The bowling community lost one of the area's great youth coaches Saturday morning.
I met Colleen Becker just over 15 years ago. I was subbing quite a bit in a Thursday morning scratch league at Mission Hills Bowl. She was a student at UCLA, a mom going back to school to get her degree and teaching credential. We were the two youngest people in the building those mornings by probably 30 or more years. I was a copy editor, and I remember proofreading the papers she was in the process of writing. We'd bowl, and she'd willingly go over to Chuck E. Cheese while my son Michael would bounce from game to game we'd talk about bowling, or City of San Fernando politics, or whatever just to kill time.
We bowled women's travel together for awhile, and as bowlers often do, my family settled at another couple of centers in Valley. A few years ago, she joined the Sport trios at Corbin where Mario was bowling, and after league, we'd often go out for "pancakes." As my daughter got to school age, sadly the after bowling breakfasts became the rare treat for the holiday breaks and summers.
Colleen was working her way through the USBC coaching certifications, and she asked if she could join us at Rocket to coach the kids. It was a fairly small program, but I welcomed her down. Since I took on the little kids still on the bumpers, and my husband had the high school and college set, she rolled up her sleeves and took on the squirrelliest ones--the junior high kids. Somehow she reached them. Her daughters were grown, and yet she returned week after week to work with the kids. And when we needed an adult bowler to match up with a stray kid in the adult/junior leagues, she'd bowl. She never cared which kid, or what they'd average, she just volunteered to be their partner.
When I had to make a very difficult decision to move the youth coaching program to a different center, Colleen presented it back to me as a no brainer. She was going where I went, no questions asked. It wasn't about us as the coaches, but what was in the best interest of the kids.
No matter where the kids were bowling, if Colleen could swing it, she'd go. Without Colleen's limousine services, there would be kids each year that couldn't travel to Pepsi. It didn't seem to matter if the center was 60 miles away, or even if the youth coordinator (me) managed to choose the first morning of Daylight Savings Time and the 9 am squad--in Bakersfield. She'd cheerfully pull up at 6:30 AM in the dark, load up, and drive off with a carload of teens. Or at City Tournament, she'd arrive a squad earlier than her scheduled time or stay a squad later to see how the kids were doing. She was there as my daughter and her best friend took their division in doubles last month.
When the distances got too much, like when the kids were bowling the far flung reaches of the country for Jr Gold, she'd root from home. My son Michael got a good amount of ribbing from Colleen after being asked to blog for USBC during the Gold tournaments, only to spend more time on all the great local food at the restaurants he found than how he bowled. I honestly believe Colleen was the only nonrelative to read the blog over the entire week and actually ask for updates.
Along with her bowling, she was very proud of that UCLA pride. And as the kids have started graduating and moving on to college, she took a certain pride in the ones who chose UCLA (and the ones who favored USC were in for a ribbing). She had the grace of considering my son an honorary Bruin, because while he was accepted to UCLA, he followed his heart to another university. I know it made her proud when he said he decided to get his teaching credential in Math.
There weren't many people who could out talk me on the issues--especially not between my two favorite organizations to be frustrated with--LAUSD and USBC. But Colleen and I could vent our frustrations, and go far beyond the black and white into all the nuances that made simple answers difficult. I'd post in a variety of message board forums, and right behind me, she'd post, backing up my often unpopular perspectives.
The bowling world won't be the same without her. Colleen, you were one of a kind, and I'll genuinely miss you.
Angel, beautifully said and thank you for sharing Coach Colleen with your memories. I and my daughters were blessed with her mentoring and friendship throughout the years. She had a way to get through to my girls whether it be bowling, school projects or just simple hormone handlement. I will forever remember her smile and each time my girls throw a ball down a lane, I will see her smiling face. She will be missed and we loved her dearly. We were blessed if even for a short time in having Coach Colleen in our lives.
Posted by: Ellen Shearin at April 8, 2009 11:09 AM