The average 3-year-old delights her parents when she is able to walk without losing her balance.

Shania Jennings was already rolling a heavy round ball down a bowling alley when she was just 36 months into this world."My dad liked to bowl a lot so I kind of grew up in Cypress Lanes in Lehighton," she said.Next year, this now 17-year-old Tamaqua High School senior will carry her ball and bag to McKendree (Illinois) University. McKendree recently defeated Nebraska to capture the NCAA Division I championship.It's been a long and succesful journey that had seen Jennings progress from a 3-year-old prodigee to signing with the top college bowling program in the country.Since her early beginnings, Jennings has had five private coaches who have helped her win numerous Pennsylvania Junior Bowlers Tournament (PJBT) titles. At age 7, she finished second in the Pepsi tournament in Lancaster and the following year, she was the Lehigh Valley Masters champion. Two years ago, Jennings captured three PJBT titles. This year in Wilkes- Barre, she finished first in doubles, second in team and third overall in state tournament competition.She holds a 186 average with a high game of 278 in a 734 series, a league record she attained at the Strike Zone in Pottsville."I bowl between 20 and 30 games a week and every weekend I compete in the PJBT series," said Jennings. "It's not just the competition I like. It helps release a lot of stress, too."She also has competed in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia and last year was the overall points PJBT champion.Jennings uses two different types of bowling balls. To hook into the pocket, she rolls a fingertip ball, but for spare shooting, she uses a plastic ball to keep her line directly to the pins."Corner spares, the seven and ten pin especially, are my toughest spare shots," she said.Besides individual competitions, Jennings bowls on three, four, and five player teams, including some that are mixed with boys and girls.With all the pressure of having to perform at such high levels, Jennings does not worry about a bad game here or there and when she has to make a key shot late in a game, she has a simple strategy."I just throw the ball to make my shot," she said, "I don't overthink anything that might cause me to go off my line."Although she finds time to hike and to dance, bowling is an all-year commitment for Jennings. Away from the lanes, she trains rigorously, concentrating mostly on strengthening her legs to improve her balance at the point of release.Jennings, who aspires to become a professional bowler, admires six-time world professional bowling champion, Shannon O'Keefe, who will be her coach next season at McKendree."Go strong through it" is what she tells herself each time she makes her four-step approach to the foul line. These words have propelled Shania Jennings to the top of the list in amateur bowling in the state of Pennsylvania. Perhaps one day, she'll be making hometown Tamaqua proud by displaying her talents as a member of the Professional Women's Bowlers Association.