The Riverside Brookfield High School Bowling Club was instituted two years ago by Philip McGovern. McGovern, who has been teaching at RB for seven years as an English teacher, started the club with the intention of turning it into a competitive team after the two-year probationary period of the IHSA.
“There is no competitions just yet. It is open to all students of all ages and skill levels. We just get together and bowl,” McGovern said.
If all goes well, McGovern hopes to have two teams next year for both girls and boys, as well as a varsity and junior varsity team.
“They [RB Communications] sent out an interest survey. It looks like we have an interest for both boys and girls teams. Hopefully we can get enough people to have two teams: varsity and JV,” McGovern said.
Not only does the bowling club have to go through the IHSA regulations, but also a two year probationary period which has created many challenges for the club, specifically in its institution process.
“The challenging part is making sure we go through the two year probationary period. One of the other challenges is making sure our new conference is accepting to the bowling team because we are moving conferences. So, getting those teams in there, and then just making sure that it goes through the process of the school,” McGovern said.
Sophie Fingerhut, a sophomore at RB, has been in the bowling club for the past few months. Before joining, she only ever bowled for fun. Fingerhut has learned a number of skills since joining the bowling club.
“I think the best part is going with friends but also it is just really fun to learn how to do things. And I’ve definitely improved in just the couple of months,” Fingerhut said. “It’s fun to just go out there and do something without having to have that stress and be good at it.”
Russel “Rj” Iwaniec is also a sophomore at RB and has been a member of the bowling club since his freshman year. Iwaniec feels that it is a new experience and something new to try, which has helped him improve his skills in the sport.
“It is fun to bowl with people. I don’t really know all the people in there but you get to know them pretty easily,” Iwaniec said.
On March 5, the Bowling Club is hosting a Bowldog Invitational. With almost 100 students and five clubs already signed up, McGovern is hoping to reach more students and clubs across the school.
“And that is kinda just a bowling competition between different clubs and sports teams within RB,” McGovern said. “We encourage all clubs teams to get their team out there.”
