A-K Valley Senior Spotlight: Freeport’s Colin Cummings

By: Ted Sarneso
Monday, March 17, 2025 | 12:18 PM

It can be devastating when an athlete goes from being at the top of his game, or even the best player in his sport, to a level that is unsatisfactory to him.

Freeport senior bowler Colin Cummings went through a difficult season last year, and it almost caused him to step away.

“He was in a horrible slump last year and lost his game in a bad way,” said Freeport coach Shawn Cummings, who is Colin’s father. “It got so bad he didn’t want to bowl anymore.”

Added Colin: “I wasn’t sharply focused last year. I was focusing too much on my scores. I was getting so upset with those that I wasn’t concentrating on my game.”

Cummings came into his junior year with an average of 210, but finished the year with a 193 average.

In the offseason, Cummings set out to find the answers to his slump. He sought the help of Cummings’ personal bowling coach, Mike Shady, who lives in Erie.

“We boiled it down to two things: hand position issues and a lack of speed,” said Shawn Cummings. “Shady wanted to get him to try two-handed, but Colin wasn’t a fan.”

In a last effort, Shady watched as Cummings bowled 10 shots single-handed, and the problem became clearer.

“It was a simple hand position issue,” said Shawn Cummings. “Once that was fixed, his speed came back.”

As did Cummings’ confidence and his numbers. He was back up to rolling his usual average, finishing this year with a 220, which was third in the WPIBL, and had a 742 high series on the year and a 299 high game.

He also came away with his third career section MVP award, finished ninth in the WPIBL singles championships and qualified for regionals.

“At regionals, I was able to do what I wanted for the most of the day,” Cummings said. “I was able to bowl quickly and that helped me a little bit, but I didn’t have enough at the end to make states.”

In his time at Freeport, Cummings has been named the Yellowjackets MVP all four years, was named to the all-WPIBL first team this season and was named to the second team his freshman and sophomore seasons.

He was also a WPIBL singles championship quarterfinalist last year and a regionals singles finalist his freshman year.

He took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

Your goal this year was to make states. How disappointed were you to not qualify this year?

It was pretty disappointing. I didn’t live up to my expectations for this year, but it was a lot better than last year, so I’ll take it.

You finished ninth in the WPIBL singles championships. How did you feel you bowled?

I bowled OK in the singles championships. It just wasn’t a great day for me. The lanes were kind of rough, but I don’t think I bowled too bad.

How did it feel to be third in the entire WPIBL in average this year?

That felt pretty good and gave me a lot more confidence going into regional championship. Overall, this year, the regular season was pretty good, and I felt pretty good about it.

You also had the second-highest game in the league with a 299. What made you fall short of the 300?

It was funny because it wasn’t even at my own house. I think it was at Kings, and I wasn’t thinking about it when I was bowling at the time. Most of the game, I thought I threw pretty well, but the last shot was more nerve-racking than the rest. I just didn’t get a break when I needed.

Have you rolled a 300 before?

Twice. One was in my regular Saturday league, and the other was in a travel league.

What’s your assessment on how well the team did this season, placing second in section?

I think we did pretty well for having a decently good team. Some people from last year improved greatly, and we had some new kids bowl well for their first year. I’m pretty happy with how the regular season went.

Have you bowled at Junior Gold?

I’ve bowled there since 2018, maybe 2017. My freshman year, I made it into the top 100 but missed the cut by 20 pins.

Any hobbies?

My dad and I go golfing once in a while. I played golf for Freeport last year. Me, my sister and Hannah Windows and her sister will go down to Freeport Park and play baseball.

Post high school plans?

I leaning towards going to Mercyhurst. Saint Vincent is also a choice. I’m going to bowl for four years and see where it goes from there.

What do you plan on studying?

I’m looking to study to be an actuary with maybe a minor in accounting.

What’s one piece of advice you’d want to leave your teammates?

You’re not going to be the best of the best in one year. Just make it worth your time and have fun with your friends while doing so. It’s just a game.