World-Class Pluhowsky is Collectively Defined

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In Nebraska Bowling Coach Bill Straub’s incisive mind, Husker legend Shannon Pluhowsky has been the world’s best female bowler for almost 15 straight years now. Even though Pluhowsky, 32, says that statement is not “concrete”, the Phoenix, Ariz., native would never debate the coach/mentor/man who: 1) recruited her to Nebraska; 2) coached her when she was a three-time, first-team All-American and three-time National Collegiate Bowler of the Year; 3) led the Huskers to three national collegiate bowling championships in Grand Rapids, Mich., Houston and Orlando; and 4) traveled with Pluhowsky to Latvia to watch Nebraska’s prized recruit win the 2002 World Cup Championship, then played the same role when she won the 2004 World Cup in Singapore.

Pluhowsky was a four-time All-American, counting her freshman season when she earned second-team honors and was named the National Collegiate Rookie of the Year. With 25 top five finishes in college and a collegiate career average of 212.6, Pluhowsky became a 26-time international medalist and was inducted into the International Bowling Hall of Fame four years ago. A member of Team USA for 15 consecutive years, Pluhowsky reached the pinnacle of her sport in unparalleled time. Her latest honor – being the first Husker bowler in the inaugural University of Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame class – touched Pluhowsky’s heart so dramatically that she asked Straub to call her father and explain the historic honor before she called him.

Straub Had a Telepathic Way to Communicate with Pluhowsky

The truth is, Straub is an extension of the Pluhowsky family, and any story he tells about the primary catalyst for Husker history is heartfelt. “Ten years after her graduation from Nebraska, Shannon and I still have a fine and very enjoyably relationship,” Straub said, recalling one particular moment at a 106-lane facility in Las Vegas. Straub was watching the action on lane 40 while his top bowler was competing on lane 80. “Shannon was having trouble that I believed could be made to go away,” he said. “That led to a long-distance, close to telepathic exchange, as we were both prone to do.”

Even though Pluhowsky was frustrated at the time, “she ended the event holding the championship trophy,” Straub said. “What I communicated to her that day was not the result of any extra coaching on my part as much as it defines how special her intuitive skills are showcased, time and time again.” I ask Straub how something so oddly positive could occur from such a distance, and he had an immediate response. “My real name,” he said, “is Claire Voyant.”

That quick-hitting quip drew a lunchtime laugh from Paul Klempa, Straub’s longtime assistant coach (pictured above with Pluhowsky and Straub). Straub's wife, Kim, also laughs. She's the mother of Meghan Straub, who signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the powerful Husker bowling team this fall as a freshman. How many get to grow up in Nebraska’s first family of collegiate bowling, then have the opportunity to enrich the history? One...Meghan Straub.

Both Straub and His Prized Recruit Have Bowled 30-Plus Perfect Games

The Huskers’ No. 1 assistant and the head coach’s wife laugh at Straub’s keen sense of quick humor. Having known Nebraska’s head bowling coach for almost five decades, I also laugh when he says his real name is Claire Voyant.

A former professional bowler, Straub has rolled more than 30 perfect games in his career. He fashioned an instant, intuitive connection with Pluhowsky, a world-class female bowler who has rolled more than 30 perfect games by age 30 herself. Like her head coach, Pluhowsky has an unbridled tenacity whenever she’s seeking success. That came through clearly in a telephone conversation from Dayton, Ohio, where Shannon is the general manager of a major bowling facility while also serving as district manager for nearby facilities in Columbus and Fairfield, Ohio.

A Competitive Pro, Pluhowsky Also Manages 104 Lanes in Three Ohio Cities

Pluhowsky manages 104 lanes in those three combined facilities and still marvels at that bowling center in Las Vegas that featured 106 lanes under the same roof. She hasn't forgotten that telephathic moment. “I do remember that,” she told me. “Even though we were 40 lanes apart, I could tell how Coach Straub wanted me to turn my eyes and my feet on the lane because what I was doing wasn’t working. Coach Straub is very good analyzing movement, even when everything else all around him is going on. I probably learned how to do that from him. He taught me how to try other things and not watch scores. It was very hard for me to do that. I just always seemed to know what was going on around me and what we needed to do to win. I wouldn’t always tell my teammates what to do because not everybody would respond the same.”

Hall-of-Famer Relied on Straub in College and Still Does a Decade Later

Straub’s remarkable bowling expertise and all the nuances that he inherently understands were passed on in a variety of ways to Pluhowsky, who has a genuine passion for soaking up any and every edge that can be communicated and instilled to enable a prized pupil to become the world’s preeminent practitioner.

“I relied on Coach Straub a lot in college and still do,” Pluhowsky said. “He had the biggest impact on me as a coach, along with Coach Klempa. To this day, I can call Coach Straub and find a way to fix what I’m doing wrong. He’s seen me bowl enough to know everything that I’ve done and everything that I’ve felt. He traveled the world with me when I won those two World Cups. Even after all these years, he seems to be able to help me whenever necessary.”

For the Pluhowskys, Bowling was an All in the Family Kind of Commitment

Make no mistake. Even though Straub coached Shannon to incredible worldwide heights and he became an honorary member of the Pluhowsky family, she grew up immersed in the sport. “My grandfather was a big bowler when we moved to Phoenix. My whole family was,” she said, pointing out how her mom signed her up in a bowling league when she was six years old.

“From that point on, I’ve had a lot of fun,” Pluhowsky said “My grandfather coached me until he passed away in 1999. He was the one who influenced me most and got me to visit Nebraska. He bowled his entire life. My dad bowls, and my mom did, too, until she hurt her shoulder. Even my grandma bowled. So did my sister. Bowling has been a big part of our family. My dad and grandfather were competitive like I am. My mom, grandma and sister bowl mostly for fun."

Pluhowsky Clicked with Straub, Who Became Her Fill-in Grandfather

Straub reminds Pluhowsky of her grandfather. “They’re a lot alike, and that’s why we connected so well,” she said. “They both love to teach. Coach Straub filled a void for me when my grandfather passed. I was taught so well, I didn’t have to change a lot when I got to Lincoln. I just learned a lot more about my game, the ball, the lanes…virtually every aspect of the sport. The game and the balls are always changing. There’s a reason why Coach Straub could be 40 lanes away from me, say something, and then, all of a sudden, I just clicked. He trusted me, and I trusted him. That staff was never going to tell me something that wasn’t going to work.

“People who know Coach Straub and Coach Klempa know they're two totally different people,” Pluhowsky said. “Coach Straub is Coach Straub. Nobody is like him. No one has his sense of humor or his demeanor. He toured with me at the World Cup in Latvia. He'd bring his books and sit behind me and read in between frames. People thought that was crazy. They wondered why he’d fly around the world to help me. They didn’t understand how we communicated and trusted each other. Whenever people would question him about reading a book while there was a break in the action, he had the perfect punchline – 'What else is there to do?'”

Shannon: Whatever Level Bowler You Are, Nebraska’s THE Place to Go

Pluhowsky (pictured above left) takes our conversation to a different level. “If you want to get better in bowling, Nebraska is THE place to go,” she said. “It’s not like others don’t have great coaches. They do. But at Nebraska, you learn so much more about the game itself, about being part of the team, and about being part of a great University. The Athletic Department does a great job of helping bowlers feel like they’re part of the overall program. So many schools don’t have that. We'd eat lunch with the football players.That doesn’t happen everywhere.

“Nebraska makes everyone feel included,” Pluhowsky said. “It’s a family atmosphere. People feel like we’re all in this together. I came from Arizona. It was a huge move, but I always felt comfortable in Lincoln. I knew nothing about snow or cold, but it was no problem. Weather is never an issue when people are warm-hearted. My dad was so excited during our recruiting trip. It was raining ice but didn’t matter. We saw everything we needed to see, and we liked all of it. Once I saw Nebraska, I decided I wasn’t taking any more recruiting trips.”

After Competing in Japan, This Freshman Flew to Lincoln to Become a Husker

That August, the nation’s best prep bowler competed in Japan. “I went there right after school started,” Pluhowsky recalled. “It was the first international trip I took by myself, and I was prepared because I was a Husker. Not too many go halfway across the world before your first day of classes. It was a little scary knowing that when I would fly back to Lincoln from Japan, my parents weren’t going to be there. It was a big move, but I wanted to do it. I needed to go to a place like Nebraska to learn the most and become the best I could be. Obviously, it’s helped me my whole career. Because of Nebraska, I was able to make Team USA every year since I left.”

Straub doesn't mince words. “Shannon’s the best woman bowler in the world, and she proves it regularly,” he said. “Last year, in her league in Ohio, she averaged 245 in 99 straight games. It’s ridiculous. That was for the entire season. Paul and I look at her as the best case and worst case of being a perfectionist. She not only demands the best of herself. She demands the best from everyone around her. She puts as much pressure on you as she does herself. She’s an equal opportunity motivator in every sense of the word."

That’s why Nebraska won three national championships with Pluhowsky, why she’s been National Bowler of the Year so many times, and why she decided to redshirt so she could lead the Huskers to the first two NCAA Bowling Championships ever staged in 2004 and 2005. "That's permanently etched in her college resume and in our program's history," Straub said. "Shannon never advertises the excellence she’s put together. But when you ask her, she won’t deny it. She was motivated by being a part of Nebraska history, not her own. That’s her legacy. She definitely deserves to be in the inaugural class of the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame!”

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