News

By Ryan Schlehuber, MCC Sportswriter

If it wasn’t for his parents forcing him to play, Ethan Hopkins may have never landed where he is today — a member of the Montcalm Community College Centurions bowling team. 

“Bowling wasn’t one of those things I fell in love with. I wasn’t into it as a kid,” admitted the 21-year-old Fenwick native. “I started it only because my parents told me I had to play a winter sport.” 

It was his freshman year at Central Montcalm High School and he was faced with either playing basketball or getting involved in the club bowling team.  

“My first couple years, I had three friends sign up with me,” Hopkins said. “It was something we could do as friends, a fun thing to do.” 

By his junior year, the love for the sport took over and he began being serious about bowling. 

“I stopped playing baseball that year and I really wanted to start focusing on bowling,” he said. 

After graduating high school, Hopkins wasn’t sure if he’d go to college, but he finally enrolled at MCC. Upon signing up, he noticed the website offered incoming students the chance to participate in a sport. Bowling just happened to be one of the first options. 

“Bowling was the second option on it, and I figure, why not?” Hopkins said. 

Last year was MCC’s first year back in athletics after more than 40 years in hiatus. Hopkins joined a brand-new program, also coming in as practically new, as well. 

“I didn’t have any expectations coming in,” he said. “I never watched college bowling on T.V. or did any research on it. I just wanted to have a good time with it.” 

Last year’s team didn’t have enough to fill the roster, which head coach David Berry had to rely on other MCC athletes — like golfers and trap shooters — to compete in invitationals. With the realization that the team couldn’t compete the way it wanted, Hopkins and his teammates focused on improving their mechanics. 

“We were working to improve but we also approached it as not being too serious with it, but have fun with it,” Hopkins said.  

Berry was excited to add Hopkins to the team as he saw his natural talents on the lanes but also loved his maturity. 

“He’s one of your older sophomores, not straight out of high school, as he had a gap year in between, too,” Berry said. “So that, with his personality, he’s pretty cool.” 

Berry said Hopkins has been a great go-between guy for the team, relating to coaches and players where he can relay what the coaches are trying to explain to players, at times. 

“Sometimes he can help break down what us coaches are trying to relate to the other athletes,” Berry said. “That helps us in many ways.” 

Hopkins said he has truly enjoyed being a part of history with MCC’s new athletics department and being a part of the first year with the bowling team. 

“I think it’s pretty cool,” he said. “We are pretty much setting the standard for the program, especially this year since we have a full team and can truly compete.” 

This year, with a full team, the Centurions men’s bowling team is enjoying some early success, having finished no worse than third place so far, and earning its first-ever first-place finish at the Jackson College Invitational Jan. 17. 

Hopkins said it is the strong bond among players on the team that has made a big difference from last year. 

“We have a few of us that play together in a summer league in Greenville and so we’ve gotten pretty tight,” Hopkins said. “They’re more than just teammates.” 

Hopkins said when the Centurions are “firing on all cylinders,” he is confident his team could finish in the top two of the conference. With the team now headed to nationals, he believes MCC could meet and surpass expectations. 

“I think 19 other colleges are going and so a top seven finish would be awesome and, I think, doable,” he said. “Rock Valley (Iowa) is the team to beat since they’ve won it the last three years so if there’s any chance of outperforming them, that would be fantastic.” 

The experience of this year’s success has given Hopkins more love of the game of bowling than he could ever imagine.  

“You know, I was thinking of that recently, of why I love this game so much, and I just don’t know,” he said. “I just do. I do know I love the fact that I’m better than the average person and it makes me feel great.”