On a cold December evening Sam Kaplan, 31, of East Hills, stepped up to a familiar lane at Bowlero in East Meadow. The lane was light on oil as Kaplan had already thrown a couple games.
That night was different for Kaplan. He had rolled 12 strikes in a row and was looking for one final strike to complete his perfect game. Taking his time, he tuned out everything around him and focused on the 10 pins at the end of the lane. He took a deep breath and rolled the ball down the lane, spinning with such velocity it looked like a car tire. Suddenly ole “Eagle Eyes” had knocked down the first pin which caused the other nine to follow in secession like a house of cards.
Kaplan had finished his perfect game. This would be an achievement for any bowler, but for Kaplan it was the 10th time he had completed the feat, five of which were in sanctioned leagues or tournaments.
Kaplan’s love of bowling started at the age of 4 when his family was living in a Philadelphia suburb.
“Where I lived every Sunday I could bowl as many games I wanted for three hours. And, you know, that’s that’s just part of how I got hooked on bowling. And I also joined a league for the first time when I was 7,” said Kaplan.
Kaplan’s family moved to East Hills where he attended Roslyn high school and joined their bowling team in 2008. During his sophomore year Kaplan would break the 300 mark for the first time.
“Christmas Eve 2009. It’s an easy date to remember,” said Kaplan. “When I got to the 10th frame, I just wanted to make the best shots I could.”
After high school Kaplan attended Hofstra University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in forensic science in 2016. Since then Kaplan has been working as a research assistant in the Flow Cytometry Department at Icon Laboratories in Farmingdale and does not have time to join a league. Instead he prefers to sub in across several leagues multiple nights a week.
“There are people that have openly referred to me as a super ‘sub’ because i’m willing to get teams a lot of points and I will bowl whenever I’m needed.” said Kaplan
While subbing in East Meadow last year, Kaplan and his team did something special. Kaplan and his team of three other people bowled a 3130 series, the highest series bowled by a team of four nationally in 2023-2024. The team also posted a national single game high of 1131 pins. Kaplan himself had an 811 series, including a perfect game.
Kaplan’s talents have taken him to leagues all across Nassau County and beyond where he has competed in tournaments as a member of the New England Bowlers Association located in East Hartford, Conn. In March 2024 Kaplan bowled a perfect game during a NEBA-sanctioned tournament to catapult him from the bottom of the standings to making the squad cut by just three pins. His four-game series was 1141 pins.
When not competing Kaplan has taken up coaching and has taught numerous student the secret behind throwing a perfect spiral. Despite his accomplishments, Kaplan feels there is still much to learn from his pupils.
“I still consider myself a student of the game. I see people do something that isn’t quite right and I try to do it to see if I can fix it,” said Kaplan. “They asked me if I could potentially help them with their game, and I gladly agreed to do that. That’s when I realized that I could be very good at giving lessons. Sure enough, I’ve given lessons to several different people at this point.”
Kaplan is not only an accomplished bowler, but also an impressive competitive Scrabble player. Kaplan met his friend Marty Fialkow, 80, of Pennsylvania on Facebook Messenger in 2018 and since then the two have helped each other succeed on the competitive scene while cultivating a friendship. Fialkow describes Kaplan as “a sweet kid” and says they keep in contact via email frequently.
Kaplan and Fialkow are part of the North American Scrabble Players Association and have traveled across the country from Las Vegas to Baltimore to compete nationally.
“[Sam] has gotten really good in a very short amount of time,” said Fialkow. “Some contestants will go home and study the dictionary for an hour or two a day. I personally don’t do that, but [Sam] is one of those guys. That’s how he’s gotten so good.”
Most recently Kaplan finished in second place in a tournament that took place in Princeton, NJ, on Dec. 7.
Kaplan and Fialkow often correspond about more than just Scrabble. Before bowling one day Kaplan snapped a picture of a new ball he had received from a friend and sent it to Fialkow. Fiaklow looked at the finger holes of Kaplan’s new Polaris Hybrid and commented that they looked like “Eagle Eyes.” Soon thereafter Kaplan threw a 300 with “Eagle Eyes” and the name stuck.
“I’ve always had an active imagination. When [Sam] sent me the the picture, I thought it looked like Eagle Eyes,” said Fialkow.
Kaplan has since sent Fialkow pictures of every new ball he receives and asks him what bird the ball reminds him of.
Kaplan will be kept busy with his hobbies over the next month. He hopes to bowl in the Long Island masters tournament in East Meadow next month and he will enter his next Scrabble tournament on Feb. 15.
With Kaplan, one thing is for sure. You can be sure to find him on Monday nights at Bowlero in East Meadow practicing his craft in the game he loves.
