BUTLER TWP — Billy Warren has TARsyndrome, a rare genetic disorder that involves a low platelet count and absence of the radial — the long, thin bone — in his arms.

The 10-year-old Butler resident is more than just a victim of a defect that afflicts only 0.42 of every 100,000 births.

He is a fourth-grade student at Oakland Elementary School. He enjoys fishing. And he has the usual interests of a youngster.

"We haven't limited him in anything,"said his mother, Stacey Warren. "If there's something he wants to do, we let him try it.

"That's the only way he's going to figure out what he can and can't do in life."

He can do plenty. He goes snowboarding, rides a bicycle and gets good grades in school.

Billy also bowls in the YSBC Youth Association each Saturday morning at Family Bowlaway.

A bowler since age 5, he uses a ramp to release the ball, strategically placing it in different areas along the approach, depending on what pins he's trying to pick up.

"I have trouble with the corner ones," he admitted.

A few years ago, Billy's average was in the 60s and "he wasn't sure he wanted to come back," his mother said.

Billy's 12-year-old sister, Shilo, and 5-year-old brother, Thomas also bowl in the youth association, however.

"We told him he could quit if he wanted, but he'd still have to come with us to the lanes every Saturday," Stacey Warren said. "He didn't want to come and just watch."

So he kept on bowling — and improving. Last year, Billy qualified for the Pepsi-Cola Scholarship Tournament, one of only 30 of the association's 500 bowlers to do so.

This year, he's averaging 111 and has rolled a high game of 152.

"The best part of him bowling is that he's around other kids who don't see any difference in him,"his mother said. "They wrestle around with him like they do with each other. He's just another normal kid to them, and that's great for his self-esteem."

"He's grown up here with a lot of these kids,"said YSBCYouth Association president Rick Reeder. "It's great that he can come out and enjoy a sport like this, and improve like anybody else."

The Warren children got involved in bowling through an aunt who was a league bowler for 13 years.

When Billy wanted to begin bowling, his mother confessed to being a little hesitant about the idea.

"It's not a common syndrome that he has and I wasn't sure how the bowling alley or league would accept him,"she said. "But everyone's been awesome.

"He gets to compete with the rest of the kids and blend in with the other kids — and that's all he really wants."

When it's Billy's turn to bowl, two teammates or opponents help him position the ramp he uses

"He's got it down to about a fourth of a board in terms of his positioning," his mother said.

Billy's bowling isn't limited to Saturday mornings at Family Bowlaway. He competes in various youth tournaments as well.

"When he bowls in different tournaments, Family Bowlaway allows him to take the ramp with him,"Reeder said.

Billy's favorite subject in school is science.

"I like to build things," he said.

Including a bowling career.

And his favorite part of the sport?

"I love getting strikes," he said.

Just like any other kid.