Athlete of the Week is Hewlett bowler Zane Lipson
The 2018 Newsday High School Sports Winter Photo Shoot, with Hewlett High School's Bowling member, Zane Lipson, during the photo shoot at Newsday, Melville. New York, on Monday, December 3, 2018. Credit: Richard T. Slattery
Hewlett’s Zane Lipson developed his love for bowling when he was just a young boy.
He also played soccer and baseball growing up, but it took just one instance to know what the right sport for him was.
“I qualified for Teen Masters when I turned 8,” Lipson said. “After that tournament, I felt like this was something I wanted to do when I got older. For the last nine years, I have been trying to be the best bowler I can be.”
During that time, Lipson has participated in numerous major tournaments and has thrown multiple 300 games in practice and leagues outside of school. The one thing he had yet to accomplish was rolling a perfect game in a regular-season high school match.
That changed Nov. 27, when the senior had a 300 in the third game of a 698 series in the Bulldogs' season-opener against Lawrence. The feat earned him Newsday’s Athlete of the Week honors.
“I struggled in the first game because I was trying to throw overly hard,” Lipson said. “Coming back and shooting 236 and 300 was a big relief. It was really exciting to finally see a 300 of my own in match play.”
When Lipson isn’t bowling for Hewlett, you can probably find him at the local bowling alley attempting to perfect his craft.
“I go down to the lanes usually at least three or four times a week and practice spare shooting, strikes and consistency,” Lipson said. “I want to work on keeping calm and not getting to amped up during the match, as well as improving my footwork.”
Some bowlers hire a personal coach or a trainer to help polish their games, but the only coach for Lipson is his father.
“Since my dad is still a bit better than me and more consistent, it pushes me to do the best I can when I bowl against him,” Lipson said. “Even when he’s not bowling with me I try and imagine that he is, so I throw to the best of my ability.”
Lipson has been bowling on the varsity team at Hewlett since the seventh grade and has had tremendous success during that time. He was one of the top bowlers in Nassau last season and finished ninth in the county with a 203.3 average.
“I want to just keep maintaining a high average and help my team win,” Lipson said. “We have won two county team championships in my high school career, and I would like to win again as a team or win an individual title.”
