While mourning his father’s death, Trevor Reed bowls his best series

For the first time in his life, Trevor Reed felt uneasy going to the bowling alley.

The Goddard senior had practiced once in the week leading up to Saturday’s Great Plains Classic at Northrock. That’s because Reed had been grieving the loss of his father, Larry, 69, who died of natural causes one week before the tournament.

“I knew my father would want me there bowling, instead of being at home sad,” Reed said. “I knew if I went, he would be with me all the way.”

With his mother, Doreen, and his sister, Megan, in the stands behind him, Trevor was able to give his family an escape from their sadness for a few hours — and what a special few hours they were.

Reed finished with a series of 750, surpassing his previous best by 112 pins, and was chosen the Most Valuable Bowler of the tournament. He even carried a perfect game into the 10th frame of his final game, finishing with a season-best game of 278 that brought the crowd to its feet in applause.

“It was when everyone was clapping and cheering, our eyes met, and I just said, ‘Get over here,’ ” Doreen Reed said. “Normally he wouldn’t have done that, but he came over and I gave him the biggest hug in the world. I was tearing up and I just told him, ‘You know, your father was by your side the whole time,’ and he looked at me and said, ‘I know.’ ”

Trevor Reed said he was so dialed into the game that he didn’t realize what he had accomplished until after it was all over and he was by sitting by himself with his plaque.

“When I was able to finally breathe and sit back, it kind of hit me that, yeah, I really just did that,” Reed said. “That’s when it got a little emotional. I knew that I did this for my dad and he was with me the whole time. It was just pretty crazy with everything that I had on my mind.”

Reed is a solid bowler and entered the day with a 205-pin average, among the best on a competitive Goddard team. Last Saturday, Reed left just one open frame in three games and logged the two (274 and 258) best games of his career.

Goddard coach Robert Rehse was amazed by what Reed was able to accomplish.

“Anybody who’s ever been involved in or played sports knows that you always have that one day where everything is clicking and you’re doing everything better than you ever thought you could,” Rehse said. “Well, that was his day and that was his moment. And for what he had to go through the week before, that’s what makes it so impressive.”

The performance came at the right time for the family.

“We’re still going through a lot and it still doesn’t seem real, but I think after watching that happen it made us all feel like (Larry) was still close to us,” Doreen Reed said. “He will always be by our side, no matter what, he will be there. A lot has happened, but we realized life must go on.”

And so must Trevor Reed’s bowling career.

He could on and win tournaments or bowl better scores, but to him, Saturday will always hold a special place in his heart.

“That meant everything to me,” Reed said. “I think everybody was proud of me and I know my dad would have been proud of me, as well.”

This story was originally published February 1, 2017 at 4:47 PM with the headline "While mourning his father’s death, Trevor Reed bowls his best series."