The Girls Westside Bowling team will start their season on Dec.5, against Marian at West Lanes. They have been reflecting on their past season as 4th runners up at state and district champions last year. All of the girls have been working hard during the offseason to prepare for a strong high school season this year.
Coach McDonald has a positive mindset going into the season. He speaks highly of the girls and cannot wait for it to start.
“I feel really positive. We have a good team coming back. Overall a very veteran team, with many seniors. We have three seniors coming back. With that senior leadership it will definitely impact our team well. With their help it impacts the younger bowlers. I definitely have a good feeling,” McDonald said “The girls had a really really great season last year. They made it to the state tournament. They finished fourth overall.”
Senior Abby Rosloniec is excited for the upcoming season, as she is one of three seniors on the team this year. She reflects on last season as it went well, but is also looking forward to the future as the team is strong this year.
“I feel really good about the team. I think everyone practiced a lot on their own and we have a good chance to make it to state,” Roloniec said.
There are many strong moving parts to the team. McDonald believes they have a strong team, with great senior and upperclassmen leadership.
“Some strong assets to the team are Jordyn Shields, Manuela Katé and Abigail Rosloniec. They all do a good job, all of these girls are upperclassmen and veterans to the team.,” McDonald said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors coming back this year. Which will be great for our team. It’s always good to have a lot of senior leaders to help guide the younger bowlers. It always helps to have senior leadership in tough competitions. I think it gives us an edge compared to a lot of teams.”
The upcoming schedule is going to be a tough one, but coach McDonald feels good about the upcoming season.
“I feel great. I feel like we’ve got a good schedule, our first match will be tough starting with Marian. But it will be a good test to see, you know, where we are and how we need to get better for the season coming up,” Mcdonald said.
Rosloniec also talks about what the girls do during practice to prepare. As last year’s season went really well, there are expectations that the team needs to meet to reach them.
“Individually I just want to improve as much as I can; as a team get as far as we can,” Rosloniec said.
With the first tough match coming up, the practice schedule is tight as they practice everyday, Coach McDondald explains what they are doing during practice to prepare for the upcoming matches, and what they did during the offseason to get better.
“We practice Monday through Friday. We are practicing pretty consistently. 3:30-5pm at Westlanes, we practice as much and as often as we can to get better,” McDonald said. “We always encourage our bowlers in the off season to get involved in as many leagues as possible. That’s something I’ve preached to our bowlers, that after season is over to get involved and to continue to bowl during the off season. We also encourage them to do weightlifting. We want our bowlers to get stronger. I think the stronger our bowlers get, the better off we’re going to be.”
Mindset is also a big part of bowling, Junior Manuela Katé explains what her mindset is going into the season with a tough season ahead and high expectations.
“I think it really motivated me to stay within the process and then also making sure that I stayed focused and so I don’t have to lead up because I already knew I made it that far, so staying within myself to want to go farther,” Katé said.
As all the girls have a strong mindset, McDonald talks about how the team is hungry for more. Finishing fourth at state was good, but they would like to improve this season.
“I think this season we have a very hungry mindset, trying to do as well as we can to make it back to the state tournament. Girls are very hungry to make it back, and do as well as they can like I said, finishing fourth in the state last year. Hopefully finishing top five again,” Mcdonald said.
