By Ken Hansard
Coming off a bowling season where his team went undefeated in league play and saw then junior Carson Ford place eighth in the GWAL tournament individually, Ford was going to be hard-pressed to improve on those marks as a senior. However, like all great athletes, Carson committed himself in the off-season to working on how to do just that, “The challenge is always figuring out when to make adjustments – whether that be moving my feet, my mark, or making a ball change. In bowling, small changes can make big differences. So, in the offseason, I worked with my coach to change my grip on the ball and the way my bowling balls are drilled. We also worked on changing my hand position when I prepare to line up a shot.”
Those efforts appear to be making the big differences that Ford was looking for, and now, as a senior for the Heights Falcons, Ford was recently nominated the VYPE February boys’ bowling poll winner.
Last season, Ford took first place in both the Northrock Cup and the Great Plains Tournament. The Great Plains is the largest tournament of the year, and the Northrock Cup includes all schools that participate at Northrock. Ford also won a couple of Kansas City Open tournaments. Again, this would seem an almost impossible act to follow, but Carson seems to be getting stronger with each tournament, and recently, he bowled his second perfect game and set a new personal best series with a staggering score of 815.
But even with all those accolades already on his resume, Ford wants more, “First, I want to make state bowling. I’ve wanted to do that since freshman year. And the second is that I would like to finish my high school career on a high note; I’m gunning for at least a 220 average.”
So far this year, Heights has won two triad meets as a team and secured a second-place finish in another. Individually, Ford already has two podium finishes.
“I feel like the team is in a decent spot right now. We have a lot of new varsity members. And it’s awesome to see the growth they have made in the span of a few weeks. Individually, I’ve bowled multiple series over 680. Growing up, I tried a variety of sports, from soccer, to golf, to baseball, to auto racing. But bowling is the one I’ve excelled at and settled into, and I’ve continued to do it for the past 10 years.”
When he is not bowling for the Falcons, Carson stays active year-round. He bowls in youth leagues for Northrock Lanes and Eastgate Lanes in Newton. He is a three-year tennis player for Heights. He is a two-year letterman in band. He has participated in the Wichita Youth Symphony Orchestras Wind Ensemble for three years, the SCKMEA District Honor Band for two years, and the Wichita State University Honor Band for one year. He primarily plays bass clarinet but also plays the clarinet for other ensembles.
Ford is a standout in the classroom, as well. He is a three-year academic letterman and ended the first semester this year with a 3.63 GPA. He is signed and committed to Baker University next year to bowl and participate in their inaugural season of marching band and the pep band, and he will play in multiple other musical ensembles. Carson plans to major in Music Education, with an end goal of making a career as a band director, either at the high school level or collegiately. Ideally, he would love to one day return to Heights to help lead the marching band.
