The NSAA decided to make bowling an official sanctioned sport in a board meeting earlier this year. Bowling has been operating as a club sport for several years now, but with this change, schools are now able to have official bowling teams and there will be a state competition. An extensive list of schools have decided to participate in the first season of NSAA bowling, in-cluding all three of the Millard high schools. “Our goal is to have two teams this year. One for boys and one for girls,” Athletic Director Steve Throne said.
Introducing a whole new sport comes with some important tasks that must be done. One prior-ity is finding a coach to lead the team. “We are in the process of hiring coaches right now,” Throne said. “We have a handful of teachers interested in coaching this year’s teams.”
Another priority for building a team is gathering a talented team of bowlers. Many of the members of Millard South’s club team from previous years plan to compete for the school team this year.
“Our bowling club has been very successful in the past couple of years so now these same students get the opportu-nity to represent us on a statewide level,” Throne said.
“Exciting times!” Junior Jackson Martin is one of these club members that plans to go out for the school team. He is excited for the change but also has some concerns. “It’s a little weird for the change to happen this year of all times, and it will be hard to adjust,” Martin said. Despite the unusual situation, members of the club team are looking forward to their sport becoming official. “It’s really cool to get recognition and a sense of legitimacy,” Martin said.
