Travis Marcus, a graduate assistant for the Siena Heights Saints men’s bowling team, is a former ShU bowler who is looking forward to coaching the Saints this year.

Marcus never started bowling competitively until halfway through his junior year of high school. Marcus mentioned how his friends and family got him into bowling. Marcus said how “my whole family bowled in high school, and I was too stubborn, too. But then my best friend now talked me into joining the team as well as my family.”

Marcus is from South Lyon, Mich., which is a smaller town that is growing in the Detroit metropolitan area.

When Marcus was a child, like the typical child, Marcus would bowl recreationally. When Marcus started bowling he said it was not as smooth sailing as he would have liked.

However, Marcus said he really grew from adversity that he endured when he first joined his high school bowling team. Marcus mentioned how in his first ever season “I averaged 160, and I was not happy with that because I am very competitive. So I practiced everyday in the offseason and then averaged 211 my senior year.”

As a coach, Marcus mentioned how he misses being a player. Marcus said he really misses bowling with his teammates and competing in tournaments. As a player, he said that rying to win a tournament is very difficult. However, Marcus mentioned that “fighting for a spot at sectionals is what makes it worth it in the end.” 

As a coach, Marcus realizes the differences from the coach’s eye rather than just the players eye. As a coach, Marcus has stated that he has learned the different fundamentals of bowling from a coach’s perspective rather than a player’s perspective.

Being a coach is busier than being a player because he said he has to figure out where the team is going to eat and stay overnight and much more outside of the bowling alley.

Marcus stated that his parents really gave him support throughout his years of coaching. This year as a first-year coach, Marcus said he wants to see his players make it to sectionals and win a tournament.

“We have a special team this year, and I’m excited to see how the rest of the year goes,” he said.