Fitting interest, experience key to locksmith’s path
May 9, 2012All things considered, the Saints caught a break with player suspensions
May 9, 2012
Vandebilt sophomore bowler Colleen Cheramie describes herself in one word – competitive.
That love for a challenge powered the Lady Terrier all the way to the state championship.
At the State Bowling Tournament, Cheramie saved her best performance for the season last, rolling a career-best 264 to help push her to the title.
The Lady Terrier also bowled the best series of her career in the effort, which she said was inspired by the players around her – the best of the best from within Louisiana.
“I’m super competitive,” Cheramie says with a laugh. “Really, really competitive. That really gives me that spark. When it comes to tournaments and stuff, I’m like determined to win.”
Cheramie has grown into her bowling killer instinct, but she’s been around the sport her whole life.
She said routinely was rolling frames at “around age 7.”
“It was a family thing that we all did,” Cheramie said. “My brother and I and my mom all have been into it. I always loved bowling. I’m very involved and this is just another thing that I like to go.”
From discovering her early love for the sport, Cheramie said she performed in youth leagues as a child.
Cheramie still does compete in leagues throughout the area.
From the early beginning, the Lady Terrier said it didn’t take long for her to realize she has a future within the sport.
“I hate to boast,” Cheramie said with a laugh. “But I’ve always been pretty good. I bowled my first 200 when I was in fifth grade.”
The way that Cheramie has achieved success is a bit abnormal.
In a technically driven sport, most young bowlers reach the pinnacle of their game through countless hours of practice and personal coaching.
Cheramie said she isn’t immune from the practicing – saying she bowls for hours each week. She added a little tidbit about herself that is a bit surprising to most bowling purists.
“I really pride myself, because all of the girls who are out there, they all have private coaches and school coaches and just all kinds of people who really help them,” Cheramie said. “I’ve never in my life had a coach. I really think that’s a huge accomplishment that I’ve done technique-wise by myself. I just think that even if I don’t win tournaments and championships, getting this far without a private coach is a huge accomplishment.”
But make no mistake about it, Cheramie does win her fair share of titles.
From the early start, the Golden Meadow native enrolled at Vandebilt and started her prep bowling career.
It didn’t take long for her to begin to find consistent success, rolling a 168 average – the best in the district.
Cheramie said she didn’t expect to compete for a state championship this season because she was just a sophomore competing against a largely upperclassmen group of challengers.
Combine that with the fact that Cheramie changed balls just days before the postseason began and it seemed as though the odds weren’t in the Vandebilt standout’s favor.
“I got my ball before Bi-Regionals and I had only practiced with it once,” Cheramie said. “I was just winging it. … This ball is heavier and it has more reaction. The one I had before, it was really old and it wasn’t doing its purpose as much.”
New ball or not, Cheramie’s competitive edge “did its purpose.”
The Lady Terrier caught fire in postseason play.
Cheramie emerged from the Bi-Regionals as the top-seeded player.
She said that helped her see that winning was a realistic possibility.
“I learned that it really doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or not,” Cheramie said. “I mean, sometimes, it was intimidating to me. But once you think about it, it really doesn’t make a difference.”
With momentum on her side and in the right frame of mind, nothing was going to stand in Cheramie’s way.
The Lady Terrier standout bowled the best frames of her life at the state tournament, rolling a 219, a 145 and a 168 to push into the finals.
Once there, she simmered even hotter, starting with a 176, the career-best 264 and a 221.
Cheramie’s 220 average for the finals was enough to outlast St. Michael bowler Angela Falgoust, whom the Lady Terrier had become accustomed to battling over the years.
“When everyone had done the math and I realized I had won, it was a great feeling,” Cheramie said. “It was something that I don’t think I’ll ever forget.”
With an individual title under her belt, Cheramie said she is already eye-balling improvement.
The Lady Terrier said she will do “anything possible” to help Vandebilt be successful as a team her junior and senior seasons.
“This past year was the first year we made it to Bi-Regionals and it was just awesome,” she said. “I hope that we keep progressing, because they have a lot of great teams out there and I just love to do things as a team more than individually.”
The Lady Terrier also added that she hopes to continue her individual progression, as well.
“I just don’t want to regress,” she said. “I’ve set a pretty high bar for myself by winning the state championship. I realize that. But I just hope that if I go again next year, I just don’t let myself down. I don’t care if I lose if I do my best. If you do your best and come up short, it’s OK, that’s all I really care about.
“Just keep getting better and continue to be a better bowler. That’s really all it’s about. It’s not about the winning – it’s about continuing to be better.”
Vandebilt Catholic bowler Colleen Cheramie poses with her ball at Creole Lanes in Houma.
