“Bowling is the one thing I love to do the most. It is one of my favorite ways to spend time, especially when I bowl with my friends. My teammates make the experience worth it,” Alfred Oliveira said.

Youth Bowling can be considered a sport, however, it can also be a means for students to earn scholarship money for college.

“So far I have obtained over $500 in scholarship money that I plan to use in college for books,” Oliveira said.

Christopher Nofuente is a part time bowling coach, but also helps families and talks to them about different options for high school students to plan out their college years financially.

“It’s not just about what they have accomplished as far as academics. What they do in their community, church, and government can help them create a resume so they get looked at better when it comes to college applications. We also help them find scholarships and college grants because we don’t believe in students depending on loans because after college they will be overwhelmed in debt,” Nofuente said.

On Dec. 14, 18-20 talented bowlers in the MāCa Strike Tournament will earn $3,500 in scholarships.

“I know some of the people at MāCa Financial Plan and the Heartland Institute of Financial Education, and I told them about how kids are over-their-head in debt after college. They said $3,500 has to go back to the kids in forms of scholarships. I am thankful and blessed that we can share this back with the kids,” Nofuente said.

When going through high school, athletes may find the need to create a foundation when it comes to making a college application. Athletes may not be sure about what colleges are looking for. According to http://www.collegescholarships.org/scholarships/sports/bowling.htm there are over 50,000 high school bowlers in the United States, and only 70+ colleges offer bowling scholarships. To set goals higher, and receive average bowling scores, practice can make perfect.

“Ideally, if they have the financial means to, bowling for an hour to two hours every day is my recommendation, not just high scoring but drills as well,” Nofuente said.

Bowling is consistent with other competitive sports because of the mental mindset, and the varied situational positions along with potentially long hours of practice and training.

“As opposed to other sports like soccer, baseball, football, etc., where conditions are pretty apparent, in bowling you deal with what you can’t see. The oil on the lanes, lane topography, and the type of bowler, make the conditions almost impossible to predict,” Oliveira said.

High school bowling clubs have reached most of the Placer County region, and may soon take place at Whitney by opening a bowling club to students around campus.

“I can expect to see a bowling club on campus. I would definitely be involved in the club, and I would just like for the club to bowl in a league against other high schools,” Oliveira said.

Mr. Mark Snow has been pushing Oliveira to create a bowling club, which may be distinguished on campus during the 2015-2016 school year. Nofuente is shooting for a goal by raising $10,000 for next year’s MāCa Strike Tournament which will become an invitational.

by CAMELIA COFFMAN