It’s a Cinderella story
By Anthony Nasella Post-Tribune correspondent February 8, 2012 11:12PM
Lake Station's Matt Laviolette practices with the Lake Station bowling teams Monday afteroon at Ray's Lanes in Lake Station. The boys team has qualified for it's first ever semistate. | Jeffrey D. Nicholls~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: February 8, 2012 11:12PM
LAKE STATION — For the fan of feel-good stories, one needs to look no further than the Lake Station boys bowling team, which is one of four local boys teams competing at this Saturday’s Fort Wayne Semistate.
Reaching semistate for the first time in program history, the Eagles have just five bowlers and is coached by admired pro shop aficionado and member of multiple hall of fame Bill Morton. They finished second at the Duneland Sectional, edging defending champion Wheeler for a berth in this past weekend’s Michigan City Regional at which they finished fifth place after a strong finish in the last two Baker games.
Even more telling of the accomplishment is that Lake Station has done it with two freshmen (Carlos Calderon and Mike Luellman) and a sophomore (Andrew Gresham), along with the leadership being provided two brothers — senior Nick Laviolette and junior Matt Laviolette.
“They’ve all really come together as a team,” Morton said. “I just trying to give them tips in what they should do, but they listen to what I’m telling them. And they all can do it pretty well. All the boys throw the ball a little different, so there’s always tips that you can give them to help them improve.
“The freshmen have come along well and are pretty dependable. Our sophomore Andrew has really come through under pressure for us. Nick and Matt have been great leaders. The kids all get along and work together, and I’m looking forward to seeing them compete this weekend.”
Though the senior, Nick Laviolette was a late bloomer in the sport, watching his brother bowl before getting involved freshman year. As healthy sibling rivalries go, the younger Laviolette motivated the older brother — now both carry solid averages.
“I’m so proud of everybody on this team,” Nick said. “Carlos and Mike never bowled on sport shots before high school, and they’ve improved so much since the start of the year. And Andrew and my brother have brought so much to this team, too. This is obviously my last chance, so we want to go as far as possible.”
The consensus among the Eagles is the impact that Morton has had on every player’s overall game and what it has meant to the team’s success.
“What hasn’t Bill brought to us?” Matt Laviolette asked rhetorically. “He has so much coaching experience. If there was every anything that I needed to work at, I always went to Bill. My dad is a great coach, but Bill is so in tune with the advanced elements of the game and can coach us in those.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bill happier than this year.”
Morton admits that having young players to coach puts a definite pep in his step.
“It has definitely helped me to get a little more energy into my life,” Morton said. “Being around these kids is a pleasure.”
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