HB team ready to bowl opponents over

Published: Sunday, January 31, 2010

Winter sports teams, from basketball to skiing, all have their own individual uniqueness.

However, one element ties all of the Hollis/Brookline High School sports teams together: the uniforms boasting Cavalier spirit. But as physics teacher John Boucher puts it, one team has the “coolest uniforms” – bowling.

The New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association decided to add one more sport to the winter season agenda, and as a result, bowling became an officially sanctioned sport for the state and the students at Hollis/Brookline.

Science teacher Trudi Thompson, upon being asked by athletic director Rhon Rupp, is HB’s first coach to take on, according to the NHIAA, “the unique (and) competitive” sport of bowling.

Thompson, having begun her bowling experience at a small community bowling alley with friends, said she was “really excited” for the start of the season. And she aims to keep the team, “enthusiastic … and give as many pointers” from her continued experience with 10-pin bowling balls at college.

She also said that, considering this is the school’s first year, there is no pressure and that bowling is something “interesting that promotes a fun time.”

Although only about 10 schools have a bowling team, there was no lack of interest by the students. Thompson said that with about 40 interested in the beginning, the school now has a team of 24 students, the largest in the state. These 24 athletes are divided into a varsity team and three junior varsity teams.

Thompson said the top five bowlers were placed on the varsity team, the next five were placed on the first junior varsity and so on.

This year, the meets, in the style of a “baker game,” are purely individual and take place once a week. Thompson said their home bowling alley is Ten Pin Center in Merrimack; however they also travel elsewhere – from Keene to Stevens in Claremont and others.

Thompson also said that although dedication and improvement have become a major component of the team, other teams have grown up with easy access to bowling alleys in their towns, a proven disadvantage to the team.

However, despite this shortcoming, HB ranks “right in the middle,” according to Thompson. And with “enthusiasm and heart,” it’s clear that bowling has come a long way at HB and will have a long standing at the school.

Robert Grant is a senior at Hollis/Brookline High School.