By Joe Mason
For the Times
Like any good coach, Jack Rooney’s focus always is on improvement.
Rooney, who just completed his 20th year as head coach of the Little Flower High School bowling team, is always doing what he can to help his girls throw a little better.
He’s quick to offer little tips on how his girls can raise their average, improve their stroke or refine their approach a little better.
During his two decades of roaming the alleys with a Sentinels shirt on, Rooney’s life was him, his bowling girls and his wife Diane.
On Jan. 26, Diane died of natural causes.
"She was very important to me," said Rooney, 75. "Bowling and my girls (on the Little Flower team) were always so important to me. But Diane loved bowling as much as I did, and she was with me through it all.
"I’d guess I’ve bowled about a thousand games in my life," the Northeast resident said. "And she was right there with me for 998 of them. We were inseparable, and a lot of the time, we were bowling together."
If Diane were here today, she’d be quite proud of Jack and their Little Flower girls. For years she’d served as an assistant coach with her husband. She was unable to coach this season, but she could still be a Sentinels booster.
Little Flower won the Catholic League regular-season championship and advanced to the PCL bowling finals on March 10. The Sentinels went up against Archbishop Ryan, two teams that competed in an extremely close title match, but this one didn’t go Little Flower’s way.
Final score: Archbishop Ryan, 2,098; Little Flower, 2,083. Those 15 pins are all that prevented the Sentinels from claiming their second championship under Rooney.
For Little Flower, Kate Brady rolled a 199 game and a 545 series; Tara Flaville had a 192 game and a 517 series; Liz Stout rolled a 190 game and a 519 series; and Jules Feltwell rolled a 179 game and a 502 series.
"It was tough, it could have gone either way," the coach said. "It came down to the final frame . . . it was a great game. It was good for Ryan and not so good for us, but the girls bowled well."
Reaching the championship match was a particularly notable achievement for Little Flower — the team is composed entirely of underclassmen. And the extended season gave Jack Rooney a break here and there from the sadness of losing Diane.
Instead of staying in his empty home every afternoon, he had a place to go. He was needed. And even with the void created by Diane’s death, Jack Rooney knew he still had work to do with his girls at Little Flower.
His Sentinel bowlers were on a roll. And even if their mission, a league title, fell just 15 pins short, Rooney was glad to concentrate on that exciting stretch run.
"It was great, I think bowling helped me a lot. I think if it weren’t for bowling, I wouldn’t be as far along as I am right now," Rooney said of the recovery process. "I miss Diane a lot, but during bowling season, I had something to focus on. Sometimes I wouldn’t come home until 5 p.m., 7 p.m., 11 p.m. I’d have something to focus on . . . I wasn’t thinking about her all the time.
"The girls were great, really great to me," the coach added. "They were there for me, they were able to cheer me up when I needed it most. I have a special bond with every girl I coached during my time here, but this year’s team was exceptional."
Jack Rooney had a lot of support during that rough time. On the day of Diane’s funeral, the Catholic League decided to cancel every game. Because of those postponements and snow on March 6, the playoffs and championship game were delayed a week.
"They really didn’t have to do that, but it meant a lot to me," Rooney said. "A lot of the friends I made during my years at Little Flower turned out. It was so nice, and it did make me feel a little better. It’s tough to lose a loved one, but they did everything they could to help me through it."
Now that it’s the offseason, at least for Little Flower, Rooney will remain busy. He spends his days playing computer games and his evenings — you guessed it — bowling in various leagues with his friends.
As for next season, he’ll have to be patient. November won’t be here for a while.
"I’m so anxious for next year," Rooney said. "We had no seniors this year, so we’re all coming back. Next year should be good, but we should be pretty good for the next couple of years.
"We had a great junior varsity team this year, and I anticipate them all improving," Rooney said. "The only thing that can mess up next year or the year after is the coach." ••