Bowling Club established at RB

RB+students+at+bowling+outing+at+AMF+lanes+in+Lyons.+Photo+courtesy+of+Dr.+Hector+Freytas.

RB students at bowling outing at AMF lanes in Lyons. Photo courtesy of Dr. Hector Freytas.

Henry Oller, Staff Reporter

At Riverside Brookfield High School, a bowling club was recently started by English teacher Phillip McGovern. The club welcomes everyone regardless of skill level. It held its first meeting on September 20 and meets twice a month on Tuesdays.

McGovern, the club’s sponsor, recently left his basketball coaching job. He wanted to return to a coaching environment, and there was no bowling team at RB, so he decided to start one.

“So, I’m coaching basketball here and at another school for about 10 years, so I stepped out of that. I was looking for an opportunity to get back into coaching. I looked at the landscape of what we offered, and bowling was really one of the only sports that we do not currently have here at RB,” McGovern said.

Bowling sessions are also being scheduled in advance. Participants in the club will meet one time each month to bowl at their local alley to compete and play with other club members.

“So, I have set up, or made contact with a man named Ivan over at AMF in Lyons. He seems to be very accommodating with what we need. So, after our first meeting today, when we see the numbers that we have and get some input from the students, that is most likely going to be our home bowling alley, which is really, I think the closest bowling alley to the school,” McGovern said.

There are currently about 25 to 35 players in the club. Grayson Geiger, a junior at RB, is one member of the bowling club and expressed his enjoyment of the club so far.

“[My favorite part is] probably the amount of time that we get to bowl. Currently it is set to every month, we will go on a bowling trip, and I feel like that’s just great, because it’s not too far in between sessions,” Geiger said.

The club experienced a large turnout at its first meeting, with students across all of the grade levels participating in it. During this first meeting, club times and events were discussed. Participants also had an opportunity to get to know their teammates.

“It’s full of a bunch of different people from a bunch of different age groups all coming together to try out something that they really liked to do,” Geiger said. “I feel like anybody can really find their place in this group.”

The club is currently facing some early challenges, such as advertising the club for more students to join and gaining prominence in the school.

“I feel like we could really use some more support in getting the word out there for people to join,” Geiger said.

The future is currently being considered, and McGovern’s plans to expand the club within the coming years include turning it into a legitimate, competitive sport.

“The hope is in two years it is turned into a sport, which, again, will be very accepting of all skill levels, but will be more competitive, and we will eventually be playing other schools,” McGovern said.