Girls Bowling
As the top of the staircase up to the state competition comes closer into view, every pin counts towards the next crucial steps that the Girls Bowling team must make. After winning the CSL Tournament with a 5,134 total on the day, the team gets fired up for the state match on blank date.
Crushing the standard that bowling is a sport that doesn’t require much competitive drive, Senior Varsity athlete EJ Bock knows first hand that there’s an underlying mental drive needed for this lesser known sport.
“I thought that bowling would be more low commitment, but I quickly realized how intense it actually is. Bowling takes so much more of your time, focus, and energy than I had expected,” Bock explained.
With all five of the Varsity bowlers finishing in the top ten for individuals, it’s safe to say that the hard work and dedication that these players have put into their craft is paying off. And as the end of the season and state championships come closer into view, the seniors get ready to pass the ball off to the underclassman.
Recruiting incoming Freshman is critical to continue bowlings strong legacy. Because middle schools don’t provide bowling as an in-school-sport option, most of the recruiting process involves the grapevine.
“Once these kids get involved and they find out like their friends are involved they show up. That’s why you recruit pretty much word-of-mouth,” Coach Sugar Ray Austin explained.
Girls coach Blank knows that the tight community helps the drive to want success stronger in the team. The girls team’s smaller size doesn’t stop them from being admirable, and the small yet mighty team is a community that instantly attracts anyone.
“I think it’s like a super cool way to engage with your peers. because I feel like [bowling] sets itself apart from other sports,” Bock stated.
Boys Bowling
ETHS Boys Bowling has had a season to remember so far—competition wins and perfect scores add to the teams success— and they now look ahead to State, as Sophomore Anthony Swansan has qualified for the second year in a row. The history in the making season has proven special for head Bowling Coach, Coach Bailey as he reflects on this past Winter. (quote from bailey)
Swanson was first introduced to bowling in the summer of 2019 when his mom got him into a summer program with three free bowling programs a day.
“Pretty much every day during the summer of 2019 we [his family] pretty much just went out and played and that’s when I first found out I really liked the sport” he explains..
Senior Kaelexx Oats was introduced to the sport at an even younger age.
“I’ve been bowling ever since I was three, and I got into it because my parents bowled for over twenty years. I used to love watching them, and how cool it was that they could make the ball strike a lot,” he says.
These two top players have begun to excel at the high school level and the ETHS Bowling team won their first in-season bowling tournament on, , furthering their confidence and adding to their consistent top three finishes from the rest of the season.
Coach Bailey’s dedication to the team and their success has proven well for both Swanson and Kaelexx, especially for the mental component of long bowling competitions.
“He [Coach Bailey] really keeps me focused, and positive with myself. Instead of just seeing all the negatives, like if I’m not striking a lot, he doesn’t ever get mad and tries to make sure that they stay focused on what the team needs,” Swanson explains.
Along with focusing on the mental component, the transition from bowling on an individual level to focusing on the overall team performance has been a game-changer for Swanson this season. Although there weren’t any middle- school bowling teams he found opportunities to bowl by himself, but high school was his first chance to get into team bowling.
“My freshman year, I wasn’t really experienced with Team bowling, and I was always thinking about my bowling on an individual level, but now I’m starting to support the team a lot better and think about the whole team instead of just me,” Swanson explains.
The community is what bowling is all about for the Kits. A big part of playing a sport that isn’t as well known as football or soccer is to get the word out, primarily because bowling isn’t offered in middle school. Oats explains how he aims for all of the players they receive to consistently come back.
“We work to welcome them, we don’t judge, and we let them know the bowling team is a family. That’s what I want it to be, and that’s how it is. I want people to come back and have good feedback on their bowling and feel like they can do this,” he says.
Swanson continues his season with the upcoming State competition on January 31st and February 1st after accomplishing the first perfect bowling score in school history, achieved by getting a strike on every bowl, and finishing first or second in every tournament so far. This has provided him with the confidence for what is ahead. Last year at State he felt a lack of focus after the midway break in the competition and is hoping to spread out his focus and stamina better this year.
“The State experience was eye-opening last year and this time I’m hoping that instead of all the good bowls in the first half and the bad ones in the last half, I can spread it out and stay consistent,” he says.
