Northwest Las Vegas boy, 9, racks up wins and plans to bowl professionally
Sebastian Huffman is 9 and weighs 85 pounds, but he’s making noise in youth bowling circles and has beaten some high-schoolers.
He was named bowler of the year for his age group last fall in West Virginia. Sebastian moved to northwest Las Vegas with his family in March, after his mother’s job transfer.
Sounding like an Academy Award winner, he thanked his former coach and Suburban Lanes in Morgantown, West Virginia, saying solemnly, “They led me a long way.”
He has joined the Red Rock Warriors league, which bowls at Red Rock Resort, 11011 W. Charleston Blvd. His next event is the Junior Bowlers Tour Mojave Region Tournament/Qualifier at 1 p.m. May 13 at Gold Coast Lanes, 4000 W. Flamingo Road. Visit juniorbowlerstour.com for more information.
If he places in the top 10, he will qualify for the JBT (Junior Bowlers Tour) Mojave Invitational, set for 9:30 a.m. May 14 at Gold Coast Lanes. Call JBT at 480-728-9299 or the Gold Coast at 702-367-7111.
His parents, Benjamin and Debbie, introduced him to the sport at a young age at Emerson Lanes in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The family has pictures of him trying to push the ball.
”I was 2 years old and my dad helped me roll the ball down the lane,” he said.
Sebastian got his first bowling ball at 6. It was blue, gray and black and had his nickname, Sebass (pronounced like the fish), engraved on it.
“Every day after school, he’d say, ‘I want to go bowling, I want to go bowling,’” recalled his father. “So we’d go bowling. He’d bowl 10 to 12 games, as much as he could.”
Sebastian’s parents opted to use a slow-grow approach when moving up to heavier balls so their son’s body endured less stress. Sebastian’s current ball weighs 13 pounds.
A normal score for Sebastian is 182. His highest is 269. He’d like to hit 300, a perfect game, to become the youngest boy to do so, before his birthday in July.
He joined his first league at 6 and got coaching, increasing his average score by 29 pins. It earned him his league’s Most Improved Average award.
His parents took him to Maine when he was 8 to attend a Brunswick Mini Camp. There, he trained under Sean Rash, Parker Bohn III, Ryan Ciminelliand other Team Brunswick professional bowlers.
“I’m definitely going to be in the (Professional Bowlers Association). This is going to be my career,” Sebastian said. “I was, like, 7 or 8 when I decided that.”
In Las Vegas, Gary Oatis is one of his PBA coaches. Oatis recalled his first time working with Sebastian.
“He was like a sponge understanding how he needed to adapt to the lane conditions. Very coachable indeed,” Oatis said. “As a testament, his first game was 110; then I coached him halfway through the second: 147. Last game he shot 211 with basically a slight lineup adjustment and ball change suggested by me. No fussing … he just performed.”
Sebastian has earned nearly $2,000 in scholarship money through the United States Bowling Congress. He can access it once he graduates high school.
Sebastian had a traumatic birth. The first year of his life, he was sick a lot and had to undergo numerous tests. Doctors learned his sinuses were blocked — likely crushed during birth. Once that was addressed, Sebastian’s health improved drastically.
“The turnaround was almost immediate,” Benjamin said. “You could see the oxygen getting to his face and everything.”
Sebastian placed second in the third round and sixth overall in the inaugural Storm Youth Championships March 24-26 at the National Bowling Stadium in Reno. It happened while they were in the process of moving to Las Vegas. The family had to drive cross country, drop off possessions at their new home, then drive up to Reno for the three-day tournament. Sebastian took fifth in the elimination challenge, which was open to all ages.
Sebastian qualified for Junior Gold 2017 by winning a qualifier in Pittsburgh.
“He ended up beating everyone in the house that day except for one 20-year-old who beat him by 10 pins,” Benjamin said. “I was just happy he qualified.”
The Junior Golds are in Cleveland this year, along with the USBC Open in July. Sebastian plans to compete in both tournaments.
For all his time at the alley, his parents insist their son is “still a kid.” They say he has time with his friends, enjoys basketball and flag football and takes self-defense classes.
“If we could just improve his eating habits,” Benjamin said. “He’s at a bowling alley (a lot) so what’s that, fried foods and hot dogs? I force him to go sushi once in a while, have some edamame.”
For more information about the Gold Coast event, call 702-367-7111.
Contact Jan Hogan at jhogan@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2949.