Division's Schneider channels Disney's Nemo

When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.

Who knew "Finding Nemo" had a place in bowling, let alone helping a star improve her game? But the song "Just Keep Swimming" - sung whimsically by a cartoon fish in the Disney flick - has provided a message and a relaxation tactic for Division's Erica Schneider.

There isn't much absent from the senior's high school profile: she's been a key member of a team that's enjoyed three straight undefeated regular seasons, each of which culminated with a county title, and has led Nassau in average the last two years. That's in addition to her graduating a year early and committing to Farleigh Dickinson last October.

The missing element was patience; not getting frustrated or flustered. Perhaps it was the pressure of high standards and higher expectations, but when things didn't go well, Schneider, admittedly, wasn't much for that even-keel business.

"If I messed up or didn't hit my mark," she said, "I'd get really upset." Visibly upset. "And it affected my game sometimes."

That started to change last summer when she competed in the Junior Gold Tournament in Indianapolis and saw a little of herself in others. "I noticed a lot of girls get mad and their anger shows on the lanes; they miss spares," said Schneider, who has aspirations of competing professionally. "It showed me that I have to be more composed, I have to get over that."

A week later in her next match, Schneider found herself singing the "Finding Nemo" song to herself the entire time "to keep my mind off everything. It's very inspirational." And she sang it throughout the county championships yesterday, as she posted a tournament-best 1,237 series. You could say it's a more effective "Serenity now!"

SEE PHOTOSSuffolk and Nassau bowling championships

The simple message delivered by the character Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres), which is applicable to us land-dwellers, is to trudge forward when things don't go your way. It's catchy, too.

Schneider hasn't exactly adopted Taoist beliefs, but she's now more at ease, thus more analytical and more adept at adjusting to lane conditions.

"More pragmatic," said coach Joanne Byrne, who has watched Schneider's growth. Byrne coached her older sister, Alyssa, in high school while having Erica for two subjects and study hall in junior high. She knows her well. "She's less uncomfortable outside of her comfort zone. She keeps her head on her shoulders a little better . . . I like the way she's handled herself."

It's helped lift her average - up 17 points from last season - to 212, which is second highest amongst girls.

Schneider, as an eighth-grader, joined the varsity team that was the defending Nassau champion. That year, the Blue Dragons lost in the counties, in the final frame, to Hicksville.

"I missed a spare in my 10th frame, then I watched Hicksville make all theirs. We lost by 11 pins . . . I actually wasn't that mad, though," Schneider said, getting a jump on what would've been the follow-up question. "I came out of it more motivated."

Fast-forward three county crowns later and next up for Division is the state tournament in Syracuse, looking to improve on last year's ninth-place finish in Poughkeepsie.

"The approach will be just like counties - bowl our own game. If we're in fifth place early on, just work your way up and don't worry about it . . . And I'll try be more calm than I was last year," Schneider said with a chuckle. "But I think I've grown out of that."

And things are going swimmingly.