Bowling is a sport that requires excellent hand-eye coordination.

So what happens when someone has only half of that equation?

Ask DJ Cox, a Niles resident and avid bowler, who is legally blind but doesn’t let that stop him from ruling the lanes of Joey Armadillo’s bowling alley.

He finished second at the Stanely Open at Joey Armadillo’s last month. And in January, he bowled an 803, good for the second best series score at the bowling alley this season. The milestone earned him a ring from the bowling alley.

Cox, 26, has Stargardt’s Disease, a form of juvenile macular degeneration that leads to progressive vision loss.

Cox first noticed his vision weakening in elementary school.

“I loved to read when I was young, and I noticed I couldn’t see the words very well,” he said. “I went to different eye doctors and they kept fitting me with glasses but they weren’t working for me.”

It wasn’t until several years later that a doctor diagnosed him with Stargardt’s. Cox has 20/200 vision in both eyes.

As a child, Cox couldn’t play many sports due to his condition.

“I couldn’t play football because I couldn’t see the ball until it was right there,” he said.

So he took to bowling, and despite his disability, quickly excelled in the sport. He was a member of a traveling youth team and placed high at several tournaments.

As an adult, he has excelled in league play at Joey Armadillo’s. He plays every Friday but used to bowl five nights a week.

Cox says he can see the pins when he is bowling but not clearly. He relies on instincts and feel rather than pinpoint aim.

“I try to hit the area that I want to hit,” he said.

Cox says bright lighting in bowling alleys can throw off his game.

“The main issue is the glare off the lanes bothers me,” he said. “I actually shoot better in the dark.”

Rolling an 803 is the highlight of his career, he says.

“When I shot it, there were no tears or anything. I just screamed,” he said. “Everybody came up to me and shook my hand and stuff.”

Cox said his “lifelong dream” is to participate in the United States Bowling Congress amateur national tournament.