Hi, I'm Matt Veryser!
What began as a few fun nights out at Cadieux Cafe over a decade ago has evolved into an exploration of my heritage, a journey in learning woodworking, and a mission to build community.
I had dreamed of constructing feather bowling lanes in Dayton for about six years before I realized how deeply connected my personal heritage is with Flemish Belgium, where feather bowling is played.
I grew up knowing that my last name is Dutch and that it translates to "Ver" (a combination of "Van der," meaning "from the") and "Yser," which refers to either “iron” or a river that runs through France and Belgium. But it wasn’t clear if it heralded any specific place.
In my desire to learn more about Feather Bowling, I eventually visited Roeselare & Diksmuide, Belgium. Here, I took the opportunity to meet other Veryers and learned about my lineage in the region, which traced back to the 1700s.
Visiting Belgium
When I started building the Feather Bowling lanes, I desperately searched the internet for standards related to Feather Bowling, or Trabol. I found a website for the Trabol Federation and began mapping out all the lanes in Belgium, hoping to one day explore the source material.
A few months later, when planning to visit my brother in Tanzania, I realized I could add a stopover in Amsterdam. Although I only had a few days, I packed my itinerary with a trip to Belgium, and I arranged to meet another Veryser through LinkedIn.
I emailed the Trabol Federation several times but never received a response. Undeterred, I checked the club's hours on Google Maps and decided to drop in. I got very lucky during this trip, and one of my fortunate breaks occurred when I arrived at the club - it was actually open! They had a reservation for a corporate team-building group, but it was canceled just a few minutes after I walked in. After a bit of confusion (they didn't speak much English, and I don't speak Dutch), we figured out why I was there, and we started sharing drinks, conversation, and bowling a few balls.
In addition to sharing a memory with me that will last a lifetime, they also shared a book written by one of their members titled Het West-Vlaams Trabolspel. This book has been a goldmine of insight into the game, featuring 200 pages of history, standards, strategy, and an investigation into the ~8 other similar games throughout Belgium and France.
During this trip, I took a quick 15-mile drive from Roeselare, where the Rodenbach Bolders' Club is located, to the town of Diksmuide and the Yser River. While there, I dipped my hand in the Yser River, explored the town, and visited the Yser Peace Museum.
I also arranged to meet another Veryser through LinkedIn. Here's a photo of me with my long-lost cousin, Niek Veryser. We discovered that we have many similarities: we both work in finance, are in our 30s, are raising young families, married our college sweethearts, and share a passion for cycling. Interestingly, our last shared relative raised his family about five miles from where we met and was born in 1727. As an American, I find it hard to grasp the deep sense of place that Niek and his family experience living in Diksmuide.
Building these lanes and developing a passion for Feather Bowling has been a journey that's taken me places and taught me about myself in ways that I never expected.
Why did I build these lanes?
If I had to choose one answer, this has been fun. Building things is fun, learning new skills is fun, and playing a round of feather bowling with friends is really fun. You could call this a hobby, a business, an obsession, or a way to build community, and they would all be accurate.
Professional Stuff
In my day job, I work with tech entrepreneurs. My career has taken me into and out of tech startups and the organizations that fund and support them. You can find me on LinkedIn here.