Blog Title: Hold the Line — From Wake-Up to #2 Seed at the TOC

Blog Title: Hold the Line — From Wake-Up to #2 Seed at the TOC

We didn’t even stop for breakfast.

Tournament mornings are like that sometimes—

you feel the weight of the day before the sun even finishes rising.

The window light poured in, the air was cool, and there was just enough stillness to remind me this was going to matter.

Bella was already focused.

Barbi and I packed up the hotel room like we’d done a hundred times before—check under the beds, behind the bathroom door, under the sink.

Make sure nothing gets left behind.

Because on game day, nothing can be left behind—not equipment, not mindset, not belief.

We drove onto Lackland Air Force Base with that same quiet intensity, stepping into Skylark Bowling Center, home of excellence and history. There’s a certificate on the wall that proves it, but the real proof was in the lanes. The energy was alive.

Bella came out in Game 1 with a slow start—two early opens. But then she flipped the switch and dropped a 224 on the board.

Game 2 was a grind. Game 3 was humbling.

She battled splits, tricky leaves, and open frames, finishing with a tough 135.

But the bounce-back came in Game 4—a strike, then another, then another. A full Pack of Franks—five in a row.

By the end of qualifying, Bella sat in second place, just five pins behind her friend and doubles partner Annika.

She was calm when she saw it. No jumping, no shouting. Just a quiet smile.

And that’s when I realized—something had shifted.

We came into the day hoping.

Now we walk into match play knowing.

Knowing she belongs.

Knowing she can battle.

Knowing she can lead.

This wasn’t just about scores. It was about holding the line. About the way she carried herself through the rough frames, the uncertain moments, and the pressure that never really goes away. It was about the look on her face when she realized she’d made it—without needing to be loud about it.

It’s only the beginning of the Tournament of Champions.

But something’s already changed.

Bella’s not just playing the game anymore.

She’s shaping it.

—

Thanks for following the journey. We’ll see what the next frames hold.

—Coach Castillo

Becoming Champions Consistently