Though it has only been in existence for a year, the bowling team is quickly gaining popularity and attention from students wishing to play a sport and to have a bit of fun while doing it.

        “Bowling is fun and the people are more fun,” senior Mark Scott said. “Coach Smith is just a doll, and we all had a blast all the time.”

        The team’s founder, geometry teacher Crystal Smith, has an intense passion for the sport, as it makes up a lot of her background.

        “I started bowling when I was eleven years old,” Smith said.  “I bowled with my childhood best friend, and we won a Colorado State Youth Bowling Championship. That’s when I got really excited about the sport.”

        Smith became deeply immersed in the sport and has been playing it ever sense.

        “I bowled in college,” Smith said. “I bowled 2 to 4 leagues a week. I almost went pro back in 2003, but didn’t because the Women’s Pro Bowling Association went bankrupt.”

        Though she was unable to go pro, Smith still bowled often.  Last year she received permission to make the bowling team  and expects fairly large turnout for its second year.

        “I’m expecting 30 to 40 kids on the team this year,” Smith said. “But only a max of 32 kids can bowl each week during matches. I’m planning on rotating them, so everyone gets a fair chance to play.”

        The bowling team has practices every Monday at Allen Bowl from 6 to 8 p.m., and matches on Wednesdays or Fridays.

        “The matches were really intense last year,” Smith said. “But I enjoyed the enthusiasm for the sport. The team members cheered each other on.”

        Though most people have only bowled during birthday parties or family trips to a bowling alley, there is still hope.

        “We will teach you how to bowl,” Smith said. “You don’t have to know how to try out.”

           Of course, if you become good enough at just about anything, there is money involved.

        “There are also opportunities to earn scholarships for college in bowling,” Smith said.

       Smith has high expectations of the bowling team members, but is confident that they will experience the time of their lives.

        “What the kids will get out of bowling is, first and foremost, fun,” Smith said. “I’m glad I didn’t [go pro] back in 2003, because now I get the opportunity to teach bowling to others. And they’ll love it; they really will.”