ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Every bowler has a routine.

For some it’s a shake of the hand, others a wipe down of the ball or a couple of extra bends at the knee, something that sets them up for their shot.

For Austin White, it’s a kiss. 

This Northeast High senior starts every frame the same way. With a kiss. He’s got nothing but love for the sport of bowling.

“In a basketball game, you’re not guaranteed minutes. In a football game, you might be a bench warmer,” Austin said. “Bowling, you come out here and you get your 10 frames.”

Bowling wasn’t his first love. Basketball was. But when he missed the cut on his JV basketball team, Austin turned to the bowling alley where he discovered his why.

“I had to fight hard,” he said. “I had to work hard, but I knew no matter what, I had a feeling that was going to be my go to.”

He’s helped lead his team to victory. He’s bowled perfect games. That’s because this sport brings out his alter-ego.

“You almost see like a different side of him,” Austin dad and Northeast bowling coach Will White said. “He’s pretty mild mannered and he’s very friendly and very nice, but he’s very competitive as a bowler.”

Austin makes it look so easy. But his life has been anything but. Born with a cleft lip and severe cleft palate, basically no roof of his mouth, he has endured a dozen surgeries to correct the condition. He had his first surgery at only 10 weeks old. So many surgeries and hospital stays that it would be understandable if he had a negative outlook on life. But that’s not Austin.

“In middle school he had a halo on, a big contraption on his head and he could have missed school for that,” Will White said. “But he went back with that on there. So he really never backed away from any challenge and he really accepted that. From when he was very little, we never hid the fact of the things he was going to have to go through and he’s always just been so positive.”

“It’s something that honestly has bought me down at some point,” Austin said. “But with bowling, that’s why I love being a bowler. I get to come here, I don’t have to hide. I don’t have to pretend I’m someone I’m not. I can just be here and be myself.”

Now each time Austin sets foot in a bowling alley, he’s sending a message.

A big one. A message of hope for those struggling to overcome some obstacle in their life. A message he wants others to hear loud and clear.

“You can overcome anything and you can do it with a great attitude,” Will White said. “And to just have a positive spirit about yourself and let that karma go out into the world and come back to you.”

“It’ll be hard some times and there’s going to be times you’re feeling you’re on the outs,” Austin said. “But you’re never really on the outs. As a matter of fact, when you’re on the outs is when you know there’s others feeling the same way.”