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Tereck bowling 'em overBy Brian BowmanDan Tereck is what one would call an seasoned bowler Now, he can also be called one of Canada’s bestWith more than 40 years of 10-pin bowling experience on his impressive resume, Tereck has transformed those many years competing on the lanes to land Team Canada status for men’s bowling.Qualifying at a tournament in Winnipeg during the May long weekend last year, Tereck will be representing the maple leaf this weekend at the Lee Evans Tournament of Americas in Orlando, Fla.He finished fifth out of approximately 80 to 90 competitors at that event in Winnipeg. The top six bowlers landed a spot on the Canadian men’s team.Tereck has twice previously represented Canada at the senior level in the Tournament of the Americas in Florida (2003 in Miami and 2007 in Fort Lauderdale).But this one is even more special.“I’m super excited,” said Tereck after practice earlier this week. “Making a team wasn’t something I really expected and when I did, it renewed all of the competitive juices so I got much more (diligent) about it. I started practicing a little more and started to workon a few things, trying to correct some of my weaknesses.“This has made me super excited and super passionate about bowling again.”Tereck does not have too many weaknesses in his game, however. He boasts a 216 average and is widely considered among the elite male bowlers in Manitoba. He has bowled three perfect games, the most recent coming in March 2001.In 2007, he was named the Canadian Tenpin Federation Adult Male Bowler of the Year and was recognized for the Manitoba Senior High Average award.And don’t let his age fool you. At 58, Tereck bowls pin for pin against the best, young bowlers in the province. In fact, Tereck feels his age - and experience - have been beneficial in competing against bowling’s elite.With his Team Canada selection, Tereck”s now the oldest bowler ever to represent our country in competition.“At first when I qualified, I was kind of embarrassed about it because I was the oldest Team Canada member ever on the adult team,” he recalled. “But then after three weeks of being embarrassed about it, I said, ‘I’m going to embrace it’ and now I’m proud to say I’m 58 and the oldest guy to be on Team Canada.”Tereck said there is always a learning curve in bowling and feels his accuracy is his biggeststrength. Making shot after shot consistently is key to bowling for a high average.“In our sport, you never stop learning, it’s sort of like golf where new technology comes into play so that’s why we have to keep learning,” he explained. “There’s new technology for the bowling balls, especially, so that’s where we’re always learning. I see my age as helpful because I have a lot of experience and because I think I have my emotions more in control than maybe some of the younger ones - that would be my advantage.“My disadvantage, I guess, would be younger bowlers are physically stronger than me and that makes a difference in how fast they can throw the ball or how much they can spin it.”In preparation for the Florida competition, Tereck has been bowling about four to five days a week (about six games each day) the past six weeks.“I’m confident, but I have some concerns,” admitted Tereck, who bowls out of both Chateau and La Ve rend rye Lanes in Winnipeg. “For this tournament, which is unusual, they have two different lane patterns. On one of the patterns, I feel super confident and the other, I’m semi confident.”Tereek’s confidence comes from bowling many years in the sport. Following his parents in five-pin bowling at 14, the bowling guru5 ubmined pho\oDan Tereck of East St. Paul will be competing at the Lee Evans Tournament of Americas in Orlando, Fla. this weekend.soon got started in 10-pin during his high school years.The rest, as they say, is history.And that decision to stick with 10-pin proved to be a good one for Tereck, considered by many as an outstanding ambassador to the sport. He has volunteered his time in many capacities in bowling and was rewarded in 2008 as SportManitoba’s Volunteer of the Year.And while Tereck has put countless hours into the game, he admits he was blessed with an abundance of natural talent.“I have good hand-eye coordination, so it has come more or less naturally for me,” he explained. “I always had good control of things.”
Newspaper Details
Selkirk Journal
Selkirk, Manitoba, CA
Fri, Aug 07, 2009
Page 16
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
CA 17 Aug 2023
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