Flint Carman-Ainsworth’s Jordan Nunn holds the Matt Fiorito Mr. Bowling award Sunday at Century Banquet Center in Sterling Heights. “I’ve learned how to swing the ball and how to control it and play completely outside,” he said.
MR. BOWLING: Flint Carman-Ainsworth’s Jordan Nunn
Jordan Nunn made the state’s bowling Dream Team, but had ruled himself out for the Matt Fiorito Mr. Bowling Award, given annually by the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association and sponsored by the Detroit Free Press.
“He kept saying, ‘Dad they are going to give it to Chase (Kaufman) or Chad (Stephen),’ ” said Tim Nunn, Jordan’s dad and coach at Flint Carman-Ainsworth. “I kept telling him he had a chance and to stay optimistic.”
Jordan Nunn nearly set a state qualifying record as a junior, leading the pack at Sunnybrook Lanes last season, but then fell in the first round of the finals.
This season, he made it to the semifinal before a couple of shots sealed his fate.
So when he learned Sunday afternoon that he indeed claimed the award named for the late Free Press staffer, the engaging senior with the big game and powerful roll was speechless.
“I’m just lost for words right now,” he said.
Which came as a shock to his parents. Always smiling and engaging, the 6-foot-4 performer is never lost for words.
“It’s really difficult to coach your own child,” Tim Nunn said. “You have to look at him in a different light. I have to look at him as a player and not my son. It’s hard to separate the two. I’ve even told him there are days when I’m going to be in the heat of the battle and I’m going to deal with you like I do the rest of the players. There are been times when I’ve told him ‘you have two frames to get your act together.’ ”
Jordan Nunn usually did. He averaged 223.22 this season.
Nunn has recorded 16 300s and an 847 series. He competes nationally and claims right now he’s better than his father, who has rolled a state-record 899 series.
“I would say me right now,” said Nunn. “My dad is getting older. He’s been taking me to bowling alleys since I was in kindergarten. I didn’t start bowling until second grade. Never bowled with bumpers.”
While boasting he’s better than dad, Nunn still has the 899 to chase.
“He finally got the point where he could beat me a few times, but I always let him have it,” said Tim. “He has a score to catch. He has 847. He’s still a ways away. I tell him to keep trying. If he’s going to beat it he has no room for error.”
Basketball and bowling were in Nunn’s future until he tore his right meniscus playing basketball.
Dad and mom, Colette, helped him make the decision to focus on one sport. It turned out to be the right one — and a painful one.
“I bowled during my injury,” Nunn said. “I felt like I was letting my team down. My knee would buckle. I couldn’t be solid at the line, but my scores during that period really didn’t affect me. I had to do rehab for seven months. During rehab I had to go to regionals and states. I wore braces and dealt with the pain.
“I was constantly off balanced. I’m kind of off-balanced at the line now, but I’m working on it.”
Colette said: “It was a painful year. His knee would buckle and I had just had surgery, so we were all out of it. It was a bad year that year. He made it through, but he’s an awesome athlete. He really concentrated on bowling and he made an effort to do so.”
Nunn learned from his mistakes. He was crushed at Sunnybrook as a junior when he dominated the field during qualifying only to lose in his first match. This past season he performed at a high level at Sterling Lanes before a couple of bad shots led to his undoing.
“It was all on me, so I couldn’t get mad at anyone,” he said.
“When I first started bowling I couldn’t hook the ball that much. That’s when I started my straight-up game. I got older and I started hooking the ball more. I started cranking it.
“Now I can be versatile. I could always play straight-up. Now I’ve learned how to swing the ball and how to control it and play completely outside.”
He practices about three hours a day, five days a week, and bowls tournaments every weekend.
“I love the challenge, and the competition,” he said. “I like competing on the tough shots. I like going to the tough tournaments like Junior Gold and MJMA (Michigan Junior Masters Association). There’s a lot of competition. I like the grind.”
And he likes being Mr. Bowler.
Miss Bowling: Flint Kearsley’s Hannah Ploof
It’s a big year in the Ploof household.
Father Robert Ploof Jr., was named to the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
However, he said: “If you want bowling lessons, I’d advise you to see my wife (Pam),” he said.
The two met bowling.
“I can’t bowl that well, but I can teach,” Pam said, smiling.
Daughter Hannah Ploof, a senior at Flint Kearsley, where she bowled for her father, kept the family momentum going, winning the Matt Fiorito Miss Bowling Award.
She finished a fantastic career with three straight team titles and the singles title this season.
“The team titles were more important,” she said. “It was amazing. It was unrealistic.
“This season was a different challenge. The first two years, we had a veteran team with a lot of seniors and we didn’t have a lot of change, so the lineup didn’t change that much. This season we had a lot of people in the lineup for the first time and it was a lot different.
“I didn’t know if we’d be able to win a third, but the team kept getting better, and I thought halfway through the season that we might have a chance. We were really young this season. With freshmen and sophomores, it was amazing.”
While it was a thrill for Robert to watch his daughter win the singles title, he agreed with Hannah as to which was more important.
“That’s something that I preach,” he said. “It’s all about the team. Her winning Miss Bowler is more important than me going into the Hall of Fame. You don’t get to be a Hall of Fame coach unless you have great bowlers. It’s all about the bowlers, it’s not about me.
“It’s awesome. Alexxa (Flood) and Hannah were my only two back. I didn’t know if we’d be good enough to win the state title. I knew we were going to be good. I didn’t know if we’d be that good. Alexxa and Hannah pushed the other girls, and it happened.”
Bowling is the lifeblood of the Ploof’s family.
“Bowling brought us (Pam and Robert) together, we met through bowling, and part of the reason I started coaching was to give back to the sport,” said Robert.
Said Hannah: “I’m proud of him. He’s put in a lot of hard work. I sat in the bowling alleys with him for years. I’ve seen what he does. We have a really good relationship. A lot of times I go to him. Once in a while it’s like ‘Hey, get out of here.’ ”
Sister Lindsey is 31/2 years older than Hannah, so the youngest Ploof grew up watching her.
“There were times when she was in middle school and Lindsey was in high school and she’d ask ‘do I have to go to the bowling alley again,’ ” said Robert. “She learned so much by watching. She made it look easy, but it’s never easy.”
Hannah averaged 213.9 this season with a high game of 299.
“I got a little high and left a four-pin,” she said.
She has bowled a 300. In four years of high school, she never finished out of the top six at regionals and always reached the qualifying round in singles.
“I’m pretty flexible,” she said. “Really, my dad tells me what to do and I do it. My cousin drills my balls for me. They just take my equipment and I bowl with whatever.”
Ploof has gotten into the is-bowling-a-sport debate? She has a simple answer.
“I tell people if you can win three for four state championships in a row, then you can come talk to me because your sport doesn’t do that.”
She’s speaking from experience.
Contact Perry A. Farrell: 313-222-2555 or pafarrell@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @farrellperry.