Clarke's Willie Bedoya getting results from switch to two-handed shot
Nassau's Willie Bedoya competes for the Section 8 All Star boys team in the NYSPHSAA Bowling Championships at the The AMF Strike N' Spare Lanes in Syracuse on Saturday, March 9, 2019. Credit: Heather Ainsworth/Heather Ainsworth
SYRACUSE — It was a year and a half ago when Clarke’s Willie Bedoya decided to make a big change.
He switched from a traditional one-handed shot to using two hands, and the results have shown it to be the right decision.
Bowling as a part of the Nassau All-Star team Saturday at Strike ‘N Spare Lanes, Bedoya threw a 256 in the third game of a 1,309 six-game series to lead the Nassau team to a fourth-place finish with 6,143 pins. The 256 was the fifth highest game of the competition.
“It’s an honor to be able to bowl with these guys because I consider them all really amazing players,” Bedoya said. “I knew about half of the team before we came up here but once we got here we all became friends right away.”
Bedoya credits his two-handed shot to being able to get more rotation, which in turns generates more power.
“It’s not as unique these days as it was about 10 year ago,” Bedoya said. “Over the past few years a lot more people are doing it. A lot of it comes from watching guys like Jason Belmonte on the pro tour.”
Although it took him time to see the results he couldn’t be happier with where he is now.
“It took me a whole summer of working really hard because when I first started it didn’t go as well as I hoped but I stuck with it,” he said. “My plan was to not give up right away. After two months I made the decision to stick with it.”
Phillip Macchietto of Mineola also made a change, albeit a short term one.
“I struggled in the fifth game so I decided to switch balls and I guess that was the right call,” he said after bowling a 236 in the final game of a 1,261 series.
Macchietto, only a freshman, was bowling on his third state all-star team.
“This year by far was my favorite year because I got to be with all the seniors,” Macchietto said. “We all became friends and really bonded.”
Zane Lipson, one of those seniors from Hewlett, also finished on a strong note with a 236 in his final game of a 1,222 series. He threw seven straight strikes before ending his game with a nine and spare.
“It’s really big to keep high energy and keep each shot in front of you,” Lipson said. “You can’t let down at all.”
Lipson also celebrated a special situation — his sister bowled for the the girls all-star team earlier in the day.
“It was fun because we like to bowl each other,” the older brother said. “But she doesn’t really like to listen to me.”
Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.
