Meet Matt Cochlin, Northfield Patch's Athlete of the Year

Most accomplished athletes probably would tell you they began to learn their sport at a young age.

For Matt Cochlin, Northfield Patch’s , his learning began very young.

“I literally grew up in a bowling alley,” he said. “My parents would go to league and set me down to watch in the car seat.”

Cochlin, a bowler for , collected 121 votes, good for 47 percent of the  for Athlete of the Year. In all, there were 253 votes.

The senior has been an integral part of turning bowling at Northfield into a varsity sport. Coached by his mom, Julie, and dad, Larry, Matt has been the bowling team captain the last two years.

“He’s been very influential in recruiting kids and promoting the sport,” said Larry. “He makes it very positive for the younger ones.”

That influence, according to Matt, has helped turn Northfield's bowling team from recreational “quasi-sport” status to a competitive varsity team within three years.

“When we first started out, we were kind of the underdogs,” he said. “Everybody was pretty intimidating to us. This last year, we were one of the contenders.”

Northfield wound up taking fourth place in sections, losing out to the eventual second-place team in the state, Farmington.

Larry said his son often helps to coach the kids.

“He treats everyone the same,” said Larry. “He’ll work with the kids and tell them how to do things the right way even when Julie and I aren’t there.”

Betsy Gasior—whose son, Michael, is on the team with Matt—was the one who nominated Matt to be included in the Athlete of the Year poll.

“He is an outstanding leader ... and does everything he can to make everyone feel included,” she wrote. “He supports every player from the newest to the most experienced, never forgetting that he was new once too."

“Bowling has just been a big part of my life, a big part of my parent’s lives,” said Matt. “It’s just carried on. It’s something they love to do and I do, too.”

But Matt doesn’t spend all of his time at the alley.

In addition to bowling, he is active in the Northfield Youth Baseball Association. On any given baseball day, you might find him coaching kids, umpiring or even doing field maintenance.

Matt is also an avid outdoorsman.

“I hunt, I fish, I four-wheel,” he said. “I try to get outdoors and do something every day.”

But the lure of  calls Matt back. 

He credits his parents—who have coached Northfield's team since its inception—for his bowling success, as well as his love of the outdoors.

“We spend a lot of time together in the alley, but we pretty much do everything together,” said Larry. “It’s a lot of fun.”

And fun is something father, mother and coaches have always preached to Matt.

“It’s 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical,” said Matt. “It’s a mental game. The coaches always tell us to just find our happy spot right before you go bowl. Just find your happy place and go have fun.”

That seems to be the recipe for success for Matt both in and away from the alley.

The senior is still undecided on where he’ll attend college. But, he says that if he chooses a school near his hometown, he’d like to be involved with the bowling team he helped build.

“I definitely take a lot of pride in helping to build the program,” he said. “I hope they can continue to get better and build on the success we’ve had. But that’s up to the coaches, if they’ll have me back.”

Maybe his parents would put in a good word for him.