Ten pins and ten frames. The polished wood floor and the three holed weighted ball, and lets not forget the bowling shoes. These things are all essential to the sport of bowling, but there is one thing that tends to be overlooked: form. A slight bend at the knee and a straight wrist is extremely important to rolling that perfect strike.

In 2015, Lake Ridge High School not only established the team, but went on to earn the title of district champs. The team is sponsored by Child Development and Fashion Design teacher Donna Davis. Every Tuesday and Thursday the team practices at the Forum Bowling. There they practice their form and and refine their skill.  Sophomore, Edwin Thomas, puts in many hours of practice and thinks its much more difficult than it looks.

“It seems easy to get the form down at first glance, but it’s actually a lot more complex. You have to keep your wrist straight, rotate you arm at a certain time, aim the ball and you have to do all of this before you get to the foul line. It’s very particular, but all those things we practice pay off when I get a strike or a spare,” said Thomas.

There are twelve members on the team. The bowlers compete in competitions where the each bowler bowls ten frames and the team’s scores are averaged. Bowlers can advance as a team or as a an individual. Sophomore, Marissa Bell is new to the team, but realizes in order to become better she needs to put in the time.

“I went bowling a lot this summer and it was fun so it seemed like it’d be fun to join. I train at practice and then go bowling on my own. The most important thing to know is that it’s not as easy as it looks. There’s actually a lot of things to think about and factors that contribute to how your ball is going to go,” said Bell.

From the angle of the ball to the bend at the knee, bowling is more than just rolling a ball at some pins.  With practice and determination this year’s bowling team, are well on their way to defending their district title.