Bowling is a fun social activity that allows friends and family to gather and cheer each other on while also enjoying some friendly rivalry. It becomes more competitive when playing in a league or as a school sport, but the social aspect and support is still there and very important to Landyn Sanders.
This senior from Signal Mountain Middle/High School was named “Mr. Bowling” for Division 1 at the State TSSAA Bowling Tournament in January.
Landyn knew going into the tournament that he was one of three finalists, but he expected one of the others to win the award due to academic achievements and community involvement, so he was super surprised to hear his name announced.
It was no surprise to his dad, Matt, who introduced him to the sport as a toddler, nor his coach, Mark Bracher, who’s worked with Landyn since sixth grade.
“Landyn is one of the most dedicated and committed athletes to his sport that I have had the privilege of coaching,” Bracher wrote in the application he submitted for consideration. Bracher coached the bowling program since SMMHS opened in 2008, and he also coaches baseball at another high school.
As his coach for seven years, Bracher said, “I have witnessed his growth as a bowler, a teammate, a student, and a young man.”
Landyn is well known for sharing his passion with others and helping them learn or improve their game of bowling.
“He knows all the names of all the bowlers at Spare Time,” said Georgia Bartlett, a member of Signal’s girls’ bowling team who joined the sport without knowing anything about it soon after moving here a few years ago.
She joined a youth league outside school this past year, where she observed Landyn’s interactions with others outside school. She said he’s eager to cheer teammates and provide tips. While Landyn is a bit shy about praising himself, Georgia isn’t.
“They all love him,” she said, especially the young kids.
Matt Sanders agreed.
“He’s good with children or young adults, always mentoring them. He just has great respect and caring for others. Everybody keeps telling me that I’ve raised a good one,” said the single dad.
The Mr. Bowling award is based not only on bowling skills and achievements but also on academic achievement and service.
At SMMHS, he is a member of the student council, Beta Club, concert band, the after-school tutoring/mentoring program, and serves as a host/volunteer for assorted school dances, fundraisers, and other student spirit activities throughout the year.
His dad introduced Landyn to bowling as a toddler as an activity they could do together. They still bowl together often, and each was looking forward to Landyn being able to join his dad’s adult league after his 18th birthday on March 1.
Because of his skill, Landyn was able to “play up” as an eighth-grader on the high school team and even qualified to play in the State individual bowling tournament that first season. He didn’t do that again until this school year.
However, he did lead his team to its first region championship and first State tournament appearance for Signal Mountain Bowling last school year. That group advanced all the way to a semifinal round before losing to the State title holder. While that was thrilling, Landyn said it didn’t compare to his recent award.
“That’s just the best ever,” he said with a big grin.
This season included other highlights such as bowling the first 300 in a match by a Signal Mountain bowler and doing that at a center where he’d never bowled before (Lawrenceburg). While he officially averaged 208 for this season, beating out the previous record of 205 by Matthew Holliday, his coach noted that Landyn averaged 218 at his home bowling center (Spare Time in Hixson) and averaged 211 for 24 high school games across five other bowling centers in Tennessee.
Landyn, a team captain both last year and this year, also led the 2023-24 team to an undefeated district regular season for only the second time in Signal Mountain bowling history.
“I feel like Landyn has helped put bowling on the map at Signal,” said his dad.
This affable young man has also furthered his bowling career outside of the TSSAA high school experience with play in junior leagues, where he also racked up achievements.
Most notable is that he has qualified the last four years through what’s known as the Tennessee “Road to the Gold” to compete in a huge national tournament called the Junior Gold Championships. He bowls in that one last time this July in Detroit.
Landyn has really enjoyed participating in a youth league due to the family atmosphere among members. One thing that he didn’t know, though, and advises other passionate young bowlers to do, is to join local leagues at an early age and start bowling competitively because one can win money and scholarships for college.
Landyn has committed to Tennessee Wesleyan University to continue his bowling career and looks forward to “learning the different patterns that collegiate (bowling) has.”
His coach said, “Landyn is the rare student that truly studies the sport - understanding lane conditions, ball performance, competitor’s statistics, and home team advantages. Because of Landyn’s vast knowledge in all-things-bowling, it [was] common for me to collaborate with him on important game day decisions or simply to discuss overall observations and prediction outcomes.”
Matt Sanders is thrilled for his son to continue his career at the collegiate level, where he says, “They’ll be able to teach him so much more at the next level.”
Better yet, going to a local college doesn’t mean a big break in Landyn’s relationships with family and friends.
Both Tennessee Wesleyan and Signal’s teams use the same bowling center in Cleveland, so Landyn will be able to see old teammates on occasion. He’ll also be able to continue bowling with his dad, who is committed to remaining as an assistant coach at Signal.
Landyn has worked part time at Spare Time in Hixson for the past two years and will continue working there, so swing by for some free advice and see if bowling might be a hobby or sport for you.
“No one knows how fun it is,” Landyn says, “until they’ve done it.”
by Melissa Barrett
This senior from Signal Mountain Middle/High School was named “Mr. Bowling” for Division 1 at the State TSSAA Bowling Tournament in January.
Landyn knew going into the tournament that he was one of three finalists, but he expected one of the others to win the award due to academic achievements and community involvement, so he was super surprised to hear his name announced.
It was no surprise to his dad, Matt, who introduced him to the sport as a toddler, nor his coach, Mark Bracher, who’s worked with Landyn since sixth grade.
“Landyn is one of the most dedicated and committed athletes to his sport that I have had the privilege of coaching,” Bracher wrote in the application he submitted for consideration. Bracher coached the bowling program since SMMHS opened in 2008, and he also coaches baseball at another high school.
As his coach for seven years, Bracher said, “I have witnessed his growth as a bowler, a teammate, a student, and a young man.”
Landyn is well known for sharing his passion with others and helping them learn or improve their game of bowling.
“He knows all the names of all the bowlers at Spare Time,” said Georgia Bartlett, a member of Signal’s girls’ bowling team who joined the sport without knowing anything about it soon after moving here a few years ago.
She joined a youth league outside school this past year, where she observed Landyn’s interactions with others outside school. She said he’s eager to cheer teammates and provide tips. While Landyn is a bit shy about praising himself, Georgia isn’t.
“They all love him,” she said, especially the young kids.
Matt Sanders agreed.
“He’s good with children or young adults, always mentoring them. He just has great respect and caring for others. Everybody keeps telling me that I’ve raised a good one,” said the single dad.
The Mr. Bowling award is based not only on bowling skills and achievements but also on academic achievement and service.
At SMMHS, he is a member of the student council, Beta Club, concert band, the after-school tutoring/mentoring program, and serves as a host/volunteer for assorted school dances, fundraisers, and other student spirit activities throughout the year.
His dad introduced Landyn to bowling as a toddler as an activity they could do together. They still bowl together often, and each was looking forward to Landyn being able to join his dad’s adult league after his 18th birthday on March 1.
Because of his skill, Landyn was able to “play up” as an eighth-grader on the high school team and even qualified to play in the State individual bowling tournament that first season. He didn’t do that again until this school year.
However, he did lead his team to its first region championship and first State tournament appearance for Signal Mountain Bowling last school year. That group advanced all the way to a semifinal round before losing to the State title holder. While that was thrilling, Landyn said it didn’t compare to his recent award.
“That’s just the best ever,” he said with a big grin.
This season included other highlights such as bowling the first 300 in a match by a Signal Mountain bowler and doing that at a center where he’d never bowled before (Lawrenceburg). While he officially averaged 208 for this season, beating out the previous record of 205 by Matthew Holliday, his coach noted that Landyn averaged 218 at his home bowling center (Spare Time in Hixson) and averaged 211 for 24 high school games across five other bowling centers in Tennessee.
Landyn, a team captain both last year and this year, also led the 2023-24 team to an undefeated district regular season for only the second time in Signal Mountain bowling history.
“I feel like Landyn has helped put bowling on the map at Signal,” said his dad.
This affable young man has also furthered his bowling career outside of the TSSAA high school experience with play in junior leagues, where he also racked up achievements.
Most notable is that he has qualified the last four years through what’s known as the Tennessee “Road to the Gold” to compete in a huge national tournament called the Junior Gold Championships. He bowls in that one last time this July in Detroit.
Landyn has really enjoyed participating in a youth league due to the family atmosphere among members. One thing that he didn’t know, though, and advises other passionate young bowlers to do, is to join local leagues at an early age and start bowling competitively because one can win money and scholarships for college.
Landyn has committed to Tennessee Wesleyan University to continue his bowling career and looks forward to “learning the different patterns that collegiate (bowling) has.”
His coach said, “Landyn is the rare student that truly studies the sport - understanding lane conditions, ball performance, competitor’s statistics, and home team advantages. Because of Landyn’s vast knowledge in all-things-bowling, it [was] common for me to collaborate with him on important game day decisions or simply to discuss overall observations and prediction outcomes.”
Matt Sanders is thrilled for his son to continue his career at the collegiate level, where he says, “They’ll be able to teach him so much more at the next level.”
Better yet, going to a local college doesn’t mean a big break in Landyn’s relationships with family and friends.
Both Tennessee Wesleyan and Signal’s teams use the same bowling center in Cleveland, so Landyn will be able to see old teammates on occasion. He’ll also be able to continue bowling with his dad, who is committed to remaining as an assistant coach at Signal.
Landyn has worked part time at Spare Time in Hixson for the past two years and will continue working there, so swing by for some free advice and see if bowling might be a hobby or sport for you.
“No one knows how fun it is,” Landyn says, “until they’ve done it.”
by Melissa Barrett