The best high school bowling team in New Jersey started as only a motley crew.
That is how Rusty Thomsen describes his humble beginnings as the head coach at St. Joseph High School in Metuchen nine years ago, and it puts into perspective how far the program has come and means everything to the bowlers’ classmates on 145 Plainfield Avenue.
“They hold the doors open for the kids, they clap for the kids – always. They’re super respectful,” Thomsen said. “They get a respect that bowling has never gotten before, and it’s gotten them a lot of recognition and respect that is nice to see from not baseball, not basketball, not football – the mainstream sports. It’s just brought a lot of attention to them in a good way.”
St. Joe’s recently completed its second straight undefeated season with a second straight state championship. Both had never happened in more than 50 years that the school has had a bowling team.
The Falcons are 45-0 in matches during that time, with sophomore Kai Strothers leading the way with two individual state championships. His 232.26 scoring average this past season paced a varsity squad that featured a whopping six different bowlers who averaged at least a 206, including sophomore Will Cunningham, senior EJ Chin, senior Devon Kiessling, freshman Josh Lamoreaux and freshman Joey Lamoreaux.
“I think everything is paying off with all the hard work in practice,” said Strothers, NJ.com’s Bowler of the Year for two consecutive seasons. “I think it’s all coming together.”
Thomsen, who has coached bowling for 22 years and been part of the Professional Bowling Association since 2007, said he took over the St. Joe’s program in 2015 as a way to give back to the sport after all the guidance he received growing up.
“Without our coach, I don’t know what our team would be,” Strothers said. “As a coach he’s like a bowling dad, honestly. He’s like another dad just on the lanes. He gives us tips whenever we need it. He gives us help whenever we ask for it, or if he sees us struggling.”
Over the years, the Falcons have gone from having zero genuine bowlers, to having kids that learned from scratch and became bowlers, and finally to attracting more experienced bowlers.
Thomsen said he believes St. Joe’s has the only New Jersey bowling team that holds voluntary practices over the summer. The Falcons convene typically once a week on Monday to compete and build camaraderie, and then during the season they bowl in matches often four or five days a week.
“I call them bowling alley rats,” Thomsen said. “They’re in the bowling alley eight days a week. They eat, sleep, breathe bowling, and it’s contagious for the kids that are non-bowlers – the kids that are kind of built from scratch. They’re around that and they see like, ‘Well what’s the secret? What’s the formula?’ You’ve got to work, as if it’s any sport.”
It makes life easy for Thomsen now with several bowlers who compete in tournaments on their own.
“They put the work in. I don’t have to beg them to go practice. I’m usually the one that has to say, ‘Hey, guys, we need to take a day off,’” Thomsen said with a laugh.
The school matches are held at either Bowlero in North Brunswick or Majestic Lanes in Woodbridge. Cunningham, Chin and Kiessling have bowled a combined six perfect games (300) over the last two seasons, and results like that constantly push the Falcons to improve.
“Whenever we see one of us shoot 300, the next game, at least I think to myself I’m like, ‘OK, it’s my turn. I want to do this now, I want to shoot 300,’” Strothers said. “We always make like a fun little minigame to compete against ourselves.”
While Strothers has yet to bowl a perfect game in high school, he did shoot a 300 when he was only 10 years old. The 15-year-old began bowling when he was four, and the sport came naturally to him because many others in his family also bowl.
Still, it’s required dedication over the years to become who Thomsen believes is one of the 20 best left-handed bowlers in the world and good enough to bowl professionally on tour soon.
“It doesn’t matter where he’s bowling. I think he could bowl on the parking lot,” Thomsen said. “He’s every bit as good as any kid I’ve ever seen in my life. That’s not even close, not a question. He’s that good.”
Strothers said his dream is indeed to bowl professionally, but first his eyes are set on becoming the first three-time state champion in New Jersey bowling.
“I would say just stay patient, be more consistent and make my spares,” Strothers said when asked for the key to improvement despite the high bar he has already set.
St. Joe’s, collectively, has become a team full of kids who either come into high school with experience and want to fine-tune their game before bowling at a higher level, or simply desire to learn the sport and dramatically improve their scores over the course of four years.
But no matter the historic accomplishments, what makes it all so special to Thomsen is how his kids shine a beacon of light on St. Joe’s with a selfless attitude.
“It’s hard to describe. These kids are all such good, down-to-earth kids. They’re not braggers, they’re not arrogant, they’re not cocky. They’re really nice, genuine kids,” Thomsen said. “I praise the parents all the time where I never have to worry about, if I’m not there, if they’re doing the right thing or not. They just get it. They understand there’s a way to carry yourself, there’s a way to represent a school, there’s a way to represent your team, your family, your coaches. It’s a nice breath of fresh air.”