Wednesday night at Echo Lanes is for serious bowlers. This is the night the league called the Sixty-fivers plays. These are the high score players.

The bowlers in this league, like most leagues, own their own balls and shoes. There are 18 teams in the Sixty-fivers with 90 people all together. Another league plays this night with 60 bowlers. More than 150 people are keeping score, rolling their bowling balls, high fiving each other and encouraging their teammates on Wednesday nights. This is what being in a league is all about.

The league secretary for the Sixty-fivers is Kevin Jockumson. He has been bowling for more than 25 years. He started the sport when he was in the military.

"It is a lot of fun being on a league team. You meet lots of people and there is a lot of competition. This league has strong men players," Jockumson said.

Wednesday nights are hectic when Jockumson first arrives at the bowling alley. He collects each player's money for the night. Everyone talks to him and he is friendly when he answers and listens to the bowlers. It settles down after the money is collected, but his night isn't over because he records all the player's and team's scores at the end of the night.

"This is the fifth year that I have been the league secretary for the Sixty-fivers. I am in a Scratch league on Thursday nights, which is head to head competition. I have been the secretary for that league for three years. I also play in a league with my wife, Alberta, on Sundays," Jockumson said.

When he and other bowlers come to bowl, the main thing they do is try to leave the outside world behind.

Bowling is a mental game and no two bowlers are alike. Different personalities and people from all walks of life roll their balls down the slippery lanes and try to knock the 10 pins over.

Balls range in weight from six to 16 pounds. It is not always the largest-built player that will have the heaviest ball.

Bowling is an individual sport in that each player finds what size bowling ball he or she is comfortable in hefting and rolling down the lanes.

"You meet the same guys on the golf course that come to bowl. I meet bowlers fishing and the Godfather's team all play softball together every summer. We encourage each other during the night when we bowl. There is a lot of high fiving to acknowledge a good shot. Most league players praise each other. You need to do this to be a team, otherwise bowling is like a job," Jockumson said.

Besides being a league secretary, Jockumson coaches children's bowling on Saturdays. The numbers are low because there are so many other sports available, he said. Echo Lanes is trying to get more children to bowl.

Jockumson teaches kids to respect others when bowling and to stay in their own lanes.

"It is hard for kids sometimes as they lose their tempers when they can't throw as hard as someone else. Adults get angry too when they have an off night bowling. I advise the kids and other bowlers to watch the pro bowlers when they are on television on Sundays. You can see the good shots the pros take and the mistakes they make. The pros are humans, they are not machines," Jockumson said.

There are some very good bowlers in Austin. Mike Matyas is a young adult who has scored in the 800 series and averages 210 a game. Jessie Duholm is another up and coming bowler. Kevin Sellers won the Peterson Classic Bowling Tournament in Chicago last year and won a considerable cash prize.

"I keep track of when someone gets a 299 score and they are awarded with a watch. We pay a fee every year to American Bowling Congress to get watches and awards each year. We play three games a night when we play league bowl. I get guys coming up to me all night asking me about rules and other stuff and sometimes it is hard to concentrate on my game, but I work around it," Jockumson said.

Sheila Donnelly can be reached at 434-2233 or by e-mail at :mailto:newsroom@austindailyherald.com