Addison Trail has added another club to its abundance of different school activities. The Boys Bowling club will begin meeting at 3:30 pm every Thursday at Stardust starting Dec. 8. The club is open for any boy who would like to come improve his bowling skills and interact with others.
The Boys Bowling club was created by a few individuals and their club sponsor Steve Bruns. The idea came from two students Dennis Theros and Christopher Otiz.
“I did contribute to the making of the bowling club. My friend Chris and I are the founders,” said Dennis Theros. “The process was pretty straight forward, as I first needed to tell my ideas to Mr. Schader, and once he thought it could work. He then had to get it approved through the principal. In the meantime, I need to find a sponsor and thought Mr. Bruns would be great, as he has the experience and the willingness to want to coach.”
Not everyone knows that students are able to create their own clubs through the school. With a few friends and an idea, the process is easier than you would first assume. AT provides an environment full of room for creativity and improvement.
“I ultimately decided to create a club as I didn’t see any clubs that I wanted to join. I wanted to make a club with a more competitive style, but I also wanted a club to make me want to continue this even after high school for fun. I think the bowling club will do that for some people. I also thought it would be a good way to get better at bowling myself,” said Theros.
Since the Bowling club is not an actual team sport, there are some differences from the preexisting Girl’s Bowling team.
“The actual bowling team will have a much more rigorous practice schedule. My understanding of the girls team is that they practice multiple times a week, and they compete in a regular season and a post season. We will only be practicing once a week, and we will only be participating in regionals this year, we will not be competing in a regular season. So that is how it differs, at least this year,” said Bruns.
Although the Boys Bowling club will not be competing in a regular season, there will be a regional competition.
“We are going to be devoting our practices and meeting times toward competing at regionals this year. So although we will not have a regular season where we are competing against other schools, we have been able to reserve four spots for our top four boys bowlers in the club to compete at regionals in January,” said Bruns.
Bowling may not seem like a sport that people gravitate toward, but there are actually a lot of people who enjoy going bowling, whether it is professionally or for fun with friends. The bowling club is a bit of both, with the effort of a team and the fun hanging out with friends.
“Bowling outside the club is how I got started. I haven’t been bowling long at all. I started about a year ago with my friend Chris and we started to go mostly every weekend to bowl a couple of games at Stardust. We did this for fun and something that we both enjoy doing just to pass time,” said Theros. “Eventually we both joined a league with other friends and have been doing that for the whole summer. I am currently playing full time for a league in Roselle and subbing most of the time for a league at stardust.”
In regards to Mr. Bruns the club’s sponsor, he is notorious for his love of bowling. With posts on google classroom showing off his bowling score and the topic occasionally being brought up in class. It was clear to the students who were creating the club that they needed to get him involved in the action.
“Mr. Bruns is going to be a great club sponsor, and will greatly help us improve our game. I’ve had him for two years as an English teacher before, and I know he loves to bowl. So, I hope the team can grow and learn off him,” said Theros.
Not only is bowling a sport that can be played now, but it can follow you into old age. The ability to play the sport doesn’t decrease with age like sports such as football, basketball, or baseball. Becoming a bowler can be a lifelong activity to enjoy with others.
“I think bowling is a lifelong sport that people can enjoy. I mean you can only play baseball for so long. Even if you’re in a men’s softball league in your thirties, your body starts to break down to the extent that you can’t really play. While I think sports like golf and bowling are lifelong sports that people can recreate and develop an interest in a hobby, and it will last a lifetime,’ said Bruns.
Not only did students want Bruns to be their club sponsor, but Bruns himself was excited.
“I have been blessed to be able to be the club sponsor of Torch for twenty years, but that has been my only club sponsorship. When I was a first and second year teacher I was an assistant baseball coach for the lower levels, and although I haven’t done that in several years now, I kinda miss that part of it. And so being able to be involved in a sport again for the first time in two decades, I think that is very cool. And I am looking forward to that opportunity,” said Bruns.
