you won an ad, he has a freshman, you were still somewhat of a vocal leader. So I mean, you're no stranger to leadership.
So I'm not surprised that you would want to, you know, make sure that, you know, you just make everybody around you better. That's the goal. If I can make everyone around me 10% better, you know what I mean by the time they get out of here, we'd be really good. So 10 times 10% my friend.
Yeah. And that's going to do it for another episode of the Player Profiles podcast. Special thanks to Michael Harmon Jr. for taking the time out of his day to come and do this interview.
Just one more thing before we go. Can I get a wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, just the way I like it. Go Cougs, baby. Thank you very much for listening to this WXAV 88.3 FM podcast.
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