Pro bowler appears at Lake Street lanes

NEW BERLIN – Kelly Kulick may be the least recognizable breakthrough athletes in America today. She has already done what golfing phenom Michelle Wie is still attempting to do: Compete as a women on equal footing with men.

Kulick was at Lake Street Lanes this past Saturday afternoon to meet members of the community and conduct a workshop for young bowlers. Kulick tours the country as a representative of Ebonite, and was the first woman bowler to qualify for a men’s tour event, while also placing well enough the past year to earn an exemption to the PBA for the 2006-2007 season.

Kulick, who travels extensively throughout the year, also served as the guest speaker for the Tri-County Bowling Association Hall of Fame banquet Saturday night in Sidney. “The road can be quite tiring,” she said. “I enjoy meeting new people, especially in small towns like this (New Berlin). I like to make that personal connection and to give back to the kids.”

Kulick did not take the traditional road to professional stardom. She wasn’t groomed as young bowler by parents (a la Tiger Woods), and was a three-sport athlete while in high school in New Jersey. She was a standout athlete in basketball and softball, and merely competed in bowling competitions on the weekend. Seeing her calling, however, Kulick turned her focus extensively to bowling as a senior, and she moved on to a standout career at Morehead State in Kentucky earning All-American honors, while also winning collegiate bowler of the year three times. She also completed her degree receiving a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education. “I needed to have a career to fall back on in case bowling didn’t happen,” Kulick said. “Fortunately, it did happen.”