East Jackson High School bowler Kendra Moore is succeeding on the lanes and in the classroom for the Lady Trojans.
By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports
So how does a bowler go from rolling scores in the low 100s to becoming a state qualifier?
A sore thumb, supportive coaches and relatives, and a lot of practice.
East Jackson High School senior Kendra Moore joined the bowling team as a freshman to be with her friends.
Today, she is helping lead the Trojans to a successful season. East Jackson is 6-1 in Cascades Conference bowling with a showdown Wednesday against Vandercook Lake for first place.
Moore joins fellow seniors Lailah Maull, Lexy Rudd, and Hailee Adams on the team.
“I joined the bowling team as a freshman just for fun,” Moore said. “In my sophomore year a number of our top bowlers graduated (from a state qualifying team) and I earned a spot on the varsity.”
Moore points to the fact that she started using her own ball – not one off the rack – during her sophomore year.
But her biggest improvement came between her sophomore and junior seasons. Moore started bowling six games per day at Suburban Lanes near the high school. She also bowled a couple of times per week with her grandparents.
“My thumb split open a number of times,” Moore said of the constant bowling. “After a while I just built up calluses on my thumb.”
And everything else built up for Moore. She went from a regional qualifying score of 794 (from six games) to 1066 as a junior. Moore earned a spot in the Michigan High School Athletic Association state individual finals.
She qualified seventh at the state tournament, advancing to the stepladder format. Moore lost in the first round but finished ninth overall in Division 4.
The Lady Trojans are looking for more success like that this season.
“We have a good group of girls who are extremely motivated,” EJHS Coach Samantha Gollakner said. “Right now, we are teaching the bowlers about oil patterns and where the breaking points are on an Allen pattern.”
That is the pattern the bowlers can expect when tournaments start in February.
Gollakner said the team has bowled on the pattern twice to start the season.
“The patterns change from house to house,” Gollakner said. “The secret is to remain focused, repetition, and making good clean shots.”
Moore is already using focus and repetition in her school work. The senior is expected to be one of the district’s valedictorians in May with a 4.0 grade point average.
The district has Advanced Placement and dual enrollment classes, but the grade point average is not weighted.
Moore has dual enrolled since her junior year and expects to have earned 15 college credit hours by the time she graduates from EJHS.
She plans to study nursing at Eastern Michigan University next fall.
But the lessons learned on the lanes will stay with her.
“Bowling is an individual sport, but you can get higher scores by cheering on your teammates,” Moore said. “Cheering someone on that is having a bad day can raise his/her score.
“I would never have said this as a freshman, but bowling is my life.”
Kendra Moore watches her bowling ball pick up a spare during a practice round at JAX60 on Monday.