What most think of as a fun, carefree activity, is actually a competitive sport for others. Last year Elkhorn High added bowling to the list of winter sports, and JV bowler Brian Strohman made the decision to go out for it this year.
“I bowled just for fun in my life, but then me and my friends decided to go out for the team this year,” Strohman said.
Each day after school, Strohman and his teammates travel a few minutes to Bowlero, since that is the closest place for them to bowl and is also their home court.
“We get there and we have like ten minutes to warm up and then sometimes we do drills but otherwise we just play two games just to get reps in,” Strohman said.
Every rep counts in preparation for their meets, and these athletes sacrifice their time in school for many of these.
“When we get there everyone just figures out where they’re supposed to be, their lane and stuff, and then we get ten minutes of practice bowling,” Strohman said. “Then we play one game and then another game and then everybody is on one team and we play a Baker’s Game.”
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, or NFHS, a Baker Game is when bowlers come together as a team to bowl one game. Along with this, individual scores also contribute to the team’s meet result.
“You win as a team, so you go against somebody else and if you beat that person you get a point, and that all adds up to a team score,” Strohman said.
He is participating in both bowling and hockey during this winter season, but Strohman does not have a big problem with balancing the two.
“Bowling is right after school and our hockey practices are later in the night so those don’t usually combine too much, except when we have games,” Strohman said. “Sometimes those will get in the way, but usually it’s not too big of an issue from practice schedules being pretty far apart.”
