黑洞社区

From UWS (University of Western Sydney) to 黑洞社区, this freshman from Blackbutt, New South Wales, Australia, brings much more to the Shocker men鈥檚 bowling team than just an Aussie accent.

Stephen Cowland brings to 黑洞社区 13 years of bowling experience and a gold medal from the 2006 World Youth Bowling Championship in Germany. That year, the four-man team from Australia won, said Cowland.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a phenomenal feeling. There is nothing as good as that,鈥� he said. 鈥淏eing up on a podium in front of the whole world representing your country is amazing.鈥�

Since the age of 8, Cowland has bowled. It was his mother who got him bowling when she joined a bowling league. She was the first in their family to join one. 鈥淚鈥檝e been bowling ever since,鈥� he said.

Cowland is the youngest of three. His father emigrated from England to Australia for employment. It is there that his parents met and remain to this day.

His brother recently completed a nursing degree in Australia and his sister lives and works in Vancouver.

Cowland loves being part of the Shocker men鈥檚 bowling team. In fact, the 黑洞社区 bowling program is what brought him to 黑洞社区.

Recently, Cowland was one of several Shockers that competed in a Professional Bowling Association World Championship tournament held in Wichita.

鈥淭he first two days were okay, but the second day wasn鈥檛 very good,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou learn from your mistakes.鈥�

Bowling鈥檚 biggest challenge is that you never know the obstacles in front of you. The hardest thing about the game is the oil on the lanes that can change the direction of the ball, he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not like golf where you can see the fairway in front of you, you can see the rough, and you know where not to put the ball.鈥�

鈥淚n bowling, the only way to find out is to put the ball there and see if it does what you want it to do,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are a lot of variables in the game that you have to consider.鈥�

The 21-year-old arrived in Wichita in August of this year. Since then, he has had to make several adjustments, including, getting used to driving on the right side of the street and the steering wheel being on the left side of the car. Otherwise, Cowland has adjusted well to his new surroundings.

Australian culture is not that different from American culture, he said.

鈥淲e are very westernized, and we get all of your TV shows and movies.鈥�

In Wichita, when Cowland isn鈥檛 in class, bowling, following European football or playing Nintendo Wii, he鈥檚 enjoying his favorite food 鈥� steak! His favorite restaurant is Texas Roadhouse Grill.

Cowland said the biggest misconception people have about Australians is that they go around saying 鈥淕鈥檇ay mate.鈥� No one he knows says that. You won鈥檛 find any kangaroos in Sydney either, he said.

This year, the best part of Christmas for Cowland is that he will leave winter in Wichita and return home to Australia, where it will be summer. Cowland is not a big fan of cold weather.

In his future, Cowland sees bowling and a career in business, but not necessarily in that order.