Kulick went
on to beat Anne Marie Dug- gan and Ten- nelle Milligan to capture her second Queens crown, while Parkin returned to her Fullerton, Calif., home wondering what more she needed to do to win her first major title. “I was devastated for quite
a while,” recalls the 29-year- old Parkin. “It’s awesome to make TV shows, but you also need to be able to win and I hadn’t been able to do that thus far.” Fitting, then, that
redemption came a year later with that very same title at stake. Armed with a
new grip and release, and an all-business approach to the game, Parkin exorcised her 7-10 demons and snagged that elusive pro crown with a 214-189 win over Elysia Current in the final match of the 2011 Queens in Syracuse, N.Y. “Mentally, the loss in
2010 put me down for awhile” Parking says. “But
in the end it made me work harder. And I became a little tougher.” Not that Missy Parkin’s drive has
ever come into question. From 10-year-old bowling prodigy
to teen phenom, from Junior Team USA star to collegiate All-American
and Player of the Year, and from high school honor student to magna cum
laude college graduate, Parkin has al- ways pushed herself to excel. Nor has anyone ever questioned her
toughness or ability to adapt. Parkin’s desire to bowl in the pres-
tigious Greater Los Angeles Junior All Stars prompted the traveling league to adjust its age minimum. When her Cal State Fullerton women’s bowling team disbanded, Parkin simply joined the men’s squad and anchored it to a fourth-place finish in the Intercollegiate Bowling Championships. And when the Women’s Professional Bowl- ing Association Pro Tour folded, Parkin took on Professional Bowlers Tour regional events and the Europe- an Bowling Tour. Still, for
someone who had
achieved so much success
A DEAD RINGER: A teen sensation, Parkin (middle ring) was a fixture on Junior Team USA from 1998 through 2001, winning the first Junior Olympic Gold Championship and getting an opportunity to train with Team USA at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
at such an early age, the seven-year wait between Parkin’s college graduation and her first major pro title seemed like an eternity. “It was a long-awaited victory,” she
admits, “but well worth the wait. And one thing I’ve learned from my bowling career is that the first hurdle is always the toughest. After that, things tend to snowball. I have a lot of confidence now, and every bowler will tell you that the game at this level is mostly mental and all about having confidence.”
THE ROAD MOST TRAVELED As is often the case with someone intel- ligent and driven, Parkin is painfully organized and has taken a systematic
18 USBOWLER JUNE 2011
approach to her bowling career, taking advantage of all the opportunities the game offers along the way. Under the tutelage of her father,
Frank Bellinder, a longtime PBA mem- ber and pro shop owner, Parkin always seemed to be a few steps ahead of the bowling curve. By the age of 10, Parkin was averag-
ing 165 in a scratch traveling league. As a 14-year-old, Parkin rolled a trio of 300 games, each in a different bowling center. The teen sensation was quickly drafted into the Greater Los Angeles Junior All Stars traveling league. Be- cause the league’s minimum age was 15, a special rule was implemented to allow Parkin to compete. In the mostly boys’
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