About Team USAIf you polish your bowling skills to a very high level through USBC leagues, tournaments and coaching, you could earn a spot on USBC’s Team USA, an elite group of top American men and women amateur and professional athletes who represent the U.S. in international bowling competition.Team USA competes in several prestigious events all over the world, such as the Pan American Games, World and American Zone Championships, World Games, QubicaAMF World Cup and others.In addition, Team USA members are among the most visible ambassadors for the sport of bowling, making public appearances and providing bowling instruction throughout the year. The sport’s leaders continue to work hard toward their goal of adding bowling to the list of sports at the Olympic Games.
USBC Team USA is comprised of a minimum of 10 men and 10 women from the amateur and professional bowling ranks. The top three men and women athletes earn automatic team berths based on their performances at the annual USBC Team USA Trials, a grueling tournament consisting of four 9-game blocks over four days on four different and challenging lane oil patterns. Two more men and women are chosen from the field by the National Selection Committee after an extensive analysis of their physical and mental games as well as their past performances and team play abilities. A minimum of five professional bowlers are selected from the Lumber Liquidators Professional Bowlers Association Tour, and women athletes are chosen from the former women’s professional tour or past Team USA squads.If you make USBC Team USA, the thrill of representing the United States in international competition can be the experience of your lifetime!Read More
HistoryIn 1961, the United States became a member of the Federation Internationale des Quilleurs, recognized since 1979 as bowling’s worldwide governing body by the International Olympic Committee.The U.S. made its official international debut in the 1963 FIQ World Championships in Mexico, dominating the competition by winning seven out of a possible eight gold medals.The U.S. Team Trials—predecessor to the USBC Team USA Trials—began in 1971 and were held every other year until 1985, bringing together top amateur and leading collegiate bowlers to determine competitors in FIQ and other international events.In 1989, a flourishing U.S. national bowling program necessitated the founding of a national governing body known as the United States Tenpin Bowling Federation, which later changed its name to USA Bowling. Governed by a 12-member board which included three athletes, USA Bowling enjoyed recognition as the sport’s governing body in the United States by the U.S. Olympic Committee and the FIQ.USA Bowling coordinated all amateur international competition promoted by USOC or FIQ and conducted the National Amateur Championships. It also pioneered instruction and coaching programs to help bowlers sharpen their skills.During the late 1980s and early 1990s, two figures became legendary for their efforts to place bowling in the global spotlight – Jerry Koenig and Fred Borden.In 1987, Jerry Koenig was the guiding force in achieving medal status for bowling in the Pan American Games, serving as administrative coordinator for bowling’s participation as an exhibition sport in the Olympic Games in South Korea.Meanwhile, Fred Borden guided the national amateur team to international prominence as the heart and soul of Team USA.Among the highlights of Borden’s years as Team USA head coach is the 1991 Pan American Games in Havana, Cuba, when Cuban leader Fidel Castro visited the competition as a spectator. Perhaps as an intimidation factor, Castro showed up at the bowling center with his entourage just before the competition. After Patrick Healey Jr. rolled an important strike, Borden turned toward Castro and shook his fist in the air. Team USA won gold medals in the men’s and women’s team event and Healey captured the men’s individual event gold medal.“We dominated the Pan Am Games that year,” Borden said. “Fidel Castro had to salute the American flag. There’s nothing more rewarding than seeing your athletes on the medal stand as they’re playing the National Anthem.”One student of Borden’s who knows something about the medal stand is Diandra Asbaty, a two-time U.S. Amateur champion and 10-time Team USA member generally regarded as one of the best female bowlers in the world. Asbaty won four medals, including the Masters gold medal, at the 2003 World Championships in Malaysia.“It was Fred Borden’s last tournament as our coach and everyone felt that they wanted to pay tribute to him by performing the best we could,” Asbaty said. “To me, the biggest tournament in the world is the World Championships and to have such a great showing in a country where bowling is really respected was incredible.”As part of Team USA’s history, Borden and Asbaty know first hand how integral coaching was to the success of Team USA and USA Bowling.Though Borden will be remembered for leading Team USA to success, his name also is synonymous with USA Bowling Coaching (now known as USBC Coaching).A visionary leader in the bowling industry, Borden developed and authored the USA Bowling Coaching program’s core cirriculum, the only bowling coaching program recognized by the United States Olympic Committee. USA Bowling Coaching soon blossomed into a complete program that trains and certifies quality coaches for bowlers of all ages and abilities.Borden’s work greatly improved the pool of competitive bowlers in the United States and continues to have a profound influence across all levels of bowling throughout the world. Several Team USA members are following Borden’s example and serve as USBC-certified coaches at different levels. For them, USBC Coaching not only prepares the next level of elite athletes to climb the ranks but also to continue the growth of bowling as a lifetime sport.In 2006, Borden was by joined by Bill Hoffman and Lynda Barnes in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to help train Brazilian coaches and prospective athletes for the 2007 Pan American Games.“We recognize the Brazil Bowling Confederation’s efforts to keep bowling as a sport in the Pan American Games, and we were thrilled to assist in the sport’s growth there,” USBC Chief Officer of National Governing Body Kevin Dornberger said. “One way to ensure continued growth is through coaching, and we were honored to be a part of bowling’s rising popularity in Brazil and throughout Latin America.”The Team USA contingent also assisted the Brazilian junior team in preparation for the 2006 American Zone Youth Championships in Mexico. It paid off in a remarkable silver medal in the boys’ team event. Growing the sport in other countries, particularly in Central and South America, promises greater notoriety for bowling in the years to come.With 92 countries represented at the 2006 QubicaAMF World Cup, international support for sending competitors to the showcase demonstrates bowling’s potential as an Olympic sport. Each year, the World Cup brings together more countries than any other tournament on the calendar, proving that the international sports community is strongly interested in bowling.In addition to the countries with established bowling programs that appear in international competition on a regular basis, other countries with fledgling programs such as Ethiopia, Kazakhstan, India and Uzbekistan also competed at the World Cup. More than 100 million people bowl worldwide, of which more than 10 million take part in tournaments, leagues and championships.Olympic-sport status or not, one perk enjoyed by Team USA members is the annual trip to the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., for training camp. While days at the Olympic Training Center are long and the practice sessions grueling, the classroom meetings are informative and the bonding time is entertaining. The “team” is put into Team USA – a team that stands for honor, for pride and for country.“Team USA gives me the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest players and coaches in the world,” said Lynda Barnes, wife of Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour star Chris Barnes and mother of twins Ryan and Troy. “It makes me a better person, player, mom and teammate.”Read More
Contact UsHave a question about USBC Team USA? We’re here to help you. Feel free to contact us anytime.David Garber, Team USA High Performance Director

Team USA TrialsTeam USA Trials
2009 PABCON Adult Championships2009 PABCON Adult Championships
2009 WTBA World Women's Championships2009 WTBA World Women's Championships
Junior Team USA
Junior Team USA brings together the greatest assemblage of talent to be found in the ranks of youth bowlers in the country. Recently, the team continued it stradition of success when it dominated Masters match play Saturday, sweeping the boys and girls gold and silver medals while also taking a boys bronze at the 2009 Pan American Bowling Confederation Youth Championships.
Kristie Petravich of West Palm Beach, Fla., defeated Christine Bator of Warren, Mich., 2-0, to take the girls title, while Jake Peters of Decatur, Ill., beat Daniel Spink of St. Louis, Mo., 2-1, to take the boys gold medal.
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Team USA
The Team USA program – initiated by ABC and WIBC to replace the U.S. Team Trials – was started to fulfill ABC constitutional requirements calling for a national amateur championship. The first national championship was held in 1986. Dan Nadeau of Las Vegas and Cora Fiebig of Madison Heights, Mich., were the first men’s and women’s national amateur champions, respectively.
Two years later, the U.S. competed in the Olympic Games in South Korea as an exhibition sport.This year’s Team USA brings together arguably the most talented crop of bowlers ever assembled. Walter Ray Williams Jr. will represent the country at the QubicaAMF World Cup and heads a group that includes Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour standouts like Wes Malott, Chris Barnes, Patrick Allen, Bill O’Neill, Tommy Jones and Rhino Page, a group that collectively holds 90 Lumber Liquidator’s PBA Tour titles.
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Selection ProceduresWant to know what it takes to earn a spot on USBC Team USA and Junior Team USA? Check out the official selection procedures.
American Zone Ranking Rules2007 Rankings – Men




Diandra AsbatyResides:
Chicago



Carolyn Dorin-BallardResides:
Keller, Texas



Chris BarnesResides:
Double Oak, Texas



Lynda BarnesResides:
Double Oak, Texas


Nathan BohrResides:
Wichita, Kan.


David HaynesResides:
Las Vegas



Liz JohnsonResides:
Cheektowaga, N.Y.






Kim Terrell-KearneyResides:
Dover, Del.


Wendy MacphersonResides:
Henderson, Nev.



Wes MalottResides:
Pflugerville, Texas



Stefanie Nation
Despite winning a title in her debut appearance on a PBA Women’s Series telecast and making two additional telecasts later in the same season, something was still missing for Stefanie Nation—something that only Team USA could help her regain.
“The biggest thing for me was going from team to individual bowling. The only person you have to rely on is yourself,” Nation says of her transition from collegiate bowling at the University of Central Florida, where the Striking Knights fell just short of a national title in 2006 when they lost to Lindenwood in the title match, to bowling professionally.
“I am so excited to bowl the Women’s World Championship, knowing that there are people behind me that are going to pick me up no matter what happens. When you’re out there alone it’s just you, there’s nobody there to pick you up on things like missed spares.”
As much as Nation may have grown to value a team ethic at UCF, though, nothing instills Nation with a sense of something bigger than herself more powerfully than bowling with Team USA.
“I just got chills thinking about it,” Nation says. “It is such a sense of pride to know that there are millions at home that we are representing, and that when we win medals, the country wins medals. It is not about us—it is about bowling.”
The country won another medal on Nation’s watch recently when she took home the gold in the singles event of the 2009 Women’s World Championships on July 30, 2009.
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Shannon O'Keefe
By now, many are aware of Shannon O’Keefe’s achievements as a Gold-Medalist at the 2007 Women’s World Championships and a five-time member of Team USA. What few people may know, though, is that the origin of those achievements is found in one of the most unlikely places imaginable—a pair of shoes.
The daughter of a former professional bowler, it was not until O’Keefe turned 16 that she first decided to join her brother on the lanes as her body began to suffer the consequences of a determined softball career in which, at just 15 years old, she finished among the top 160 at the 1996 U.S. Olympic softball team trials.
“My Dad took me to Dick’s Sporting Goods and got me a teal plastic ball, and then I looked up and saw this pair of white Lind’s shoes with a teal toe,” Shannon explains.
“I am not spending $150 just so you can look cute in a sport you’re not even good at,” her father said.
“That was all I needed,” Shannon reflects years later. “As soon as you tell me I can’t do something, I will work at it until I prove you wrong.”
Though Shannon’s father surely considers himself proven wrong by now, Shannon aims to prove much more, seeking to “win all the majors,” a goal inspired after she finished as runner-up at the 2007 Women’s U.S. Open in Reno. As for the father who once dared to doubt her?
“He is one of my best friends,” Shannon says. “He has been with me on this journey from day one. To have somebody in your corner with you like that, I am very blessed.”
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Bill O'NeillResides:
Southampton, Pa.


Rhino Page
By the time Rhino Page gathered his ball to set up for one more strike after throwing the front 11 on TV at the 2009 Japan Cup, he had no idea that he was throwing one short for $100,000.
“My jaw dropped when they told me I had won that money,” Page recalls of the aftermath of bowling the first-ever televised 300 game in Japan Cup History. But even the thrill of holding a $100,000 check with his name on it does not rival the excitement Rhino anticipates as he prepares to bowl with Team USA for the sixth time.
“Money and PBA titles are great,” Rhino concedes, “but when you’re in a foreign country and you have ‘USA’ on your back and you’re on that gold medal stand, you feel so much pride.”
After making history at the Japan Cup and recording the most sensational rookie year in the 50 years of the PBA’s existence in the 2007-2008 season, there is a lot to be proud of in Rhino’s life these days. For all the accolades on his resume, though, one of his proudest achievements has nothing to do with bowling.
A feisty youth bowler who was hotly competitive in everything he did—“even if it was a simple card game,” Rhino says—Rhino worked as hard to become a great bowler as he did to become a great person, struggling to soften a temper that provoked his parents to withdraw him from a junior tournament mid-match for kicking a ball return.
“I had such a bad temper as a kid. It had to do with that competitiveness. When things don’t go your way you don’t know how to deal with it,” Rhino says.
“It is easy to learn how to win, but not so easy to learn how to lose.”
With talent such as all-time PBA titlist Walter Ray Williams, Jr. and reigning PBA Player of the Year Wes Malott in his corner on Team USA this year, though, losing is likely the last thing on Rhino Page’s mind.
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Tim PfeiferResides:
Cranberry Township, Pa.

Shannon PluhowskyResides:
Phoenix

Cassidy SchaubResides:
Euless, Texas

John SzczerbinskiResides:
Wichita, Kan.



Walter Ray Williams Jr.Resides:
Ocala, Fla.
Christine BatorHometown:
Warren, Mich.
Brent BowersHometown:
Mulvane, Kan.
Jennifer BoisselleHometown:
Brandon, Fla.
Jessica EarnestHometown:
Vandalia, Ill.
Josie EarnestHometown:
Vandalia, Ill.
Dayna GalganskiHometown:
Palm Beach, Fla.
Brittni HamiltonHometown:
Webster, N.Y.
Paul HoganHometown:
Manteca, Calif.
Andrew KoffHometown:
Miami
Jarret MizoHometown:
Honolulu
Jake PetersHometown:
Decatur, Ill.
Kristie PetravichHometown:
West Palm Beach, Fla.
Tim PfeiferHometown:
Cranberry Township, Pa.
Chris PiersonHometown:
Waukesha, Wis.
Angela ReynoldsHometown:
Shickshinny, Pa.
Daniel SpinkHometown:
St. Louis, Mo.
John SzczerbinskiHometown:
North Tonawanda, N.Y.
Kim YioulosHometown:
Rochester, N.Y.
Geoffrey YoungHometown:
Denton, Texas
Del Ballard Jr.Stats
Derek EoffStats
Bill HoffmanStatsYears on Team USA (9):1999 - 2004, 2006 - 2008Team USA
Steve KloempkenStats
David GarberStats