As the winter sports season kicks off,  the GHS bowlers start the season looking forward to the improvement and successes the team will have. Bowling is a team sport, and the scoring system comes to total cumulative points. 

It is a sport that not only depends on one singular person’s skill, but everyone’s else’s to be able to win as a whole. Each team’s points are averaged into one score, which is why it is so crucial to have a strong team that’s consistent.

“It is truly a team sport. You have five. bowlers bowling one game, each bowler bowls two frames, they feed off of each other’s excitement,” Coach Robert Ligocki said. 

It is  a very technical sport that takes precision; not everyone is able to bowl. 

“The skill level is a strength,” commented Ligocki when asked about the team’s strengths. 

This coming year’s bowlers are better than ever, with several victories already. 

The GHS Varsity bowlers started their season off strong, on Dec. 6, where they won their first match of the season. They beat New Berlin Eisenhower, 6 games to 3, with a high game of 198 points. 

On Saturday, Dec.11 the team beat the Franklin Sabers, 6 games to 3. During this game scoring the highest they have all season with scores of, 211, 221, 231, and 245. Seniors Niko Kempen and Elliott Kopplin bowled a strong match, with Kempen having 7 strikes and 4 spares. 

Kempen is happy with his performance so far. “During practices last season, I got my personal best single game score of 242 and hope to keep improving on that this year,” he said.

On Dec. 20, the team won their match against Whitnall, 6 games to 3, bowling their season-high games of 211, 221, 231, and 245. 

On the team this year there are many players with experience, which makes the Greendale bowlers solid competition for the upcoming season.

Junior Carter Bartz has been bowling since he was in 5K and tries to get in as much practice time as he can. “My practice time depends on what tournaments and leagues I’m participating in outside of just regular school bowling,”  he said.

The experience and the knowledge of the sport, that most of the players have this year, will be a key part in their quest to make it to State.