Miami Palmetto bowler, after a breakthrough 2019 season, overcomes obstacles to return

First came the pandemic.

Then, it was a bicycle crash.

Miami Palmetto senior Connor Pipho, who finished second in the 2019 state bowling championships, was without his favorite sport for more than three months.

The COVID-19 shut down all local bowling alleys in mid-March. The biking accident happened April 27 when he swerved to avoid “a kid coming out of a driveway”. Pipho used his left hand to break his fall, and that caused a wrist fracture.

Pipho, who had never previously gone more than a few days without bowling since he got serious about the sport at age 10, was finally cleared to return to the lanes June 24.

“I definitely missed bowling,” said Pipho, whose wrist injury did not require surgery. “I was bummed — twice.”

During the early weeks of the pandemic, Pipho trained with an eight-pound medicine ball to keep his forearms strong. Then, when Bird Bowl opened in late June, Pipho returned … until those lanes were closed two weeks later due to another outbreak.

From there, Pipho traveled from Kendall to Fort Lauderdale or wherever he could find an open bowling alley.

“When I got back to bowling, my ball speed was down, and I was unsure on my approach,” said Pipho, who uses five different bowling balls to help him cope with varying lanes conditions. “My rev rate [speed of rotations on the ball] was down.

“But I’m getting back into the groove now.”

It’s a great time for Pipho to find that groove because the district playoffs begin Oct. 28-29, and the state finals are Nov. 4-5.

Pipho, who averaged 208 last year with a high game of 268, won a district title and the 2019 Youth Fair tournament before heading to state.

At state, Pipho bowled a grueling 26 games over two days, performing extremely well with a 218 average.

“I was pretty tired,” said Pipho, who played baseball for 11 years before choosing bowling. “My arm hurt a little.”

Pipho actually beat the eventual state champ, John Watkinson of Palm Bay’s Bayside. But because it was a double-elimination tournament, Pipho, who had lost one match earlier, had to beat Watkinson again … and fell short.

This year, despite many South Florida teams opting out of the state series, Palmetto elected to compete, and Pipho is a big reason why.

“Connor deserves the opportunity to win state,” Palmetto coach Christine Hirth said. “He has worked so hard for four years.”

Pipho bowls two-handed, an unorthodox style made famous by Jason Belmonte, who has been the No. 1 bowler in the world for the past four years.

Hirth, who has been bowling for 30 years and coaching for two decades, had never previously coached a two-handed bowler.

“I had no idea how to help Connor,” said Hirth, who also has another top bowler in junior Eric Veiner, who averaged 178 last year. “But Connor has mastered that style.”

THIS AND THAT

▪ The Krop girls’ team is led by seniors Lindsey Weingard and Sophia Palmeiro. Coach Amy McMillan calls Weingard a “superstar athlete” because she competes in three sports, including basketball and flag football. Palmeiro is the niece of ex-MLB star Rafael Palmeiro.

▪ Senior Jason Gransovsky, who averaged 166 last year, leads a young Krop boys’ team.