Despite a career on the lanes that has spanned more than 50 years, Phil Perkins of Weedsport has waited a while to reach a few important milestones - some he has been shooting for since he started as a youth bowler.

But in many ways it may well have been worth the wait.

Since August, Perkins has rolled three 300 games at Rainbow Lanes.

Starting off in his summer league in August, Perkins followed up with another 300 in December.

Perkins hit his most recent 300 on Jan. 30.

Good things come to those who wait, and Perkins can certainly attest to.

“It was something I had been shooting for a long time,” Perkins said. “I have 299s all over the place. I got my first 300 in 19995 and then I thought OK, I have that off my back and now I can get a few more, but I had to wait almost 12 years to get another 300 and now they've kind of sped up one me and I have three in a row now.”

Oddly enough, his most recent 300, Perkins said he was not feeling well and had almost decided to just stay home.

“I thought I would just stay home and be ugly,” Perkins said. “But then I thought I can stay home and feel ugly or go and at least bowl a little. So I went out and everything just kind of fell into place.”

Perkins, a Niagara Falls native, started bowling when he was just 8.

“My dad and my uncle bowled,” Perkins said. “They got me involved and I bowled every Saturday morning growing up and I've been bowling ever since. It has been all kinds of fun.”

Perkins moved through youth bowling in the Niagara Falls area and when he moved to Weedsport for work in 1975, he started his local career at Starlite Lanes, spending many Saturday afternoons there and also spending some time at Polish Falcon.

In 1978, Perkins discovered Rainbow Lanes, which has since become like a second home to him, a place where he still bowls three nights a week.

“I've always had an interest in the game,” Perkins said. “I like the challenge of it and the competition. And I like all the guys, the camaraderie of it.”

Throughout his career, Perkins has been an avid competitor, bowling in more than a dozen ABC state tournaments and being a regular competitor in The Citizen Masters, finishing third in 1995.

All of his hard work has paid off as Perkins is averaging over 200 in all three of his leagues.

Perkins said that he has been spending a little more time focusing on his game lately and it has been paying off.

“I've been spending some extra time on it,” Perkins said. “A lot of things like the equipment and everything has changed. But for a long time I was throwing the ball really hard. But I realized that I really don't have to do that and I've been trying to slow down a little and my average is up and I've got these 300s, so it has been working.”

Along with his 300 games, Perkins also hit the elusive 800 mark in 2005, and has no intentions of slowing down any.

“They have always been goals,” Perkins said. “You always try to get 300 and 800 and I guess they will always be goals.”