Alan Rothstein: Gentle Giant

Bowling One-On-One with Alan Rothstein: Gentle Giant

Bowling in local tournaments is fun and is an opportunity to put your abilities and skills to test to see how you measure up with locals on an individual level. In Concord, CA, there is a continuous monthly scratch tournament called the Saturday Scratch Bowling Club. These tournaments are organized by a gentleman named Alan Rothstein. As an avid bowler himself, his efforts of unifying the bowling community is appreciated by many as they come from all over the county to be a part of his tournaments.

Alan’s passion and love for the game started very early and continued through college. Then after a decades long break from the game due to injury, he found the passion again and today he’s bowling at the highest level of his life and is known as one of the top bowlers in the area. I’m thankful to have caught up with Alan to learn more about his bowling journey.

How did your personal journey with bowling begin and what do you remember about it that captured your imagination?

“My mom liked to tell the story that when I was about 2 years old, I would sit in front of the TV and watch bowling, cheering every time they got a strike. If you asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have said a professional bowler. I was even a bowler for Halloween many of my childhood years. I don’t remember bowling being a prestigious sport like football or baseball, but I wanted to be just like Walter Ray Williams Jr. He was my bowling idol.”

It was in high school when you started to bowl competitively and when you realized just how good you could be.

“When I moved to Concord, in my early high school years, I really got into bowling. I took bowling class instead of Gym and bowled in a junior league. I even bowled a 20-game tournament in Pinole alongside Darren Munk one holiday season. My senior year of bowling class I was voted best bowler and received a $500 college scholarship from Clayton Valley Bowl.”

You attended California State University in Fullerton, working on your Masters degree in Communication. You bowled for two years with the college team. Talk about your experience of bowling collegiately.

“I remember going to try-outs with my red urethane hammer and wondering why everyone was hooking the ball so much. It wasn’t until later in the bowling year that one of my teammates gave me one of his older reactive resin balls. It was a complete paradigm shift from urethane. My average improved but I was always on the B Team. My coach asked me one time, ‘Would you rather be a part of a winning team on the bench, or would you want to be a starter?’ At the time I answered that I wanted to be on a winning team, but now I think I would change my mind. Looking back, I wish I would have bowled in more college tournaments, even if I was a starter on a team that wasn’t the favorite to win the tournament. The experience was the reason I liked bowling, winning was only the icing on the cake.”

“Shortly after bowling collegiately, I was at a party drinking and acting stupid, and went down the stairs in a plastic chair. Everyone was doing it and I thought why not. Unfortunately, I bailed early and caused a high ankle sprain. It never really healed properly and since I didn’t want to be just an average bowler, I quit bowling for 20 years.”

You took a long break and tucked away your passion for the game and weren’t even sure if you would ever bowl again. It was your mom who first noticed your love for bowling very early on and it would be your mom once again who would help you rekindle that fire inside and ultimately lead you to reaching new heights and accomplishments in the sport that you had always dreamed of.

“Around 2018, my Mom was dealing with cancer, and I sat by her bedside and wondered what I would regret not doing in my life. Bowling came to mind. I thought, whatever it takes to get back to bowling, I had to do it. That was the beginning of my second bowling life.” 

The inner fire was lit, and you became a student of the game consuming knowledge like you have never before. You studied lane conditions and the various types of bowling balls available. You practiced religiously. And on May 20^th, 2021, you rolled your first 300 game. Talk about this phase of your journey and the progression of your game.

“I still can’t believe how much information, videos, and instruction there is for bowling now as compared to the 90’s. You can go on YouTube and learn how to bowl, what balls to use and how to read lane conditions. Back in college, I had no clue about oil patterns or bowling balls. I didn’t even know I needed to clean my bowling ball after every use. I spent a lot of time watching videos and picked out two new bowling balls, the Brunswick Quantum Pearl and Bias Solid. I used these balls for a couple of years and finally, I bowled my first 300 game. I felt like I was finally a part of an exclusive club.”

Your knowledge, skills, confidence, and passion for the game have reached an all-time high. You’re one of the top bowlers in the area averaging in the 220’s consistently. Last year you rolled your second and third 300 games, including your first 800 series. Just a few weeks ago you achieved your 4^th 300 game. Not bad after a long hiatus, but certainly not without a lot of dedication and work put in. You came back to the sport and turned some of your dreams into a reality.

“Looking back on my bowling experience, I feel like I have more confidence as an adult bowler. I would get really nervous back in juniors and in college when I bowled. I remember my best placing in a bowling tournament as a kid was 2^nd place, and I always wanted a first-place trophy. Now armed with all the information about bowling balls and oil patterns, I have the confidence and have put together a great bowling arsenal.”

From your love for the game and the bowling community, you spend quite a bit of time coordinating local tournaments and bringing bowlers together. You participate in these events too and win or lose, you’re right there from start to finish making sure everyone has a good time. What does it mean to you to organize events like these? Also, what other interests and hobbies might you have and enjoy?

“I bowl the occasional Gold Pin at Dublin, Amateur Bowling Tour, and Best of the West at Bowlero but I mostly enjoy bowling my Saturday Scratch Bowling Club tournaments with all of my Clayton Valley Bowl friends. I wanted to create more opportunities for everyone to bowl scratch tournaments. There are so few these days.”

“The rest of the time I am taking care of our four pigs, three dogs and parakeets. I enjoy a good movie theater experience and play original Nintendo NES video games with my brother.”

As an inspiration to the sport of bowling, proving that it’s never too late to rekindle a passion and with the proper focus and dedication, you can reach high levels of achievements in the game and anything you put your mind to. With bowling gaining in popularity from all ages, what advice would you offer to those looking to improve their game?

“Use all the resources at your disposal. Watch videos on YouTube, learn about factory finishes on ball manufacturing websites and check out oil patterns before you bowl a tournament. However, when it comes to oil patterns, every house, every lane is different so let the lane tell you where to throw the ball and what ball to throw.”

Alan, I appreciate you sharing your bowling journey with us. You’ve impacted the sport by inspiring others and you’re now living one of your childhood passions. You’re also giving back to the game in a big way. Your known as a gentle and kind man and with the fire of a fierce competitor. Your sportsmanship is something to be modeled after. Thanks for all that you do and best of luck to you the rest of the way this year in league and tournament play.

“Thank you. Be competitive but stay friendly. Congratulate your opponent when they bowl good because they will motivate you to bowl even better.”