Prep profile: Bowling has been the life for Mililani’s Michael Weyl

It’s not fear the drives Michael Weyl.

Not anymore. As a child, he had a recurring dream, waking up too late to arrive at his bowling tournaments. One minute late, disqualified.

“It happens a lot. It probably started when I was 9 or 10 years old,” he said, years later. “Nightmares. I was late and I missed out. It’s more a fear of being late, especially with my grandfather.”

Philip Weyl Sr. has run youth and adult leagues at Schofield Bowling Center for decades. His youngest grandson, Michael, has been part of the decor for many years.

“He’s very strict on time, so I’ve always been time aware. No big deal, but it’s still one of those things. I still have the same dream where I’m late and I can’t bowl anymore.”

What drives Weyl today isn’t fear. After months away from his beloved alley during the pandemic, he is enjoying camaraderie with his Mililani teammates.

“Our team is outgoing. I’ve noticed with some of the guys on our team, everyone is very talkative. Outspoken. Always having a good time with each other. It does remind me of my sophomore year, having fun with each other,” said Weyl, a senior and one of the top bowlers in the state.

He has focus, bordering on obsession, the kind that has piqued his interest in the mechanics and physics of perfect pin action.

“I found a new interest during COVID. It comes back to bowling. After working with (assistant coach) Jody Yamamoto, I’ve had an interest in the last six, seven months of how everything falls into place with bowling — and helping other people with their game,” he said. “I want to learn as much as I can to help people. I think I’m not even close to being able to coach someone, but some small things, I can help people.”

Mililani head coach Corey Zukeran has noticed Weyl going the extra mile, helping younger teammates with their technique. Weyl is as technical as anyone in the brown and gold.

“I know if someone’s timing is late or early. I can tell by a little bit if their pushaway is a little too steep or rigid, too downward. I can tell if they’re holding the ball too long at the top of their swing,” he said.

Once a bowling wunderkind who played in adult leagues as a 6-year-old, Weyl is primed as one of the top boys bowlers in the state.

“He’s really in a good place right now. Pretty much it’s execution and mentally staying in the game. If he takes care of this things, sky’s the limit,” Zukeran said.

Weyl finished fifth in the 2019 state championships as a sophomore. That same year, the Trojans traveled to the nationals in Indianapolis, where he took advantage of lightly oiled lanes and rolled a 290.

It began with Philip Sr. and Yoneko.

“Pretty much my grandpa and grandma raised me. My dad did at one time,” he said.

Philip Jr. now lives in South Korea, running a bowling center at Camp Humphreys, south of Seoul. The memories are vivid. When Michael was young and tinkering with hook shots, dad was there, too.

“I always liked the style of being able to hook the ball a lot. I never really felt it ever hurt, really. Never had a wrist injury. My dad has a video of me, 7 or 8, doing stuff like that,” he said. “My dad has multiple (300 games). When I got one, he took video of it.”

Weyl’s first 300 game was during freshman year. After statewide restrictions were eased, he posted his second perfect game in June. In between perfect games, the closure of alleys, including Schofield, in 2020 wound up benefiting Weyd.

“I went about three months without bowling. It was kind of good. Bowling started to become more like a job. I was getting sort of burnt out. That break from COVID reset me,” he said.

So far, so good in the post-lockdown world. This fall, Weyl has posted a 674 three-game series with a high game of 267 after four OIA tournaments. His next highest numbers were 655 and 234. The Weyls are, as Zukeran says, “a bowling family.” Michael’s older brother, Nelson, graduated from Campbell in ’17 after placing third statewide as a senior.

Philip has been head coach at Leilehua since 1994. Yoneko worked at the Schofield house until 2010 and still bowls twice a week. Together, they raised Michael. Their backyard was the 46-lane bowling center on Oahu’s army base in Central Oahu.

“He took it serious from day one,” Philip Sr. recalled.

He was just 4, itching to play in a league.

“ ‘Can I bowl? Can I bowl?’ No, you’re too darn young. Wait a couple years,” he told young Michael. “We’re at Pali Lanes. We have only three people.”

Philip Sr. gave Michael, 6, a directive.

“Get a house ball, go bowl your average.”

Michael’s average back then was 40.

“That’s when he started bowling in the travel league,” Philip Sr. said. “The only thing I taught him was the basics. You work towards your strength. Someone wants to throw a backup ball, two-hand ball, you help with that, but you stick with the strengths.”

Over time, the grandfather realized something wasn’t the same with this grandchild.

“He’s not like his two sisters or his brother. He was different. His mental approach and technique are totally different from his brother. You’ll never see him get mad. He’s always got the same attitude,” Philip Sr. said.

When the time came for Michael to decide on a high school, he opted for Mililani. Growing up there, his friends and classmates would be there.

“When I got to eighth grade, I thought, I’m going to Mililani,” he said. “He didn’t really care.”

In 2018, as a freshman, Weyl made some noise at states. He started slow with a 128 game, but rebounded. By the end of the first set, he was 48th. After two sets (five games), he was 19th. He finished the tournament 15th overall with a 1,531 pin total.

What Coach Weyl remembers most, maybe, is the OIA championships. Leilehua and Mililani were tangled in a toe-to-toe battle for the title. Michael Weyl was a man on the spot.

“We were 60 pins up on him going into the last game,” he recalled. “He bowled a 299 and they beat us by 140 pins. I didn’t get mad. On the way home, he says, ‘I’m sorry.’ I said, ‘I expect you to do your best.’”

A year later, Weyl had struggles. After years of succeeding at a game that came so naturally to him, nothing felt right for the first time. Yamamoto helped Weyl re-calibrate. They broke down his swing, inch by inch. He went from a five-step approach to a four-step. The meticulous work did wonders.

At states in Lihue, Weyl was in second place after one set with a 703 pin total. After the second set, he was third at 1,140. The sophomore finished fifth overall at 1,781 pins. It was almost a minor miracle. The video analysis, the mechanical breakdown, the patience. Everything mattered.

“My rhythm is way better. I’ve been able to get pretty much correct timing, better than any point of my bowling career. It has helped me to be very consistent,” he said.

The only sophomore to finish ahead of Weyl was Pearl City’s Shaine Fujii.

Weyl’s future, beyond states, beyond graduation, is in Lake Wales, Fla. Or rather, that’s the dream, to bowl at Webber International University. That’s where the Kegel Training Center and all kinds of state-of-the-art bowling technology is available. With a 3.4 grade-point average, he believes his chances of being accepted are good.

“I want to shout out my grandparents. Shout out both my coaches, coach Corey and coach Jody. Also shout out Hawaii Bowlers Tour. That’s run by Chad Pojas,” he said. “They’ve all helped me out with my bowling, bringing it to another level.”

MICHAEL WEYL’S FAVORITES

Movies: The Avengers, Spider-Man and X-Men genre. “I love all those movies.”

Food: Steak. “My grandma (Yoneko Weyl) makes good steak. I like mine medium rare. We eat a lot of steak, at least three to four times a week.”

Best food at Schofield Bowling Center: Popcorn chicken, chicken Caesar salad, cheeseburger.

Music artist: Logic (“100 Miles and Burning”).

Time machine: “I would go to a major event in the past where a major company is being made so I could invest in it, like Apple or Netflix.”

Teacher: Mr. Ogi. “I just had a lot of fun in his (10th grade English) class. He’s very sarcastic and he isn’t afraid to roast people, so I was always laughing in his class.”