Q: How would you describe the rules of a high school bowling match to someone who has never been to one?

A: A regular high school bowling match consists of 3 games (best 2 out of 3).  The winner of each game is determined by the total number of pins for each game.  Championships, regionals, and states, are all formatted differently, since there are singles and team events for both boys and girls.  These events are usually played best out of 5 games.  One thing they are really strict about for bowling matches is your pants.  You are not allowed to have outside pockets, and if you do have them they will make you change your pants.

Q: How do you practice and prepare in the offseason for bowling?

A: I usually try to go bowling when I can with my dad.  He bowls and so does my brother, so this past summer I went bowling with my brother on Friday nights before band camp started.  It did help at the time because, but once band started I didn’t have time to bowl as much.

Q: What is your practice schedule?

We practice on Sundays from 1 to 3 and then we have matches after school on Wednesdays and a few Fridays here and there.  I think the Sunday practice is very nice because it’s right before the beginning of the week and it gets us ready and prepared for bowling on Wednesday.  

Q: What do you wish more people knew about high school bowling?

A: I wish more people knew about the bowling team just in general, because usually when I tell people I bowl for the school they say that they didn’t even know Norwin had a bowling team.  Another thing I wish people knew is that you don’t have to know how to bowl in order to be on the team.  I know many people who had no clue how to bowl that turned out to be some of the most important people on the team, especially last year.  If it weren’t for Emma (Mazur), Molly (Voigt), and Carly (Kubacka), the girls team would have never made it to regionals or even championships.  

Q: What are your personal and team goals for this season?

A: My biggest goal for the team is to beat McKeesport and make it to states.  My three personal goals are to get a game with a score of 200, get a match with a score of 500, and end the season with an average of 160/170.

Q: What do you think will be the biggest key to your team’s success this season?

A: I think if we all continue to have a lot of energy and keep pushing ourselves, we can make it.  The only thing that can hurt us is if we get inside our heads, that’s another thing about bowling is that it’s all mental.  If you get inside your head, you will fall apart.  I know because it has happened to me many times and it still happens now.  We just have to have fun and not get inside our heads over a missed spare or a ball that should’ve been a strike and it left a 10 pin.