Bowling team expects a successful season

When someone thinks of the sports offered here at Milford, they will probably tend to think about spectator sports like hockey, basketball, or football. Many students here probably know of the existence of our bowling team. However, they likely have no idea what it is like to actually be on the team. It is a shame because the team has been through a lot these last few years. 

Most notably, last year’s season was a challenge due to safety protocols that had to be followed to reduce the spread of COVID. To start, the season seemed quite rushed. “Our season started two months late,” Head Coach Seth Stern explained. “We took our normal two month season and crammed it into two  and a half months, so it was very intense.” Additionally, Stern said that these restrictions have made team building, which is one of the best things about the bowling experience, more difficult. 

Despite these setbacks, the team has still had a pretty successful season. As for how well the team performed at meets, the Girls Varsity team’s season ended with a 9-7 record, while the Boys Varsity, who had a very competitive season last year, ended with a 6-10 record. Senior Annika Lamp believes that this was a relatively normal season. “It was a lot better than I expected. A little hectic, but I learned how to bowl, and it was fun.” It is important to add that last year was her first year on the team, so it seemed to make a good first impression on her.  She also seemed to perform solidly. “I didn’t do horrible,” she stated. “If anything I was the most improved, so I averaged about a 110, which for a beginner, I was happy with, but it wasn’t great.” 

The Boys and Girls JV teams also had a successful winning season, according to Stern. The hardest teams that the team bowled against were Walled Lake Northern and Waterford Kettering.

The main goals this time around are to build team camaraderie and of course, having a winning record.

Another important thing to note is that although many people view bowling as a casual fun activity done with friends, this is not necessarily how much of the team sees it. “Bowling is taken a lot more seriously than I thought,” Lamp said. “It’s a very tense environment, and especially after doing cross country, I’ve realized people are very on edge when they’re bowling for a competitive team like this.” She noted that a lot of this tenseness may have been due to COVID, however. In no way though is it all doom and gloom. “It can be very fun,” Lamp added.

Some important meets this season are against Lakeland on December 6th and January 10th, and the Oakland County tournament on January 15th and 16th, where the team will compete against various teams from across the county.

Overall, there seems to be great optimism among the team for the 2021-2022 season. Lamp seems to be very excited for the new season to start. “I’m really excited because it is something that I get to go back to and improve on,” she stated. “I like the people that are doing it and it’s a fun thing to do during winter.”

Stern, along with assistant coaches Bob Shafto and Greg Ratliff, also seem to have high hopes for the team this year. “I am excited for another great year with an amazing group of athletes on our teams,” Stern said.