COLUMBUS — The parking lot at Event Zona/Golden Triangle Lanes in Columbus was relatively empty aside from a few buses parked outside the front entrance.
Inside, Starkville High School hosted Neshoba Central in its first bowling match of the new year on a night where the overcast skies gave way to a constant downpour.
The only thunder, however, that could be heard inside GT Lanes was from bowling balls hitting bowling pins, a sound that evokes pure joy or utter disappointment depending on the number and placement of pins left standing.
Standing in the middle of the lanes watching his bowlers was second-year head coach Kelvin Stanfield, a 20-year military veteran who took over the head coaching role at Starkville on a whim.
“No, this wasn’t our best day today,” Stansfield chuckled. “… We didn’t practice over winter break and I know they didn’t practice on their own.”
Starkville ended up falling short to Neshoba Central on Jan. 8, but wins and losses aren’t how Stanfield is measuring his team right now..
“Winning titles is going to be a long-term goal because (of) the travel time for practice and things like that,” Stanfield said. “Right now, it’s about getting them to that point where we can build toward a state championship team, and we have the potential to do it.”
Starkville’s bowling program began in 2006 as Jim Philamlee, with support from administration, built the program from the bottom up.
“I saw the need there at the high school,” Philamlee said. “I talked to a few people who ended up becoming my assistant coaches and they thought it was a good idea. The athletic director at the time, Stan Miller, was all for it. … I thought it would be good to keep the kids busy. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”
The timing was perfect as Bulldog Lanes, a 22-lane center on Highway 12 not even a mile away from the high school, was just a year or so into operation.
That convenience only lasted for a decade or so, with the alley closing in January 2015, forcing everyone to revert back to GT Lanes in Columbus.
At this time, the Jackets were finding success and garnering plenty of student interest in the process. Yellow Jacket bowling teams won five regional titles and the girls team won a state championship in 2016.
“It was a chore,” Philamlee joked. “… I went to school for coaching and I still coach to this day. That program, those kids – champions. They were champions.”
Now in his 90s, Philamlee has been bowling for nearly seven decades and built up significant relationships with people along the way.
Those relationships, like the one with Storm Bowling, a ball and equipment manufacturer, gave Yellow Jacket bowlers access to professional-quality equipment.
Philamlee retired in 2020 after 15 years coaching the Jackets, but he left the program in good shape for the future.
Right place, right time
It takes Starkville head coach Kelvin Stanfield 45 minutes or so to drive to work from his home in Okolona.
That drive sounds like a lot for someone teaching and coaching in a school district they don’t even live in, but for him, this drive is a breeze compared to those he would take while serving in the U.S. Army.
For more than 20 years, beginning on October 3, 1991, Stanfield served his country, stationed across the world doing so. His love of bowling began during his time in the military, specifically his time stationed in Schweinfurt, Germany.
“It ended up being something we did every day,” Stanfield said. “Every day during lunch, me and my partners would bowl. On the weekend, we bowled with our families. It became a regular thing for us. … We had about an hour for lunch and we would bowl during that time.”
Bowling is a popular pastime for service members. Columbus Air Force base, like many military installations across the globe, has a bowling alley on-site.
Wherever Stanfield traveled, there was a great chance he was finding a place to bowl, and post- retirement, he still bowls with his family, albeit less frequently than he used.
Stanfield began working at Starkville High School in 2019, but didn’t get involved with the athletic department until the 2022-23 school year, when a notice was posted asking if anyone wanted to take over the bowling program.
“It was exciting,” Stanfield said. “I love the game and when I took over, I was like, ‘Wow,’ and then I went from there.”
The fit was perfect, and student interest is as palpable as ever. Stanfield has had to hold tryouts for spots on the team in both his seasons as head coach.
His willingness to take on both inexperienced and experienced bowlers has proved integral for the program, as it’s allowed students to step into leadership roles, becoming coaches in their own right to help out their teammates.
“We don’t have anyone to look up to, so me, as a sophomore, I’m teaching some of my homeboys how to bowl,” sophomore Jolandus Brooks said. “… Starting out, I was bad, but my brother, he helped me. He showed me ways how to bowl and I found my own groove from it.”
Location, location, location
Starkville, now two seasons into the Stanfield era, is looking to build a winner. But getting there is the key, both literally and figuratively. Unlike many bowling programs in the midwest and northeast, where the sport is more popular, Starkville doesn’t have a bowling center to use in its own town.
Mississippi isn’t a particularly bowling-rich state, with roughly 30 bowling centers servicing nearly 3 million people – around one bowling center per 110,000 residents.
Since Bulldog Lanes closed more than eight years ago, the 30-minute trek to Columbus for bowling practices and matches has been the norm; 60 minutes of total travel for 60-90 minutes of bowling practice.
“I love this bowling alley, but it has a lot of lane problems,” Brooks said. “For the most part, it’s really nice. I really grew up in this bowling alley after the one in Starkville shut down.”
Brooks, one of the better bowlers on the boys team, has ties to this program thanks to his brother. His father played the sport too and naturally, the bowling genes trickled down to him and he’s been bowling for the past six years or so.
Beyond finding a place to bowl, even getting and servicing equipment is a challenge for Yellow Jacket bowlers.
GT Lanes services the casual bowler or bowlers with their own equipment, but to find a real pro shop, that’s a 70-minute drive from Starkville to the Depot Family Fun Center in Philadelphia, home of Danny and DJ’s Pro Shop.
“Bowling centers typically thrive in highly populated areas and Mississippi just doesn’t have that,” Richard Whitten, general manager, said. “… There’s just not a ton of big population centers.”
Of the bowling alleys that currently exist in Mississippi, fewer than 10, including the Depot, have a pro shop, meaning one pro shop per 420,000+ residents.
Danny & DJ’s has only operated out of the Depot since November 1, their second location after operating at the Shindig Family Entertainment Center in Tuscaloosa for the past four years.
It’s just one of three pro shops within a 150-mile radius in the tri-state area with Whitten being the only International Bowling Pro Shop & Instructors Association (IBPSIA) certified master technician in the region.
“That’s why we came here,” Whitten said. “… I’m getting customers from Columbus, Starkville, Jackson, Laurel, Meridian. I’m pulling bowlers from 100-150 mile radius. … There have been days where it’s overwhelming, but, been there, done that.”
Starkville worked with Whitten and the Depot this season to provide a ball, bag and shoes to students for a discounted rate of $160, a great introductory offer for a sport with a relatively high financial barrier to entry.
Danny and DJ’s serves a host of schools in Neshoba County and nearby counties, nearly 10 in total, including external orders from schools like Starkville.
“Starkville put in an invoice about 2-3 weeks after we opened, right around the 15th of November,” Whitten said. “It was really quick. … It’s the norm for the pro shops to support the high school kids and give them a break so they can outfit themselves.”
The present and the future
Where Starkville lacks in immediate facilities, it excels in student interest and support, and nothing illustrates that fact more than by looking at this season’s roster.
Last season’s senior class was substantial, and the Jackets came into this season with just a handful of returning bowlers. Stanfield was forced to rebuild young. There are currently no seniors and just one junior among the two varsity teams.
Of the 21 Jackets bowlers, 11 are freshmen and nine are sophomores, an influx of youth that should supply the varsity team with talent for several seasons.
“It’s good right now,” sophomore Trinity Harris said. “We have some new people, but they’re just getting to where we’re at. We’re always trying to teach them to help better us as a team so we can start winning games.”
Harris is a shining example of the growth of this team, coming in as an inexperienced bowler in seventh grade and now helping lead the girls team as a high school sophomore.
Over that four-year span, her scoring average has climbed to around 130, and she bowled a season-high 192 game against Meridian in November.
“When I first started bowling, I didn’t know how to bowl,” Harris said. “I didn’t know what I was doing. I was just out here, trying something new. Now, I know how to bowl. I can hit 200. I’ve improved a lot. … I feel like we can be one of the best teams in Mississippi.”
Behind each lane sits a scoring table where bowlers wait their turn. These bowlers, young men and women new to the sport, share smiles, gossip and laughter, a testament to their genuine enjoyment of a game that’s one of the largest participatory sports in the United States.
On the professional level, the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and subsequent PBA Tour still garners support and television ratings, but a push for more tournaments and higher tournament purses has been ongoing.
Bowling, while not as high profile as team sports like football or individual sports like tennis or track, is one that anyone, at any age or any walk of life, can enjoy.
And so the rebuild continues. Wins aren’t as frequent as they used to be, but the happiness bowling brings to an unlikely group of students in one of the most unlikely locations for bowling certainly is.
“The biggest thing is that they’re engaged,” Stanfield said. “They enjoy the game. … If you come in to play and don’t enjoy the game, it doesn’t work. You have to be willing to learn in order to get better.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
