Kylie Fox
By Mike London
Salisbury Post
GRANITE QUARRY – The Foxes live close enough to Staton Field that they can listen to the national anthem prior to East Rowan baseball games and they can hear the next hitter being announced.
They were able to hear the cheers whenever Harrison Ailshie sent a baseball into orbit.
Sean Fox, an outgoing guy whose life has always revolved around his pleasant obsession with sports, hopes that his 7-year-old son, Colton, is good enough to play for the Mustangs one day, but for now the “home field” for Colton and his big sister, 13-year-old Kylie, is Woodleaf Lanes.
Yes, Woodleaf Lanes. This is a bowling family. They are all-in.
Six Woodleaf Lanes bowlers, including the Foxes, are heading to Minnesota nex month for the Junior Gold Championships, the Olympics of youth bowling. They’ll travel to Minnesota to enjoy themselves but they also will be testing their skill and grit against the best from all over the country. The tournament will include thousands of bowlers (girls and boys, 18 and under), at least five major venues, hundreds of lanes and opening ceremonies that rival the parade for the Rose Bowl.
“They don’t have a flag to carry, but each state has a big sign to identify them when their bowlers walk in the opening ceremonies,” Sean explained. “They chose Kylie to carry the sign for North Carolina last year. She’s still got it in her room.”
For Kylie, this trip to Minnesota won’t be daunting. She’s a veteran. It will be familiar territory. She finished 27th out of 107 girls in the U12 division in 2025, climbing steadily up the standings after a shaky start.
Today’s Kylie looks somewhat different than the Kylie who headed north in 2025. She averaged about 165 pins when she was 12, with a PR of 219, but she is taller, stronger and more confident now. Her approach is more balanced. Her arm motion is smoother. Her release is more consistent.
“She watches videos of herself in tournaments from last summer and says, ‘Wow, is that really me?'” Sean said. “She’s different.”
Kylie’s confidence flows from making straight A’s and being a softball standout in the fall and a basketball star in the winter at Erwin Middle School, where she is a rising eighth-grader.
“She was good in track, but she decided to drop track in the seventh grade, because she needed more time to practice bowling,” Sean said. “We’ve always told her that if her grades start to slip, she’ll have to cut back on sports, but she’s always done very well in the classroom. She loves school. She won’t miss a day for anything.”
Kylie’s best four-game block at Junior Gold in 2025 was 633. She averaged 149 pins while dealing with the pressure of a national event. Her high game was 189.
That’s not bad at all, but she’s progressed. She rolled a 612 series (three games) recently at Woodleaf Lanes. That’s averaging 204 pins and being consistent. As far as single games, Sean said her PR is now is over 250. She hasn’t subtracted any finesse in the last year, but she’s added some power.
“Some jaws drop when people who have never seen Kylie bowl before, watch her,” Sean said cheerfully.
The Junior Gold jaunt will have additional flavor for all the Foxes the second time around, as Colton, a rising second-grader, will be there for the first time. The 7-year-old has qualified for the event, even though the youngest age bracket at Junior Gold is U12.
“We already had decided Colton was going with us this year, and since he was going we decided to see if he could qualify to compete,” Sean said. “Well, he was able to qualify, so he’ll get to experience all of Junior Gold, from the opening ceremonies, to meeting the pro bowlers, at a young age. They’ve told us he’s not the youngest bowler in the history of Junior Gold, but he will be the youngest competitor there this year.”
Colton was not intimidated when he heard that news. He is a lad fueled by a love for pizza and he has requested a pepperoni party if he can beat someone in the national event. Sean has agreed to those conditions and expects to be making good on that promise.
“He’ll probably beat a few people,” Sean said. “There will be some close to his age.”
Colton weighs 45 pounds, but has been following his sister around for a while, so he knows his way around an alley. He has been bowling since he was 3. He has bowled a 157 and Sean said he averages almost 120.
“He’s been bowling since he was physically strong enough to push the ball down the lane,” Sean said. “For a 7-year-old, he’s pretty good.”
Sean grew up in Florida, but he went to college at Catawba. He’s made a living in announcing, media relations and sports information. He’s had stints at Pfeiffer and with the Charlotte 49ers and Kannapolis Cannon Ballers.
His best sport always was bowling, so he introduced Kylie to the game early. Kylie has shown an aptitude for bowling and has the work ethic to make it a long way in the sport.
“She wants to practice all the time,” Sean said. “I never have to make her practice. It’s her that’s dragging me.”
An advancement Kylie has made in the past year is in the fine-tuning of her practice sessions. She bowls regularly in leagues, but when he has lane time to herself, she won’t just roll a game, she’ll work on specifics – spare conversions on 7s or 10s or tough splits.
Not that she leaves herself many splits.
Kylie has been a state champion and has won competitive tournaments on the “Tough Shots” tour, which attracts the best youth bowlers in the Carolinas and Virginia.
As a 12-year-old, she helped North Carolina’s U15 team win matches against Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia. She can compete not only with all of the girls her age, but with most of the guys.
Kylie already has won $3,000 in youth bowling tournaments. She can’t go buy ice cream with that money, as all youth tournament winnings automatically go into a bowler’s college scholarship fund. It’s a good start on her future.
Kylie will be competing in Minnesota in the U14 division. That will be tougher than her U12 competition in 2025. It’s a much larger field – 220 girls – but she likes to set the bar high. Her goal is to do even better than last year.
The Foxes will be flying to Minnesota. It’s an 18-hour trip by car and with only one driver, that would be tough assignment for Sean. Kylie can do a lot of things, but she can’t legally drive yet.
“So we bit the bullet and bought the plane tickets,” Sean said.
The departure date for the Foxes is July 8.
Sean’s phone number is 239-633-5383 if anyone would like to make a contribution to the trip.
