The Intramural Bowling Team is ready to throw strikes for its 5th consecutive season.
Mr. Ray Werner, Mrs. Kim Jones, and her son Ryan Jones are the coaches of the team, and they have helped create a program that continues to grow over the years, becoming larger and more impactful as it goes.
LFHS had a bowling team in 1999 through 2003, but bowling was not a part of IHSA at that time. The team is now back as an intramural sport, but there are plans to change it.
“There is strong support from the athletic office to take the next steps towards offering bowling as a varsity sport for both boys and girls next school year,” said Mr. Werner.
With students’ continued interest in bowling as a varsity sport, it is very likely that in the next year or so, that will be the reality.
This year’s season just recently came to a close, and there were many highlights.
The team started practicing in early November and had two practices a week at the Bowlero alley in Waukegan, their home alley.
Being an intramural sport, many wonder how students find out about the team or join it:the word about the team got around in different kinds of ways.
“My friends and I saw it on Schoology and thought to sign up for fun, but we ended up getting really involved in it,” said Bertola.
Students like Bertola signed up for the purpose of having an after school activity or just for fun, but bowling became so much more to them.
“Mr. Werner gave me really good tips and helped me become the best Bowler I could be,” said Bertola.
During practices, the coaches focus on teaching strategy and how to knock down certain pins. The team has competed in many different tournaments including the NSC tournament and the IHSA regional tournament.
One of the sophomore players, Issac Arciniega, who has been a part of the team since his freshman year, started the team as for
fun and ended up excelling: this past season he won the sportsmanship award at one of the tournaments.
At many of the bowling tournaments, depending on how many are competing, the organizers make sure that all bowlers have a lane and can participate.
This is not a sport where players sit on the bench: players are encouraged to be involved and are celebrated when they are.
