While the girls bowling team describes themselves as encouraging and the sport as relaxing, the boys team sees themselves—and bowling—from a completely different perspective.

Senior Eddie Sims began bowling at seven years old and has been playing for EHS since his freshman year. He attributes his team’s competitive spirit to the athletes’ experiences.

“Most of the guys have been bowling competitively for a long time. (Our competition with each other) helps us improve our skills,” Sims said.

Senior Kody Timmons has been bowling for five years and has participated in multiple leagues outside of EHS. He appreciates that bowling is a “mind game” because it’s impossible to be a perfect bowler.

To improve as much as they can, Sims said the team is focusing on improving their skills and keeping their shots consistent. Learning new techniques is not as much of a focus for the team.

“Like any sport, we have our ups and downs,” Sims said. “We’ve won less than last year, but we don’t let that bother us.”

Timmons is a little more bothered by the team’s losses. He says the team should be doing better, but they still have fun, win or lose.

Individually, Timmons has improved his game from years past by listening to his coach’s encouragement. One of his favorite pieces of advice is “if you find a mark (the point on a lane a bowler aims at), stick with it and work around it.”

It seems bowlers have a special ability to adapt to and accept different situations, whether that be a disappointing game or the style of bowling itself. And a bowler’s ability to adapt is one of the greatest skills they can have.

“Every bowling alley is different and being able to adjust (your) shot is key,” Sims said.

All athletes must find different ways to be competitive in their sport. For some, like Sims, practicing against other competitive athletes is a way to improve. For those like Timmons, being encouraged by a coach and competing against yourself is a more successful method.

“The urge to be the best drives us to perform our best,” Sims said.