MUSKEGON, Mich. — Sunday marks 521 since Russia’s official invasion of Ukraine, creating chaos for that part of Europe.
The war in Ukraine is the reason family members of a professional bowler in Muskegon had to move to the United States and start their lives over— but thanks to the West Michigan bowling community, the family now is thriving.
Dasha Kovalova started bowling when she was just eight years old. Her parents, Oksana and Sergii, became well known coaches in their home country of Ukraine, and Dasha soon rose through the ranks.
“I mean, I had my doubts. I personally didn’t think I would get this far because there were a lot of people around us who said, ‘you’re not good enough. You’ll never be good enough. Look at all those kids, they achieved more in such a short amount of time and you’re still struggling,’” Dasha recalled.
After winning her first medal at the 2011 World Games, Wichita State University in Kansas offered Dasha a bowling scholarship. She completed her collegiate career there, before joining the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tour.
That’s what brought her to West Michigan. Then, she became sponsored by Muskegon-based Brunswick Bowling— the world’s largest bowling manufacturer.
Dasha says it was a tough choice to leave Ukraine, but she and her parents knew it was the right decision.
“Very difficult. I cried every night, but I understood that this was important for her life and for her sport,” Dasha’s mom, Oksana, said.
Dasha and her parents were able to reunite a few times a year during visits or tour stops. Everything changed last February when the war broke out.
“I drove to Chicago and I met them there [the airport] with one bag. Practically nothing. Just whatever they could scramble around to grab,” Dasha said.
Sergii and Oksana were on their way back to Ukraine from a bowling tournament when they found out Russia’s invasion had begun. There were no flights home, so they came to America with nothing but one suitcase each.
“I think it was just very emotional that they realized they were finally safe and they got out,” Dasha said.
Warfare has since destroyed their home in Dnipro, and the life Sergii and Oksana built as accomplished coaches for Team Ukraine had to be abandoned in order to survive.
“Our lives have been broken, before and after [the war]. It’s very difficult because we’re not young and we’ve had to start a new life, a new job. It’s very difficult,” Oksana said.
Word about Dasha’s parents having to flee Ukraine quickly spread through the West Michigan bowling community, and Brunswick immediately jumped in to help.
“My wife’s team, all the teammates and everybody put together a big, huge gift card and said, ‘here you go, hopefully this can help you.’ They only had a suitcase each so we tried to help them out as much as we could,” Brunswick Director of Product Management Billy Orlikowski said.
“We cried. Crying runs in our family. Nobody expected that. It’s a bit of a cutthroat world back at home so when people come in and give you stuff and they don’t expect anything in return, it’s just weird,” Dasha translated for her parents. “It really helped to…lift a little weight off their shoulders because we actually have a chance to start fresh and maybe it’s not so scary after all.”
Once they secured temporary protection status in America as refugees, Sergii needed a job. That’s when Brunswick stepped up once again.
“I mentioned to Dasha we need help here. I know he’s a very smart person. He was a sales manager and owned his own business, but we always need help out in the warehouse and maybe it’s just a starting position for him,” Orlikowski said. “When someone needs help, we try to do that extra little bit that we can.”
Sergii interviewed to be a product fulfillment specialist and was hired almost instantly.
"It's really nice to have a really good community. And it helped me too because I know that I wasn't alone in helping and figuring out the situation," said Dasha.
He gets to see Dasha at work often when she’s at the office helping design products for Brunswick.
Oksana is still coaching— she travels with Dasha on the PWBA tour.
Meanwhile, they’re still in the process of applying for green cards, so they can continue to build their lives in Muskegon.
“I think it’s very exciting and I hope that one day we can be a team again— the bowler, the coach and the team manager,” Dasha said.
