There was soccer, but it was not his first love.
Justin Sumiye had bowled a few times in his early elementary school years. From first to third grade, much of his time was spent on the pitch, roaming up and down chasing that soccer ball.
One day, he was hunkered down in the family garage. What was this?
“The summer after third grade, I saw my dad’s bowling trophies in the garage. I didn’t know bowling was a competitive sport,” Sumiye said.
Aaron Sumiye grew up in the junior program at Leeward Bowl, where his father, Art, enjoyed the sport. Aaron went on to perfection with a sanctioned 300 game in 1997. After that, he walked away. All the trophies and medals collected dust until little Justin discovered them that summer day in 2014.
“I decided to give it a try. We went to Leeward Bowl,” he said.
Greg Hayashi, who began coaching bowling at Hawaii Baptist in 1992, got his first look not very long after that.
“During our summer practices before starting eighth grade, I work with all new bowlers. My first impression of Justin was that he was very skilled. I saw that he could have started on my varsity team. His dad was a Junior League coach for many years,” Hayashi said.
Aside from the closures during COVID-19, Sumiye hasn’t stopped since. His father had returned to the game as a coach in the junior ranks, and now as an assistant at Hawaii Baptist. The Eagles now feature six standout keglers, and last week, their top five outscored Kamehameha to give HBA the lead in the ILH boys bowling standings.
The regular season ends today, and the state championships — also at Leeward Bowl — will follow. HBA has a chance to capture its first state crown in boys bowling since 2009.
The connection to ’09 extends to Sumiye.
“Justin reminds me of Jaron Goto, who led our boys team in ’09. Jaron’s demeanor was quiet. He showed what he could do by throwing a lot of strikes. They also have similar bowling styles,” Hayashi said.
Hayashi added that Sumiye is the only Eagles bowler during the past three decades to individually medal multiple times at the state championships.
“Justin leads a group of young bowlers who do not have as much experience on the bowling lanes,” he said.
ILH bowling, like every other sport, is immensely competitive. HBA won 17 consecutive league titles from 1999 to 2015, all under Hayashi. After winning the ’09 state title, it was Hayashi’s brother, James, who guided Pearl City to seven consecutive state crowns.
Sumiye’s development has not stopped.
“His biggest improvement has been the consistency to convert the single 10 pin into a spare. He has also improved in getting the ball into the 1-3 pocket for strikes when the lane conditions change,” Hayashi said. “The interactions he has with his teammates have also improved over the years.”
Sumiye has been a constant, a classic one-handed release thrower. Twenty-five games into the season, the senior is averaging 205.3 pins per game, fourth in the ILH. Classmate Nicholas Kidd, with a two-handed release, has also been superb with a 203.7, fifth in the league.
Sophomore Kobe Chan (197.5, eighth), freshman Kameron Fujioka (190.5, ninth) and sophomore Eddy Vallesteros (185.2, 12th) round out an elite force of Eagles.
The data is in. Sumiye, whose favorite class was AP Computer Science last year, gauged all factors. Between the competition and the hundreds of thousands of reps on the lanes by his team over the years, the analysis is succinct. Confidence is not in short supply.
“In terms of bowling, Justin is confident. I ran into him in the hallway and I asked how is the team doing? He said we’re going to win states. He said Kamehameha is good, and he named a couple of public schools. They know each other, kind of like golf or tennis because they play each other so much in the offseason,” HBA athletic director Deren Oshiro said.
HBA won the ILH boys titles in 2019 and ’21, but did not place among the top 12 at states. Sumiye was 10th as a freshman in ’19, and fourth in ’21.
The arrival the fantastic freshman, Fujioka, has boosted the Eagles.
“Kameron is quiet,” Sumiye said. “Kobe is eager to learn. Eddy is funny.”
Another Eagle, Jared Cruz Sr., is “competitive.”
Kidd is one of a kind, at least among his teammates.
“Nick is two-handed. I’ve been trying two-handed, not so much during (high school) season. I don’t do it super well, but it’ll make me more versatile. It’s kind of weird. One-handers can learn to bowl with two hands, but two-handers can’t do one hand.”
Sumiye’s style is about efficiency and consistency. Even on off days, he puts in extra work. On Sunday, it was a junior bowling social, reconnecting with old friends from across Oahu.
“I saw a variety of different people. My partner, Kalin Ogata. He goes to Castle. We’ve known each other since I was in middle school,” Sumiye said.
He has a 4.0 grade-point average and is planning to major in software engineering or cybersecurity.
“I started programming in elementary school. I was 10 or 11. I’ve been exploring the technology field. I still have a lot to learn,” he said.
Bowling offers the template for analysis and testing. Over the span of his career, Sumiye has accumulated 15 bowling balls. He brings six to each competition, relying on his Jackal Ghost ball. Another favorite is a Conspiracy Hybrid.
“It’s lasted three years or so. A ball can’t last forever. You try to extend the life of it, but eventually it’ll crack,” he said. “My Jackal Ghost is purple and black. It’s versatile. I usually don’t let people use my ball, but I have a friend who is left-handed and I let him throw it because he won’t affect my track, the oil tracks on the ball. It’s different because he’s left-handed.”
A month ago, ILH bowling scorers went through the roof. One bowler had 10 strikes in a row and carded a 289. Another posted a three-game series near 750. More bowlers posted personal highs.
It appeared, possibly, that oil patterns became simpler. Then, after the explosion of scores, bowlers league-wide saw their totals go off a cliff. Did oil patterns on the lanes change. Adapting is crucial to survival and success in all ILH sports — as always.
Justin Sumiye has learned to adjust on the fly. The home alley for the ILH is Hickam Bowling Center.
“It’s kind of old, and it’s been refurbished. It’s recreational. If it’s a house (oil) pattern, it could (be) 290 (score). If it’s a hard pattern, it might not even be 200,” he said.
His all-time high is 289, during practice at Hickam. He also hit that number as an eighth grader bowling at Fort Shafter. His single-game high in ILH play is 254, also at Hickam, with a high series of 714 in league play.
“I’m very technical. I tend to analyze before and after I bowl. While I bowl, I try not to think too much about it,” Sumiye said. “I don’t muscle the ball. I don’t have a high backswing. I have controlled form.”
The smooth delivery is an ode to his dad.
“My footwork comes from him. When I was small, I tried to imitate what my dad did. I throw it a lot faster now, developed my own style a little bit,” he said.
For all the confidence, Sumiye keeps investing in his younger teammates.
He came up step by step as a young bowler and made good choices.
“When he first started bowling, he could reach 100, of course. I asked him, ‘Do you want to continue?’ He was fairly good at everything except bowling, but he said, ‘I’m not quitting.’ So perseverance, being a great learner and he’s actually a great teacher, too,” Aaron Sumiye said. “Against Kamehameha for the championship, he was an extension of me out there. His teammates are fairly new to bowling, so he calmed them down and helped us get the win.”
A year ago, Sumiye and two friends, Kalin Ogata of Castle and Rebecca Iha of ‘Iolani, started a project, collecting donated balls to get them refurbished and into the hands of young bowlers who don’t have their own.
“That’s so cool. It started last year, an ongoing thing,” Oshiro said. “I think it’s them purely wanting to serve other kids.”
JUSTIN SUMIYE
Hawaii Baptist bowling
Senior
Top 3 movies/shows
>> 1. “Shark Tank”
>> 2. “The Mandalorian”
>> 3. “Horimiya”
Top 3 food/snacks/drinks
>> 1. Chicken katsu curry (Curry House, Pearlridge)
>> 2. Ravioli, Olive Garden
>> 3. Pumpkin pie blizzard, Dairy Queen
Top 3 homemade food
>> 1. Chicken Parmesan. “My mom (Deanna) makes it around once a month.”
>> 2. Pot roast. “She makes it once every few months.”
>> 3. Macaroni and cheese. “It’s instant and we add stuff to it. Hot dog and some vegetables.”
>> Favorite class: AP Computer Science, 2021-22. “It’s fun to solve problems and it’s going toward my major.”
>> Favorite teacher: (Elena) Yoo Sensei (freshman, senior year) and Mr. (Caleb) Peith (junior year). “I really like those two teachers because they strive to make learning fun.”
>> GPA: 4.0.
>> College: Undecided. “I’ll go wherever I can get the most scholarships. I’m looking more at West Coast schools. I hope to do club bowling in college, but education is my first priority.”
>> Major: Software engineering or cybersecurity. “I started programming in elementary school. I was 10 or 11. I’ve been exploring the technology field. I still have a lot to learn.”
>> Bucket list: Japan, DisneyWorld. “And I want to win the state tournament. We won the D-II my freshman year and last year.”
>> Time machine. “I would go to the past, maybe the late 1900s. I think it would be interesting to see how life was before all this digital technology existed.”
>> Competition bowling balls
Motiv: Jackal Ghost (black/purple)
Motiv: Mythic Jackal (teal/bronze/black)
Roto Grip: Rubicon UC3 (silver)
Motiv: Blue Coral Venom (teal/white)
Motiv: Trident Horizon (pink/blue)
Radical: The Spy (maroon)
