Jennifer R. Gardner
Staff Writer
Pins lined up at the end of a polished lane. Cheers arise from the seats behind the pit as the undefeated Girls bowling team encourage each other with a unique cheer for each of its members.When they send the ball down the lane, they remember to relax and stay loose. According to senior Angelica Dominguez, the success of her team made her feel like she can do anything.
“I think our experience together has been memorable. It’s been a great joy to make new friends and hopefully, those friendships continue on and we’ll be able to call each other and say ‘hey we’re going bowling let’s go’,” Dominguez said.
Both of our State bound Bowling teams have secured a place this year at the State level.The girls’ team held an almost perfect season of 9 to 1, with their one loss belonging to Brennan High School, while the boys’ team possessed the same score losing only one game earlier in the season. This success, however, is the result of their dedication not only to the game but to each other. According to the team and the coaches, they always take the time to give out pointers and tips in order to help each other become better bowlers.
“Usually we sit down before our team match after our singles and we just we talk to each other.We make each other feel better [and] sometimes the guys [bowling team] come over and they help us out and we go into the team trying to do our best,” Talamantez said.
Through all the trials and tribulations that comes with perfecting their game these girls shared that they count every sacrifice as worth their while, and Dominguez describes one of the ways bowling has impacted her in life is in the way it has to lead her to be more confident and with that confidence to rely more on herself.
“In my opinion, San Antonio and the State of Texas have one of the best high school bowling clubs in the states. They have been working hard to make it a UIL sport so maybe one day that will happen but the Texas High School Bowling Club (THSBC) gives students the opportunity to compete at local, regional, state and national levels,” Head Bowling coach Greg Knierim said.
Senior Jennifer Doubrava shared a discus- sion she had with one of her coaches about how much she had improved since she joined the team as a freshman.
“It’s a fun bond between all your coaches because they’ve seen you grow from the beginning for most of us because most of us started when we were freshmen and they’ve just seen us get better and better. [It is] a cool experience especially since I’m a senior and like I’ve done it for four years it’s a really nice dynamic [we have],” Doubrava said.
One of the crowning achievements of our girls’ bowling team is how they have earned relatively high ranks for the singles division, meaning that most of the top students are from our school. Their chances for securing the title of ‘State Champions’ is pretty high.With all the success of the bowling team, however, it’s important to keep our hard-working coaches in mind as well.They sacrifice so much of their own time, including time with family and friends, volunteering to coach the teams and shape them into the fantastic bowlers they are today.
“I don’t consider this a job. Bowling has always been my passion and the fact that I can give my knowledge back to the youth in an effort to grow the sport of bowling is the only job I have,” Knierim said.
Bowling, as described by both the coaches and the team, is a mental game. Meaning that it is a game where you have to be mentally prepared and relaxed to get better at it. Our girls all shared that at least one tip they would give to freshmen joining the team is that they should focus on the present instead of worrying over the next frame. As Doubrava shared; take it one frame at a time.
“There is a lot of advice that can be given to the students when there are learning but the best advice is to focus on the moment. Bowling is a sport that is about 10% physical and about 90% mental, meaning that the thoughts and emotions that run through your head have more of an effect on the physical game than the physical ability itself,” Knierim said.
In light of this season, the girls’ drive and ambition have led them to their district champion title; topping the charts and earning not one, but two banners at Bandera Bowl.
“My favorite part of being a coach is seeing the potential of each individual and how they grow during the season to become better. Based on their performance, several college scholarships are available for high school bowlers.These scholarships can provide a good bit of financial help as well as give them something fun to do in college that they may not have been expecting.This opens a lot of opportunities that may not have been available,” Knierim said.