“Bowling is a very intelligent game and we pride ourselves on our academics, so it’s a great fit for us,” Slauterbeck said. “The oil patterns, angles, ball rotation, torque – the more they bowl, the more they see how the game relates to their academics.”
With only two other winter sports at the school – basketball and swimming – it’s also an ideal time of year to add an athletic option.
“And, being a smaller school, it fits perfectly with our enrollment numbers because you don’t need a lot of kids to field a team,” Slauterbeck said.
In their first season, the Rams have 11 bowlers – seven of them are freshmen, which bodes well for the future of the program.
“I mentioned it to the 8th graders last year and they seemed interested,” Slauterbeck said. “It’s been received pretty well, once people realized we were serious.”
But few, if any, were as enthusiastic about the addition of bowling as senior Nina Baig. The sole girl on the squad, Baig was a proponent of the team from the moment she heard about it.
“I bowled when I was a little kid and my mom was a bowler, so I understood the game,” Baig said. “People were surprised when they first announced it but, now, our friends and teachers come to our matches and people ask how it’s going – now that they know it’s a real thing.”
Being outnumbered 10-to-1 by the boys doesn’t faze Baig a bit.
“It’s not as weird as people would think,” she said. “They’re actually pretty great.”
The progress the bowlers have made is also “pretty great.” Baig started the season with an average in the low 100s and, now, averages in the mid 150s.
She is not alone.
“They have all gotten so much better,” Slauterbeck said. “We practice at Poelking South, as does Miamisburg and Centerville, and we’ve had other coaches tell us how much better we’re getting.”
Slauterbeck took the reigns of the fledgling program after head coach Henry Pryor had to report to Fort Benning for training just prior to the start of the season.
“I knew there was a chance when he was hired that this would happen,” Slauterbeck said, smiling. “I’m pretty good at bowling but ideally, he’s coming back next year.”
And, next year, the Rams hope that bowling will be a Metro Buckeye Conference sport, as only one more school needs to add it for it to qualify. In the meantime, the Rams will work on building their program one pin at a time.
“It provides our kids with an outlet to use their academic success to be successful in bowling,” Slauterbeck said. “And have fun doing it.”
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