A SPLITTING HEADACHE: Parkin was en route to a major breakthrough at the 2010 USBC Queens when a pocket 7-10 split in the final frame against eventual champion Kelly Kulick ended her dream and tested her resolve.


my game from anyone other than my dad. But we had Fred Borden, Jeri Ed- wards and Palmer Falgren. You listen to those people. “Every time I’d come home from


camp, I’d tell my dad, ‘Let’s go to the bowling center. I want to show you what I learned!’” The Junior Team USA stint also


prepared Parkin for what was a highly successful, albeit unlikely, college bowl- ing career. “Junior Team USA definitely helped


me get ready for college,” she says. “Just learning about team building, how to line up off your teammates to break down the lanes and how to handle pres- sure shots.” At the start, Parkin didn’t want to


league, Parkin simply averaged 200 and helped her squad to the league title. None of which surprised her father. “Unlike my other two daughters


[Dawn and Cindy], Missy was always a great listener,” jokes Frank, whose Preci- sion Pro Shop at Saddleback Lanes in Mission Viejo became Missy’s second home. “She’s very disciplined too, so


she’d come to the pro shop after school and wouldn’t go to the lanes to practice until she finished her homework.” One of the nation’s top junior bowl-


ers, Parkin aspired to be part of the Team USA bowling program. She quali- fied for the Junior Team USA squad in 1998 in style, winning the first Junior Olympic Gold championship, and was a


fixture on the team through 2001. After years of listening only to her


father, the Team USA experience added even more depth to her game. “I got to go to the Olympic Train-


ing Center in Colorado Springs,” she gushes. “It was the first time I had an outsider’s perspective on my game, and the first time I really allowed input into


19 USBOWLER JUNE 2011


bowl in college. She had her sites set on attending UCLA, which has no bowling program. Despite a 4.0-plus grade point average at Rosary High School, Parkin wasn’t accepted at the prestigious state school. Instead, she attended California State-Fullerton, in her backyard, and was coaxed into joining the women’s bowling team. “That was one of the best decisions I


ever made,” Parkin confesses. “College bowling is unlike anything else in bowl- ing. It’s so intense, and your teammates become your very best friends. Some of the best memories I had in college


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