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HERE AT MIDWAY LANES, WE'RE PROUD OF THE JUNIOR BOWLING FAMILY WE HAVE ACQUIRED THROUGHOUT OUR MANY YEARS. MANY OF OUR COACHES HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH OUR JUNIOR BOWLING PROGRAM FOR OVER A DECADE AND NOT ONLY THEIR FAMILIES, BUT THE FAMILIES OF THOSE THAT HAVE STARTED HERE AND CONTINUE TO BRING THEIR FUTURE GENERATIONS, HAVE SPENT MANY DAYS OF THEIR LIVES ENJOYING MIDWAY LANES BOWLING FACILITIES. WE OFFER JUNIOR LEAGUES RANGING BETWEEN 4-18 YEARS OF AGE AND ALL EXPERIENCE LEVELS. GIVE US A CALL AT 607-729-3538 SO WE CAN HELP YOU FIND THE PERFECT LEAGUE FOR YOUR JUNIOR BOWLER AT THE PLACE WHERE WE MAKE BOWLING FUN!
Our Coaches
Barb
Ziska
Donna
Dean
Ed
Peterson
John
Sponable
Kelly
Cowan
Jesse
Cowan
Mike Dotson
Pete
Olevano
Diana Nelson
Chuck Robinson
Dave Palmer
Barb Ziska
A little bit about
Barb Ziska has been actively involved with youth bowling for over 50 years, starting at Ideal Lanes in Endicott. Married for 55 years and raising five children all of which were involved in programs at various arenas across the board. To further the youth program, Barb, alongside Dolly Honnick, Helen Cargill, and Anne Merritt, formed a 4-year-old league in 1985 to enable the younger siblings of the youth bowlers to engage in the sport while the older ones bowled in their own leagues!! At Ideal Lanes, Barb “graduated” from Coach to Co-Director with Sharon Nicholas (of blessed memory, 2000). Barb then became sole Director until 2010.
Upon receiving the Head Coach position at Union-Endicott High School in 2007, she coached the Girls’ and Boys’ JV and Varsity bowling teams for 16 years and oversaw many winning teams in STAC, Section IV, and ultimately, a State Championship in 2009 for the UEHS Girls’ Team.
She served on the Southern Tier USBC Board of Directors as a Youth Director for over 40 years, bringing many branches of the bowling community together, which remains this way to this day. Barb retired from the board 3 years ago after working with many fabulous people who played integral roles in advancing the youth bowling programs to the Southern Tier and beyond; so many names, and so much talent.
Barb has made many impressive accomplishments throughout her time in the bowling community. On June 16, 1996, she was inducted into the STYBA Hall of Fame. Following that, on June 11 of 2011, she was presented with the Women’s Bowling Association Service to Youth Award from the Southern Tier USBC at the NYS USBC in Syracuse, NY. She also held the titles of Southern Tier Athletic Conference Coordinator, and Section IV Girls’ Bowling Coordinator along with the Section IV Boys’ Coordinator, Rick Raychel, in which she retired in 2022.
For the past ten years, Barb has been the Director of Youth Bowling at Midway Lanes where she works with all of the coaches, from bumpers to high schoolers. She loves every minute of it – from gutterballs to hugs. As Barb says, “there is no child too difficult, only praise and smiles.”
Ed peterson
A little bit about
Ed Peterson got involved with bowling at the age of 13, working at the lanes where his parents bowled in Ohio. Their passion encouraged him to pursue the sport and he's been doing it ever since.
His game greatly improved when he relocated to the Johnson City area in September 1986. His first sanctioned 300 was on November 19, 1989. Today, his highest career season average is 225.
Ed has bowled in many local tournaments, winning the Press Doubles championship with John Sponable in 2007. He has also bowled in 32 consecutive USBC National Championships and has competed in the National Senior Olympics accumulating gold, silver and bronze medals over the last 20 years.
You can find Ed at Midway Lanes every Saturday morning, coaching our junior bowlers for the past 21 years. He's also a very proud father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Pete Olevano
A little bit about
Pete has bowled locally in adult leagues for over 50 years and has achieved a composite average of 200+. He has thrown five 300 games, four of which were sanctioned and one was rejected by the ABC governing body.
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He was inducted into the STBA Hall of Fame and became a member of the STUSBC Hall of Fame when the merger occured. Certified as a Level One and Level Two youth bowling coach, Pete is definitely here to help our local youth achieve their bowling goals.
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In 2023, Pete completed his 39th year as a youth bowling coach. He started his coaching career at Riverhouse Lanes and then moved to Midway Lanes when Riverhouse Lanes closed.
JOHN SPONABLE
A little bit about
John has been involved with bowling for 62 years and is currently a USBC Bronze Level coach.You can be sure he knows what he is doing and the best ways to help your child(ren) learn the incredible sport of bowling.
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Currently a PBA member, John's other achievements are also notable; NYS USBC Senior Champion, NSGA Gold Metal winner, NYS Senior Games Gold Medal winner, member of the STNY USBC Hall of Fame, owns 30 consecutive USBC Open championships and has even coached for the Greene Central High School bowling program.
diana nelson
A little bit about
Diana has been bowling since the age of 11 and has been bowling for over 30 years. She has been coaching youth bowling for a number of years.
She coached youth bowling (6-10 year olds) for 12 years.
She coached local high school bowling for 4 years.
She has been coaching youth bowling (4-6 year olds) here at Midway Lanes for the past 2 years.
dave palmer
A little bit about
Dave has been bowling since he was 14 years old and grew to love the sport. He's now been bowling for over 40 years and sharing his experience with the local youth, including his own children.
Dave's bowled in more leagues than he can count and has been coaching youth bowling for over 7 years. Dave has also earned the title of "Resident Holiday Czar" for our youth program and never disappoints.
donna dean
A little bit about
Donna started her bowling career in the 4th grade. She progressed on to bowl on the UE JV Team in 8th grade. The UE Varsity team was her home from 10th thru 12th grade, with 3 consecutive years going to States in Buffalo, Plattsburgh and Syracuse. Her bowling continued on with memberships in adult leagues with various southern tier bowlers as team members. She is presently the Assistant Coordinator of the Youth Leagues here at Midway Lanes and has been working with our youth for over 10 years. She has proudly volunteered to help the UE Bowling Team for the past 11 years. Her management skills have helped the UE Team in various fundraisers, including teaming up with volunteers for the Dick's Open for 4 years. Her devotion to the sport has encompassed many facets of the bowling community. From helping the "little ones" to joking with the "mature" ones, Donna is a wonderful example of teamwork and spirit and we are proud to have her on our team.
A little bit about
Mike dotson
Mike has been coaching youth bowling for over 35 years. He has bowled (16) 300 games and (7) 800 series with his most recent 300 being in 2024 and most recent 800 being in 2022. He has coached at a number of local centers over the years and has planted his feet with us here at Midway Lanes.
A little bit about
chuck robinson
Chuck started bowling at the young age of 5 years old and is a newer addition to our coaching team. Chuck joined us last year and has proven himself to be a great addition.
Currently, Chuck is in charge of our Youth Bumpers League (Ages 4-6).
A little bit about
kelly & jesse cowan
Kelly & Jesse Cowan are Midway Lanes youth Bowling Madness (Ages 7-9) Coaches.
Their message to parents & youth bowlers:
We are going to help provide your child(ren) with the basic knowledge of learning bowling etiquette, throwing the ball, and working together while having FUN and meeting new friends. We have been coaching going on 4 years now. We started coaching when our daughter Lilianna joined the youth program. I, Coach Kelly have bowled since I was a young child. I've bowled on Saturday morning leagues and also bowled for my High School Team. Coach Jesse just started to become more actively engaged in bowling over the last 5 years or so and we both absolutely love helping children and having fun while we do it. We hope that you enjoy yourselves and have a good time learning and having fun! Any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to ask.
youth LEAGUE
BOWLING
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