July 20, 2011
Editor’s Note: Vanderbilt All-American Jessica Earnest is competing on Junior Team USA at the Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships this week. More than 100 bowlers from 16 countries will compete in the tournament, which features two divisions, one for bowlers 20 and younger and the other for bowlers 16 and younger. Junior Team USA will compete only in the under-20 division. Complete information and live streaming are available on bowl.com.
Hello from the Dominican Republic!
From yesterday to today there was such a turn-around for me! I had struggled in singles on Monday but today I bowled doubles with my teammate, Kaitlin Quinn, who is also my roommate for the week.
Last night we had our own little team meeting, and made a list of goals. Our top goal was good communication. Team bowling has become one of my most favorite things. You get to share your accomplishments with someone rather than just enjoying success on your own.
Today Kaitlin and I bowled with heart, guts and confidence. When we thought about changing bowling balls or making moves pair to pair, we did. We did not hold back and with this approach we won a silver medal! Gold would have been amazing, but Puerto Rico bowled extremely well.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the trios competition and we can do great things if we allow them to happen! The two keys to tomorrow are communication and picking up spares. I am positive by the end of this week our team will come home with a gold medal and our national anthem will be played!
Outside of bowling I am having an amazing time. The Dominican Republic has treated us extremely well, although I am realizing how hard it is to be in a foreign country not knowing the native language! So far this experience has been great, regardless of my one bad day of bowling.
I’m excited to have the opportunity and plan on enjoying the rest of my time here in the Dominican!
Adios!
Jessica Earnest