Last month, you bowled your first perfect game and your second 700 series, a 703. After 10 straight strikes, what was going through your mind as you rolled the final two balls of the game?

I was shaking. I was trying to concentrate on putting the ball on where I wanted it to go. On the last ball, I didn’t think I’d get it. It was on the gutter line at first, but it came right back.

What happened when the pins went down on that last strike? Did confetti and balloons rain down from the ceiling? Did the score screens go wild? Did they turn the disco lights on?

I was trying to keep a straight face in front of my dad, but I was smiling. My dad was going crazy, jumping up and down. The scoreboards didn’t do much of anything, but five ladies came up to hug me. That was pretty good. When I went home, my mom was all excited.

Was that near gutter ball in the last frame your closest call in the perfect game?

No. In the fifth frame, I threw a Brooklyn (opposite-side impact) and all but one pin fell. I saw one pin roll in a circle all the way around the lane and hit it to knock it down.

Did rolling a perfect game jinx you in any way? What’s your average?

I bowled a 657 series the next week. I average 190-195 now.

What was your high game and series before the perfecta?

I’ve bowled a 719 series and a 286 game before. In the 286, I had 10 straight strikes, but rolled a six-spare at the end.

Did you have a lot of instruction in learning the game? Were you good from the beginning?

I wasn’t good when I started. I started bowling with my father (Tyrone Junior) about five years ago as a family thing. When I was 11, I started trying to bowl properly. At first, I released the ball backhanded, but an instructor showed me how to curve it the right way. Jim Einhorn (Heidelberg Bowling Center manager) helped me, too. What I do is watch the bowler helping me and incorporate parts of what he does into my own choreography.

You said your dad averages 170. Did it bother him when you beat him for the first time?

No. He’s proud of me. He’s a very settled man.

What are your future bowling goals?

I’ve already won five small scholarships. Last year, I went to the States for the Pepsi (national youth tournament) in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. I didn’t do that well. I want to qualify for that again this year and be in the top 100 by the time I’m 16.

What’s the best part of bowling?

Believe it or not, when I hit the pins it gets out stress.

There’s no stress stepping up to the line needing two more strikes for a perfect game?

Even under pressure, it relaxes me.

Corey Junior

Age: 15

Title: Bowling phenom

Day job: Heidelberg High School freshman

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