Bowlers mentally preparing for state qualifying tournament on Feb. 15

By Maggie Goodwin on February 9, 2022

Varsity bowling teams in Northern Iowa had their yearly divisional meet on Thursday, Jan. 27 in Cedar Rapids, and both the women’s and men’s teams placed high.

The men’s team took second place with a total of 2,988 pins. For individuals, Owen Brinker tied for seventh place, Chris Flordyce placed sixth and Mathew Edler placed third.

The women’s team placed first with 2,917 pins. For individuals, Myah Brinker placed fourth, Hailey Taylor placed third and Anna Frahm placed second.

The teams are now currently training for the state qualifying tournament to determine if they will go compete in the state tournament. The girls team started doing a new drill where whoever doesn’t pick up a spare or doesn’t strike is the first one out of the game. It really keeps them on their game and makes them more focussed. The team average started to go up drastically during this drill.

But, according to the team members, both teams still need to grow from this previous meet. One of the team captains from the boys team, Edler, said, “As a whole, the thing that the team needed to work on the most was staying in a positive mood. The morale of the team dropped when we missed a lot of spares in a row. In a team setting, the morale of the team is the most important thing to keep a watch on because as soon as a team gets mad, that’s when it’s over for them.”

Nate Venom, the other team captain, said, “I think that we all struggled mentally, including me. Divisionals was a different kind of meet, and we all needed the mental challenge. This challenge will help us a lot in the future when we are in more high pressure situations.”

According to Brinker, the women’s team has struggled with getting focused a bit this season. “I think that the mental area of bowling is where our team struggles. We have a lot of fun while we are there, but when it is time to get serious and perform. We struggle a lot of times.”

The teams will put these lessons together next when they face their state qualifying tournament in Iowa City on Feb. 15. There will be teams from all over Northern Iowa. This tournament will determine if they go to State.