A strike of luck

By Nathan Schumock Sports Editor

The Trojans bowling team is a combination of progression and sportsmanship that is encouraged by head coach Gregg Hill.

Gregg became the head coach of Meridian following his daughter Emma, who joined the team two years before him. Previously, Gregg did not have much bowling experience. At his first coaches meeting, he was asked about his bowling experience. He admitted, “youth groups and birthday parties.”

Despite the novice-level entrance into bowling, Gregg has since turned into a staple for the Meridian bowling team and has led them to numerous broken school re- cords. He said the “growth and maturity as individuals and as bowlers has far surpassed anything I could have expected this season.”

Gregg learned the ins and outs of coaching through helpful tips from other coaches in the community, as well as online assistance. Additionally, Gregg was voted this year as coach of the year for the 1A Northwest Conference.

One of the best parts of bowling is the camaraderie shared between opposing teams. Gregg said it is a unique trait of bowling to cheer on the other team even during the competition.

“I have never seen a group of girls who go out of their way to congrats the other team, to support them,” Gregg said. “The togetherness that they had was something you don’t tend to see very often. So seeing how that manifested over the entire season and grew into this really great core was a lot of fun to see.”

Emma has blossomed into a state-level bowler under the tutelage of her dad. She placed 43rd in the state tournament last year and improved on her placing this bowling season. She jumped all the way up to 28th in the state 1A bowling meet this year.

It is the final bowling year of Emma’s high school career and she is sad it is over, but she has loved her experience with the team. Emma said she wants to keep in touch with her teammates and may coach someday.

Emma got into bowling because of a strike of luck. One of her friends signed her up for the bowling team without

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