In Rolla, the bowling alley provides a venue for fun as well as competition, even for high school students. Rolla offers a Saturday league for aspiring bowlers that bowls competitively every Saturday from August to May as well as a monthly travel league that competes in various cities around the district. This year, the traveling team has qualified for some major tournaments and even won a few.

“My travel team is bowling for first place for our area this month,” senior Cody Wilson said. “If we win, we go to the Missouri state high school tournament. I have won two bowling balls so far this year. I qualified to go to Detroit for junior gold nationals, where I will be competing against the top kids in the United States. We are competing for $150,000 in scholarship money. I am also on the kids dream team this year. This weekend I’m going to Kansas City to bowl in the state Pepsi tournament and kid’s state tournament. I have gone to Wichita state to bowl with their coaches and talk to them.”

What appears to be a very basic game, actually has a lot of complexity and the best bowlers practice as much as they can. Good bowlers are also not necessarily those who can bowl lots of strikes.

“[It surprises me] how exact your throw has to be, where one tiny board can make a difference of whether you strike or not,” senior Keaton Hunt said. “I have learned that a lot of the game is a lot of repetition, but it’s also a really mentally physical sport, and harder than it looks. To be a good bowler, it’s not about getting the strikes; those will come as you figure out where to throw your ball. It’s about picking the spares that you leave, that really have a major effect on your score.”

Bowlers don’t become good overnight just like any other sport or activity. Some of the best bowlers are the ones who have been playing the longest and are the most dedicated.

“It helps if you have your own ball that actually fits you personally,” Wilson said. “Practice helps a lot. I’ve bowled since I was three and I still practice at least four times a week.”

While also having its competitive aspects, the bowling team also has a lot of fun due largely to being one of the only sports to compete all year.

“My favorite part is I’ve got to go all over the state and out of state,” Wilson said. “I meet new people every time which is cool and it’s just a fun sport to do with friends and family.”