The moment they step up to the line, any bowler realizes its just them in that moment. Yet as the cheering in the background reaches theirs ears, the reminder that every single girl standing behind them supports them .

For the past two years Lake Ridge’s bowling team has consisted of both girls and boys. As of this year, however, the girls had enough to make a team of their own. From day one, Tara Spridco has lead this team. With the help of her dad, Spridco started the bowling team as a freshman. Now as a junior and leader of this new all girls team, she looks at competing in a different light then others might. For her as well as the rest of the team there are other methods to winning than constant practice and working to better themselves individually.

“Love being captain of the team. Its a lot of fun and we have a lot of team spirit. Its awesome to know I am captain because I was voted by my team. So it means a lot that they thought I was capable of leading them and being their captain. Team spirit is everything. It’s how we have made it this far. When we are behind its always how we get ourselves ahead,” said Spridco.

One of the common themes that drives this team is their dedication to each other.  The stress that comes with performing a good game can be strong. Yet this team thrives mnemonic not letting ayone feel completely alone while at the lane. Every girl brings something to the team. Junior, Kylie Rupert brings in her cheerleader back ground to put it a sense of reassurance into each teammate.

“I got MVP for being the motivator of the team. Since I’m in cheer I kinda brought the cheer aspect into bowling. Team spirit is a major thing because when ever we cheer each other on its a big thing and have support its always better on our scores, they increase heavily. Personally I keep cheering them on and I get everyone else to start cheering. We’ve even made up some chants we are going to use next year. I really just try to bring in cheer into bowling because I feel like it really supports everyone. Also I like it when I’m supported too,” said Rupert.

Cheering at these games goes beyond basic chants. The message portrayed is one of support. As they tirelessly cheer on, you can see the effect on their teammate who is bowling. However these cheers stem from something deeper than a love for the sport. For some of the team, bowling allows an scapegoat from the stress of a typical school day.

”Bowling is a way for me to escape everyday life. It helps me escape cheer and homework. its just a new group of people you get to meet and know. I just don’t feel as stressed as I do with cheer and there is less drama. it is such a safe zone and its a stress reliever and you make really good friends. Having these girls back me up have changed the way i look at things,”said Rupert.

As the ram leads each other in cheets and practice, it’s the support of the sponsor that holds this team together. Donna Davis originally had no plans to be the teacher that led the bowling team yet because of a small miscommunication, she now stands with pride beside the team.

” I got involved because i had a students who was interested when it was just starting and there was an announcement made one day and the stunt asked me what did they just say about bowling. Well i hadn’t heard what they said so i emailed and asked for information about it and the principal was like ‘oh did you want to be the sponsor?’ So now I’m the sponsor! My favorite part about being a sponsor is just getting to watch the students advance through out the year. I’m proud of our team,” said Davis.

when watching the  team throw a perfect strike it’s  easy for the audience to believe that one person deserves all the credit. However it’s the team standing behind them, watching diligently, that creates a strong support system ultimately sustains them under the pressure of performance.