10-year-old Spokane bowling ‘phenomenon’ finds passion for pins

There is a magical sound a perfect strike makes as the 30 pounds of bowling pins explode into each other, and 10-year-old Gleason Garske’s throws have it.

But there is more to the game than that, and the Prairie View Elementary School fourth-grader is aware of his learning curve, physically and mentally.

“I have to work on picking up spares, not getting into my head and having fun with the game,” he said. “I need to throw a lot of shots and make adjustments off what happens in those shots. I seem to get into my own head a lot, and it doesn’t make it any better. It just makes it a lot worse.”

Gleason said he is “obsessed with seeing pins fall,” He has a 300 game to his credit (March 3, 2023), and also has recorded scores of 811 (three-game series) and 1,038 (four-game series). Those are per game averages of 270 and 259, respectively.

“He’s going to be a phenomenon someday if he keeps bowling like he is,” said 80-year-old Jim Frazier, the only person from Spokane to have won a Professional Bowlers Association tournament title. “He has a great background with his mom and dad helping him and taking him to all these tournaments. He’s going to be a great bowler if he keeps at it.”

Eddie Williams, a former professional and now general manager at Lilac Lanes in North Spokane, also works as Gleason’s coach.

“His vision and the way he see things are uncanny,” Williams said.

With an unconventional two-handed delivery, a work ethic toward perfection and loads of confidence, Gleason won nine different tournaments in his age group within the last year. As recently as early November, he competed in a tournament with modified scoring in which he knocked down at least nine of the 10 pins in 35 out of 36 frames.

“When I was a kid, I fell in love with seeing pins go down but didn’t care about how many,” Gleason said. “Now, sometimes I get a little frustrated when all of them don’t go down. But I’m human, so that’s going to happen – and happen to everyone, right?”

Gleason is the son of Griffin Garske, an honored quarterback three decades ago at Mead High School. He went on to sign a letter of intent with Utah State and play three seasons from 1996-98 for Eastern Washington University.

Griffin Garske’s father, Scott Garske, was a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-America tight end at Eastern after graduating from North Central High School in 1970. A former Inland Northwest Athlete of the Year, he was drafted in the seventh round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1974 NFL Draft, but a foot injury derailed his pro career.

Gleason is “kicking and screaming” to be allowed to play tackle football, his dad said. But, for now at least, playing quarterback in a flag football league is enough.

“He enjoys it, and he’s really good at it,” Griffin Garske said. “Like my dad did for me, I want to expose Gleason to as many sports as possible. He needs to be a kid and enjoy them all, and see where it leads him. He’s just better at bowling.”

Currently, Gleason also plays in a basketball league while honing his immense bowling skills. His hoops coach is NBA legend John Stockton, whose grandson also plays on the team.

The fourth-grader said he just wants to be active throughout the day, and admits that he “can’t sit still.” Griffin Garske said his son does well in school, but the 10-year-old claims two recesses and occasional physical education classes can’t satisfy his hunger for movement.

“I love football, not as much as bowling, but it’s really close,” he said. “I love playing on a team, and bowling can sometimes be an individual sport.”

Besides his football-playing family, even the name given him is football related. Griffin Garske met his wife, Lauren, because of local and national football legend Steve Gleason. Griffin Garske and Gleason were together at a charity football camp when the introduction took place, just months before the latter’s diagnosis of ALS.

As a result, the Garskes named their first-born son after Gleason. They also have a daughter in second grade named Millie.

“It means a lot and is really cool to have a famous football player’s name,” said Gleason, who also graciously sent along his best wishes to his namesake as he continues to battle the disease.

Gleason ’s great-grandmother, Sybil Garske, introduced the young Gleason to bowling when he was a toddler. An avid bowler herself, she would regularly take him to an alley and let him roll the ball down the lane using a ramp, and, presumably, bumpers to avoid the dreaded gutter ball. She died in June 2018.

Griffin Garske said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they were able to bowl only in compliance with social distancing guidelines, Gleason ’s average went from 110 to 180 over the course of two years.

Last year, continuing his rapid improvement, Gleason competed in about 15 national tournaments and upwards of 10 locally. There are different organizers and tournaments with different age divisions, so it’s a tedious task to find appropriate tourneys for the prodigy to compete with and against youths his own age.

“Luckily, my kids like to be active,” Griffin Garske said. “Gleason doesn’t want to play video games, which is great.”

The Garske family has raised money through local sponsorships to help fund travel to tournaments. In December, Gleason will compete in Seattle, and then a team tournament in Tacoma. He’s headed to Las Vegas in February, and Phoenix and California, as well.

“It’s a lot, but the biggest thing we will continue to do is to support him if he wants to keep doing it, he’s enjoying it and we’re not making him do it,” Griffin Garske said. “He’s a good ambassador for the game and for youth bowling – we’re all for it.”

Griffin Garske said the unique thing about youth bowling is that tourney entry fees are turned into prize money, and winnings are put into a “Smart Account.” Once Gleason turns 18, he has eight years to use the money for access to higher education. So far, he has about $38,000 in that account.

Recently, Gleason played in tournaments in Boise, and Chandler, Arizona, capped by a PBA Junior Tour event in Gilbert, Arizona. He recorded a high game of 279 in Chandler in the under-21 scratch division, and over the course of five games missed advancing to the finals by four pins.

The youngster has found a community of kindred spirits through the world of bowling.

When Gleason was 7, the Garske family learned that Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul was as exceptional at knocking down pins as he was handing out assists in the NBA. The Garske family went to a Suns game and held up a sign asking Paul if he could beat a 276 score – Gleason Garske’s best at the time.

He saw the sign and eventually posed for a photo with Gleason, and admitted that the kid had him beat. Paul disclosed that a 256 score was his best.

Locally, Gleason has been able to befriend and tap into the experiences of Frazier, a former professional bowler on the PBA circuit from 1972-78. From 1978-2012 he owned Jim Frazier’s Pro Shop & Trophy House in Spokane Valley.

Frazier won the 1976 New England Open over 34-time champion Mark Roth and finished second four times. He played in the same era as Tacoma’s Earl Anthony, who won 43 titles (then a record) and six PBA Player of the Year Awards.

Gleason and Frazier teamed up together on Nov. 9 at Valley Bowl for the Spokane County Veterans Doubles Tournament. They finished three pins out of first place.

The 70-year age difference was an anomaly and a cherished opportunity.

“It was really fun, and something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives,” Gleason said.

Seeing a 10-year-old and an 80-year-old interact is “very unique and cool,” Griffin Garske said.

“He’s gained respect from an older generation of bowlers, and they’ve invested their time and energy in helping him grow,” Griffin Garske said. “The bowling community is so supportive in wanting to root each other on and see each other succeed. It’s refreshing.”

“I’m going to challenge him to win another (PBA title), and many more if he can,” Frazier quipped of his protégé.

But all involved know it isn’t that easy, and will require great respect for the technical aspects and science of the sport.

“Gleason watches professional bowlers all the time,” Griffin Garske said. “He’s very analytical and watches their techniques.”

Four years ago, Gleason was on YouTube and saw professional Jason Belmonte using the two-handed style.

“I thought that was really cool and needed to try it,” Gleason said. “I just kept doing it, and it’s led up to now.”

The technique, which is gaining in popularity, aids in the control, spin and hook of the ball imperative for consistently knocking down pins 10 at a time. Despite controversy in the past two decades, two-handed bowling is legal provided the ball still comes off a single, dominant hand, and at least two finger holes are used (the thumb is typically not in a hole).

As Frazier explains it in simple terms, the greater velocity and rotation of the ball, the more it influences the deflection of the ball and the 3-pound pins. He calls the pins the “judges,” because they alone determine the outcome, which is also dependent on where exactly the pins are hit on any given throw, plus the condition of the oiled lane.

“It’s a fascinating game,” Frazier said. “The difference in our eras is power and rotation on the ball. It takes a lot of dedication.”

Gleason uses a 14-pound ball, as opposed to the 11- or 12-pound ball he would probably use if he bowled with one hand. Adults and professionals use balls between 18 and 20 pounds, Frazier said.

“It’s big difference when you talk about carrying pins,” Griffin Garske said of the main advantage two hands provides. “At a younger age, that’s the way they are able to generate more power and throw a heavier bowling ball.”

Griffin Garske said the family works hard to instill in his son the sportsmanship his own dad passed down to him. The youngster makes sure to point out that they won, adding, “I have to give credit to my coach, my dad and all the people who have helped get me to this point in bowling.”

“My dad did a great job teaching me what else sports does for you as you get older,” Griffin Garske said. “The accountability, teamwork and all the things you need in life. So we try to instill that in Gleason, including teaching him how to be personable and engaging. Because you’re one of the best to do it, people are going to watch you. They’ll see how you react when things are not going well, and see what your body language is like. We hope that will give him confidence as he gets older in whatever he does in sports or in life.”

But like any 10-year-old, Gleason Garske is living in the moment now, and doesn’t put a lot of weight into what will happen in the future. He just wants to work with others, help coach other youths, have fun and, most importantly, learn.

“It doesn’t matter how you finish,” Gleason Garske said of tournaments. “Like Jim always asks when I come back from a tournament, ‘What did you learn?’ ”