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By TONY MOOREN
Waukesha Freeman Staff
December
18, 2006
WAUKESHA Doug Chickering is through “begging” so the possibility of
bowling becoming another WIAA-sponsored winter sport in the near future
seems dim.
"We’re
hearing little or no request. There’s just no interest in funding
bowling as a varsity sport," said Chickering, the WIAA executive
director. "It was just an idea I’ve floated for six or seven years
now but there are no takers I guess. I’ve practically begged schools so
unless some schools come forward, I'm going to pretty much quit beating on
it."
Yet,
despite the lack of statewide interest, the sport has continued to grow in
Waukesha County at the club level with Waukesha North adding it this year
and Waukesha West and Mukwonago adding it last year.
That
brings to seven the number of county schools offering the sport and
competing in the Wisconsin High School Bowling Club.
The
others are Hamilton, Menomonee Falls, Muskego and New Berlin.
The seven programs represent half the league.
”The
program is great,” North coach Tammy Gaszak said. “Dan Domach
(North’s athletic director) had made it a letter sport and it’s a
great sport for kids who can’t do football or other sports. One of the
reasons for the lack of interest around the state I’m told is budget
cuts and I’m OK with that. We can just be involved at the club level.”
Mukwonago
coach Mike Spridco, who works for the United States Bowling Congress,
agrees with the worth of the sport.
”It’s
another activity to get the kids involved,” he said. “And they don’t
have to be as athletically inclined be able to throw a football 50
yards as other sports. It just opens up more opportunities for the
kids.”
Freshman
Alyssa Pierson, who attends Waukesha South but is on the North team, and
senior Gregg Gaszak relish that opportunity.
”It’s
a lot more exciting because of the teamwork,” Gregg Gaszak said. “All
the teams get really excited and are applauding and high-fiving everyone.
You don’t see that in the junior leagues.”
”We
don’t get much recognition yet but I think once everyone sees how much
fun it is, it will take off.”
Pierson,
whose brother Chris is a senior on the boy’s team, also alluded to the
team aspect of the sport as one of her drawing points.
”I
love the idea of the compatibility and working with the other team
members,” she said. “Not many people know about the club yet but I
think it's going to take off.”
North
sophomore Kim Ziemann said she finds the team “very competitive and very
nerve-wracking” but she loves it.
”I’ve
been bowling for four years now but I never thought it would be on a high
school team,” she said. “When I found out we’d have one, I quickly
signed up for it. I really like it.”
Each
of the five bowlers on a team gets only two frames. Matches are decided on
a best-of-nine format so the best bowler on each team typically bowls the
fifth and 10th frames.
The
best bowlers can advance to a state tournament where they bowl all 10
frames.
”The
WIAA is pretty strong about needing 10 percent of its schools to sponsor a
sport before it will recognize it and needing 20 percent before it will
sponsor it,” Mukwonago athletic director Toby Ackerman said. “It’s
definitely growing but I don't know if it’s growing as fast as some
people would like.”
”It’s a letter sport for us and, with the budget cuts, anything we add
has to be self-maintaining. It’s been a real positive for us.”
Mukwonago
fields five club teams two varsity boys, one varsity girls and two
junior varsity teams.
”I
don't have to do as much coaching at the varsity level but we do get quite
a few kids who’ve never bowled before,” Spridco said. “We have one
team that’s pretty much all beginners.”
Tammy
Gaszak and her husband, Rick, are good bowlers. She was nudged into her
coaching role by her son, who asked her to attend an organizational
meeting and was greeted by Domach.
"He
said to me, ”Congratulations for taking on the program,” she said.
Once the shock wore off, she realized she would need help and recruited
the Piersons’ father, Eric, also a superb bowler.
”The
beginning part was stressful, not knowing what to do but starting up a
program now would be a breeze,” she said.
”What
makes it fun is watching how well some of the new kids who had never
bowled before have come along. It¹s amazing.”
(Tony Mooren can be reached at tmooren@conleynet.com)
Reprinted
by permission from the Waukesha Freeman
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County
in forefront of prep bowling growth