The Pleasant Valley bowling team, currently 3-1 in the Mississippi Athletic Conference, is looking to continue their great season as the team nears the tournament portion of the season with their new head coach Alton Barber.
While many high school students have bowled with friends, few know what competitive bowling is like. “In a bowling tournament, every shot matters. If I make a mistake, the tournament is over,” said Evan Noack, a senior on the team.
In high school bowling meets, teams are made up of six bowlers. The bowlers play two regular games, taking the highest score of the two games from five bowlers. Then, teams play five games of Baker bowling. Baker bowling is a single game shared among five bowlers, cycling with each frame. At the end of the fifth baker game, all of the pins from all seven games are added together and the team with the highest score wins.
The PV team achieved their best ever season in 2019 with a State Runner-Up performance, and hope to one up that placement this season. “Every team in the state wants to go to state, dominate and win, but our team takes it one meet at a time. We focus on shooting the best score we can and improving at every meet,” said Noack.
Barber was a member of the state runner-up team in 2019. He went on to bowl collegiately at St Ambrose. Barber was an assistant coach at PV last year before taking over this season.
Barber has high ambitions for the team and hopes to see improvement throughout the season. “I would like to see our program grow and both push bowlers to improve and improve my own abilities with them.” Barber is confident in his and the team’s abilities, but he knows that the change of a new head coach will cause some growing pains.
The bowlers are excited to work with their new coach and feel refreshed with the new strategies and contributions Barber has brought to the team. “He is a very fun coach and he understands that we are here to have fun but also that we are here to get better every day,” said Noack.
