First-ever bowling team starts up at Cedar Hill High School
Up until a few months ago, the sounds of pins dropping and balls skittering along an oiled wood lane were nonexistent for Cedar Hill High School students.
But nowadays, their brand-new bowling team is driven down to Waxahachie every week to practice and compete against Waxahachie High School, the only other bowling team close to Cedar Hill.
So, the Longhorn bowlers, many of whom have never even touched a bowling ball in their lives, make the 40-some mile-long trek.
"I think this is our third game," said junior Kameron Willis. "It's all about showing improvement until we get to that final point, and that's really all there is to it."
Willis has bowled recreationally, like some of his friends on the team, but not competitively. Others are just getting pulled up to the co-ed varsity squad for the first time.
"I actually really like bowling," said junior Jelyssa Davis. "It takes my mind off of so much stuff and it helps me mentally."
Varsity captain and senior Jason Hoffman is the only boy on the team who has competed in bowling — he's been bowling since he was 5 years old.
"It's sort of nerve-wracking," Hoffman said of being captain. "Because the highest leadership position I've had was a class in high school."
The idea for a bowling team came from welding teacher Joe Eich. He bowls and works at Hilltop Lanes in Waxahachie, where the students play. He recruited many of his own students for a team.
Amiah Johunkin is the only girl who has competitively bowled, and she's been going since she was 3 years old. For her, bowling is a family affair.
"My grandparents were bowling when I was born," Johunkin explained. "So, it went from my grandparents to my parents, to me and my brother."
Johunkin's grandpa also acts as a second coach for the kids, especially his granddaughter. He's been bowling for a long time and plays in a league after the high schoolers are done. Both of the junior's grandparents come and watch as many of her games as possible.
"This is the family thing," said Arna Yarbrough, Johunkin's grandma. "It's great to see the kids getting involved and active in it, because that's going to help grow the sport, or continue the sport."
While the Cedar Hill Longhorns are typically the underdogs versus a strong Waxahachie Indians team, Cedar Hill always puts up a fight. And for a team that just came together a couple of months ago, improvement matters more than wins and losses.