Josh McCart excels on-and-off the lane

Zoe Deno
Staff Writer

Bowling is a way of life for Hudson Valley athlete Josh McCart.

“Bowling is a sport you can start when you are 8 and play until you are 80, you can play your entire life,” McCart said, adding that in a lot of other sports, you can only play in youth because of the damage that can be done to the body.

McCart first held a bowling ball when he was 5 years old. His father bowled regularly and had wanted to share his sport with his son. It did not take long for McCart to become an avid bowler. McCart bowled for his Hoosick falls middle and high school teams. He also was apart of a few leagues in other local bowling alleys.

McCart had his eyes set on something bigger though. “I have wanted to bowl in college ever since I was young,” said McCart.

He picked Hudson Valley partly because of it’s bowling team. “I have known Coach Press for a while because he used to bowle in a league with my father. He always talked about how great the team was,” he said.

McCart’s first season did not go very well and he said he struggled. Finally having achieved one of his childhood goals, Mccart found himself missing bowling pins and struggling with the technique of his throw.

“I think I put too much pressure on myself last year. It was my first semester bowling in college and I was nervous,” said McCart.
It was not only McCart who struggled last semester. The bowling team was short three players. They had just enough people to play in tournaments, however it left them at a serious disadvantage because most teams they played against had a full team.

McCart took the summer following his freshman year of college level bowling off to clear his head. “I decided to try to focus more on having fun this year. I think it helped,” he said.

McCart said that this year has been his best year bowling. The following fall semester after McCart’s hiatus, Hudson Valley had a full team of bowlers.

“Our team is doing well this year,” said McCart. “Our team is really close. Everyone gets along, it is kind of like a second family. I’ve bowled against a few of the people on my team when I was in high school and now we are teammates which is cool to see them from a different side.”

“I think we are going to go pretty far this year,” McCart said.

McCart says that this will probably be his final season bowling on a college team. He has always put his academics first and has worked hard to maintain a 4.0 GPA so he can achieve his dream of going to UAlbany to finish studying Business. Unfortunately, UAlbany does not have a bowling team.

McCart is not totally done bowling after Hudson Valley. He will still bowl for leagues at his local bowling alleys. McCart said that bowling has taught him how to deal with minor inconveniences like this.

“Bowling is kind of like life. It is not fair sometimes. Sometimes you can throw a good shot and still not get a strike,” McCart said, “You just have to take the spare and keep moving forward.”