2023-24 NewsTribune Girls Bowler of the Year

La Salle-Peru’s Olivia Weber did not have a great start to her senior season.

Weber bowled a 547 series in the season opener and had a 526 in the second match of the season.

“I had a rough start,” Weber said. “But that’s usually how it is every year. I don’t know why. But I finished the season off very strong.”

It took Weber about a month to get out of the funk.

“I didn’t start getting out of it until after winter break,” Weber said. “I think practicing more and being more comfortable [helped me turn things around].

“I practiced my arm swing and my release of the ball, which gets messed up sometimes.”

On Jan. 6, Weber rolled a 1,211 six-game series for her first 1,200 series of the season.

“It was a tournament in the middle of the season when I bowled really well,” Weber said about when she began to turn her season around. “From then on, I started getting my confidence back and doing better.”

Weber closed the season strong.

She bowled a 1,345 at the Belvidere Invite and two days later rolled a 1,273 to help the Cavaliers win their third consecutive Interstate 8 Conference Tournament.

Olivia had a great season again this year as she’s had the past few years. She upped the ante again and increased her average over last year. As a senior and one of our leaders, she performed that way, not only on the lanes but with the team. She had great season overall.”

—  Jim McCabe, L-P coach

In the postseason, she rolled a 1,175 to help L-P win the Sterling Regional and bowled a 1,192 at the Sycamore Sectional.

Weber finished with an area-best 198.99 average, a 251 high game and a 668 high three-game series.

For all she accomplished, Weber is the 2023-24 NewsTribune Girls Bowler of the Year. It is her third time winning the honor, as she also earned it as a freshman and junior.

“Olivia had a great season again this year as she’s had the past few years,” L-P coach Jim McCabe said. “She upped the ante again and increased her average over last year. As a senior and one of our leaders, she performed that way, not only on the lanes, but with the team. She had great season overall.”

McCabe and Weber both attributed an improved mental game for her nearly nine-pin improvement in average.

“She became a little more focused on the mental aspects of the game,” McCabe said. “That’s a big key. You can have all the form and everything in place, but if you can’t keep your head in the game, that becomes a struggle sometimes. If she had a bad frame or bad game, she put that behind her and came right back. She kept working all day long and never turned back.”

Weber said it’s difficult not to get in her own head at times.

“It’s very hard thing to avoid,” Weber said. “Most every bowler gets it. You’ll get upset about a shot, and the rest of your bowling will be bad because you’re mad about past balls you’ve thrown. You have to not get mad at yourself. You have to stay focused and stay confident you can bowl well.

“I like to talk with the team to keep my mind off whatever happened. Then once I get up to bowl my next shot, I stay focused on that.”

While Weber improved her own mentality, she also provided leadership to the team’s younger bowlers when they struggled.

“Olivia, along with Makenzie [Hamilton], they took the team in hand, especially our younger bowlers, to guide them and give them advice when things weren’t going well or they needed to make a change,” McCabe said.

Behind Weber’s performance on the lanes and leadership, the Cavaliers were successful during her four-year career.

Weber helped L-P to a pair of state tournament berths, a sectional title, two regional titles, three conference tournament titles and three Cavalier Classic titles among other accomplishments.

“It went a lot better than I thought it would,” Weber said about her career. “I think it’s a really amazing thing because not a lot of people can do that in any sport. Not a lot of people go to regional, sectional and state almost every year. I’m really proud of myself for everything I did, and I’m really proud of the team for everything we did.”