MONTGOMERY – Bowling was always the familiar and dependable to Alabama State University senior Danielle Walker.
It was something the Central High School alum from Keller, Texas could always count on to showcase her talents, bolster her self-esteem, grow as a leader, and build long life friendships through the sport.
So when Walker underwent surgery to repair a large torn ligament in her wrist toward the end of March 2013 and had to retrain her muscle memory for the simplicity of the game, such as holding the ball and getting her throwing motions down pat again, it was life’s way of giving her a seven-ten split.
The tear was thought to have resulted from gradual wear and tear of continuous bowling, and from loading trucks and lifting boxes in her part-time shipping job.
For Walker, bowling has always been a humongous part of her life. The bowling alleys are where she would spend nearly every day since she was 4 years old. It was a safe haven where she would filter out the noise and stresses of her life and zero in on the pins.
And, it was a skill where she excelled. In high school, Walker was named 2011 Dallas/Ft. Worth United States Bowling Congress Bowler of the Year. Walker averaged 203 her last season and was named 2008 and 2011 Texas High School girls singles champion, the first two-time winner in the history of the state.
When Walker matriculated to Alabama State, she immediately set off on an ambitious path. In her first season, she was named the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s Freshman Bowler of the Year and First-Team All-SWAC.
Walker finished third overall in the conference with an individual average of 190.2, including a game high of 247, which was fourth overall in the league and an individual total pin fall of 5,328, which ranked her second in the SWAC.
Needing surgery, Walker knew that she’d have to be patient and find strength through adversity in her rehabilitation.
After the procedure, Walker wore a brace and still wears a brace today for precautionary measures. She returned to the alleys in July 2013 after a four-month layoff and admittedly had missed playing the game.
“I bowled every day for my entire life,” Walker said. “It was weird not being able to do what I was so passionate about for that long. I actually did [miss it].”
The problem was compounded when Walker began to feel knee pain and was told she had patella tendinitis in her knee.
Walker did the work and went through an aggressive workout program. She dropped 35 pounds over this past summer to take the pressure off her knees.
After getting her strength back, Walker’s game came back strong too.
Last season, Walker captured the Most Valuable Player title with a pin fall count of 5,637 in conference play to complement a 201.3 average against the league. She finished 15 games above 200 pins including five over 225 while eclipsing the 250-mark twice. She bowled her best game among the SWAC field recording a score of 284 against Alabama A&M in the SWAC West Bowling Round Up.
Thus far, Walker has rolled a solid 184 average and expects to improve as the season moves on.
“Her mental aspect of the game has been greatly improved,” Lady Hornets bowling coach Andrew Chatmon said. “When she came in, she was a huge raw talent. But as time as gone on, she’s learned so much more about the game. Her leadership and teamwork skills have evolved.”
A big portion of that is how she helps the team.
“Danny has always been a clutch player,” Chatmon said. “You can count on her when you need her. However, what she is doing now as far as her mental capacity goes, makes her team better. Michael Jordan can score 60 points, but if the team only scores 60 points then the team doesn’t win. Even if Danny has an errant shot, she brings back positive energy to the team. When the team sees Danny is still up and engaged, they feel like it’s going to be okay.”
Walker credits her mother Renee for guiding her with advice.
“Years ago, I used to look at the big picture and get stressed out,” Walker said. “My mom would say, ‘Danny, you have to look at one thing at a time.’ So now, I look at it as long as I get this assignment done, then I can move on to the next one. I have relayed that to bowling for one shot at a time. That’s also correlated into my personal life as far as not being overwhelmed by the big picture.”
She also points to coaches Chatmon and Rick Wilson for developing her mental growth.
“They have definitely reinforced that as far as my mental game is concerned,” Walker said.
Walker sports a full commitment to the team and assists Chatmon with organizational activities, such as where the team eats, uniform choices, ensuring that warm ups are conducted on time, and making sure that everybody knows where they have to be.
Walker said that she loves helping people and would like to join the Air Force after Alabama State and enlist in officer training school. She’s majoring in Computer Information Systems and will pursue a position within a cybersecurity unit.
She lists the SWAC regular season championship, and losing in the conference finals last season as her favorite moment at Alabama State.
“We went through a lot of adversity in general and we really came together as a team,” Walker said. “Everybody played with the hearts. There was nothing more that we could have done. It just wasn’t our time. It was the intensity and the passion that the entire team brought that made it special. We executed great shots. It just didn’t fall in our favor, but that’s okay because it doesn’t always happen.”
Chatmon believes the team is strong enough to make another strong run this season, and possibly reach the NCAA Tournament, which would be a program first.
“I think we are a top team in the nation talent-wise,” Chatmon said. “We’ve got some development to do on the mental side. However, you have to realize that we had a very good team last season with two seniors, a junior, and a sophomore. Now we have one senior, one junior, one sophomore and three freshmen. So it’s flip-flopped. I love the potential I see though from this team. It’s like an apple before you polish it. It’s ready. It’s going to be good. You just have to polish it.”
Alabama State will resume play in the SWAC West Round up in Baton Rouge, La. January 9-11.
