Following the Thanksgiving season, the only turkey on one’s mind is the leftovers sitting in the fridge. However, for some people the word turkey sym-bowl-ises something entirely different. Rather than a strikingly delicious meal, GlenOak’s bowling team is serving up enough strikes to spare.

     For many students, the presence of the bowling team does not ring a bowl, but this team is putting in the time and effort this season to go the extra mile to become unforgetta-bowl.

     The bowling team has received all new coaches this year as well as a slew of new players careful not to repeat yourself. with nine new players on the girls team and two new players to the boys team.

     These new coaches are taking a fresh approach to how they manage the teams. They are treating all bowlers as a part of one team rather than separating them during practice.

     Even though it has been a big step up in the expectations for players, many think that it is worth the work.

     “I really feel like the way [the new coaches] coach makes us almost want to do better and they have helped everyone improve drastically,” sophomore Aurora Stergis said.

     From the outside, it can look like the sport of bowling is very simple. All one has to do is roll the ball into the pins. However, there is a skill to the sport which the new coaches hope to teach to their players. 

     “We were picked to coach for a reason,” coach Robert Hawkins said. “We know what we’re doing, we know what we’re talking about, we’ve taken girls like [our daughter] who her freshman year threw the ball like half you guys did, and by the end of her freshman year was averaging 170.”

     She is not the only one who the new coaches have been able to help. A lot of players have been stepping up when it comes to performance this season.

     “I have seen improvement in myself and how I play. Also in the girls who came to tryouts knowing close to conthing but now have shown lots of improvements in just two weeks,” Stergis said.

     With improvements showing after only two weeks, coaches and players alike expect this season to be an even bigger knock-out than last years, but they know that this will mean extra work and dedication.

     “We are expected to perform at a better ability and stay focused more than we ever have,” senior Ariel Oyler said.

     Even though new and old players find themselves struggling to take the heat, their willingness to make the team better has kept them from getting out of the proverbial kitchen.

     “These are the same expectations pretty much in the work world,” Hawkins said. “I managed my entire life from the time I was 21 to 47. If my employees didn’t want to learn the job, we got rid of them.”

     As with any sport, the coaches hope to both teach their players skills necessary for the activity and skills necessary for life. However, in the public eye, bowling is not often treated as the varsity sport that it is.

     “I feel like people forget that it is also a sport that can take you far, just like basketball or football, and it should be recognized just as much,” Stergis said.

     The improvements being made this year will get the ball rolling with moving bowling into the spotlight of high school sports and demonstrate the surprising amount of difficulty that comes with it. Either way, our athletes are ready to rock and bowl.