Father’s devotion has Antietam’s Ayden Davis in fast lane to success
By Sam Cavalieri — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Eric Davis was in his early 30’s when he started taking 3-year old Ayden to Bowl-O-Rama and Berks Lanes. The youngster was so small the ball threw him as much as he threw it. He two-handed it out of necessity. It was the start of a second Davis generation on the lanes.
Eric was there.
He would finish his night in the men’s major league, then coach Ayden.
“That was his buddy,” said Ericka Winslow, Ayden’s mom. “He pushed Ayden, there’s no doubt. He pushed him sometimes to the limit, but it paid off.”
When Ayden Davis started bowling in youth leagues and tournaments all over the region, Eric was always there with him.
Ayden continued to bowl two-handed as he grew, successfully utilizing an unorthodox delivery that didn’t quite line up with the en vogue two-handed style patterned by current world No. 1 Jason Belmonte.
“Up until I was 13, I would shot put it off my right foot (right handers typically finish on their left foot),” Ayden said. “After one tournament I decided to go back to Berks to practice and switched to the normal two-handed form like ‘Belmo.’
“Ever since my game has taken off to a whole new level, and of course my Dad worked with me over the years and was a huge part of my game.”
Eric Davis picked up the game a lot later than his son; he started around 13 when his mother, Emma Davis, worked at Bowl-O-Rama.
He caught on quickly and started bowling in leagues and tournaments. He went on to win Junior Bowlers Tour events across the region and starred at Mount Penn High School (which became Antietam during his time there). He flirted with the BCIAA boys championship on three occasions, finishing fourth, second and finally fourth.
Eric transitioned seamlessly to men’s leagues and tournaments. He was known for being a fiery, temperamental bowler: High on talent with quick swings of emotion.
He was a part of three Pennsylvania State USBC champion teams, winning most recently in 2009 with Frankie May Jr., Ryan May, John Delp III, and Rick McCauley.
He also teamed with Dean Wolf, Jacques Jacobson, Steve Gehringer, and Kevin Adam to win team titles in 1999 and 2008. The 2008 team won both the scratch and handicap divisions and at the time set the all-time tournament scoring record. Eric also won a doubles title with Jacobson in 1996.
“Eric was the most intense player that I’ve had the pleasure of competing with,” Wolf said.
Eric was a regular competitor at the largest open tournament in the sport and often finished in the money. It was at the 2010 USBC Open Championships when he felt a shooting pain go from his hand through his shoulder. The pain caused Eric to take time off from bowling.
He returned to bowling after the injury but never returned to his previous form. He channeled his passion for the sport toward his son.
“I always wanted him to bowl again,” Ayden said. “He tried his best for a few years, and he didn’t enjoy it as much as he used to. So, he just put all of his time and hard work into me and my game.”
The result of that dedication is evident. Ayden attends Antietam and, like his dad, has won a lot of hardware throughout the region. He has 18 Pennsylvania Junior Bowlers Tour titles, a District 3 singles title and other youth championships.
He started as a freshman on the bowling team and has had his own run of close calls in county championships: He finished second as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore, and a heartbreaking second as a junior when a lead evaporated over the last two games.
For all of it, Eric was there.
Last month, when Ayden lined up for his final chance at a league championship, Eric suddenly wasn’t.
Eric Davis died in January at age 48. The man who had been there for the last 15 years at the practices, youth leagues, tournaments and the scholastic matches was gone.
“He showed up to every single bowling event that I was at,” Ayden said.
He went into the county championship just three weeks after his dad’s passing with the idea of just having fun.
Ayden struggled mightily on the first day, posting a 203.7 average, considerably less than his 231 scholastic league average.
“I definitely felt it was weird (not having my dad there) because the first day I was kind of all over the place,” Ayden said.
He sat in 14th after the first day and knew he needed to claw his way back to finish among the top six and qualify for match play.
“I was trying to just have a big block and sneak in there,” Ayden said. “I would say I am a pretty good match play bowler. That’s where my game shines the most.”
He came out strong on the second day, fired big numbers and qualified fourth. He needed to win three games in the bracket to capture the title that had eluded both him and his father. He punctuated the tournament with a 258-154 victory over Ashton Haag of Hamburg in the championship match.
“Everything he taught me over the years, that kind of just clicked in my head,” Ayden said. “Every single shot I threw just felt so smooth off my hand. I could definitely feel he was there that day. I’d say after the 10th frame (of the finals), after I threw that ball I teared up a little bit. It was definitely meaningful; it was the first tournament I won without my Dad there. It definitely hit hard.”
Eric was there. Not physically. But his passion, his efforts and his spirit were present.
Since Eric’s passing Ayden has leaned on his mother and the support of Warren Davis Jr., Eric’s brother, and his wife, Sherri. Warren set up a GoFundMe to help with Ayden’s college expenses and it raised nearly $15,000. There was also a benefit dinner held at Klinger’s on Carsonia.
“The amount of support, just through the bowling community alone, has been unbelievable for him,” Winslow said. “It’s been absolutely amazing, for people who don’t know much about bowling or don’t know the lifestyle, it’s really overwhelming.”
The lifestyle involves weekends and of travel to bowling houses all over the region. The people supporting Ayden are the same who saw Eric and Ayden together throughout the bowling circuit.
“Eric gave up his personal life to be with Ayden bowling everywhere,” Winslow said. “That’s something that Ayden will never forget.”
While Eric wasn’t present for Ayden’s triumph at counties, he didn’t miss out on all his milestones. Eric was a part of the process when Ayden was being recruited to bowl collegiately. Lawrence Tech, an up-and-coming program in NAIA men’s bowling, reached out to Ayden after seeing him bowl in a national tournament. Eric traveled with Ayden to Michigan when they visited Lawrence Tech and that visit cemented the decision to commit.
“He was a part of everything in my entire life,” Ayden said. “We went out in December and then I made the decision a few weeks before he passed. I was glad he was able to see that.”
The plan is to major in accounting and then a career path towards a financial advisor or a CPA. There are three other letters in his future as well: PBA. The pro tour is the ultimate goal but the current structure of professional bowling forces most bowlers to hold a full-time job while initially pursuing glory on the lanes.
Ayden is putting the finishing touches now on his scholastic career. He bowls in regionals on Friday at Dutch Lanes in Ephrata. The top 12 from regionals will qualify for states. He has qualified for states in the past two seasons and finished third in the state tournament last season.
“The goal this year is, of course, to win everything,” Ayden said. “I think I had one main goal this year and that’s to win states.”
If Ayden can qualify on Friday, he advances to the state tournament in Erie on March 18th.
If Ayden is there, Eric will be, too.
