As the winter season approaches, the varsity boys bowling team is ready to get back on the lanes.

This season, there is a new coach; Jerry Tarabek. He is new to the district and this is his first year coaching the FHC bowling team. He coaches both girls and boys bowling; however, he primarily sticks with coaching the boys as his daughter, Bri, coaches the girls team.

He commented that this is his first year at FHC by saying, “Being the new coach is interesting as I haven’t been in a high school environment in 18 years, so getting back into it has been a challenge because I have to relearn how to deal with all kinds of personalities and new technologies that weren’t around when I coached years before.”

Despite this year being his first year coaching, he already has big plans in mind. “I want to teach better mechanics, give kids the opportunity to have some fun and prove themselves and do better than last year,” he said.

Along with that, he has a few things he is looking forward to this season: establishing a culture that shows confidence, building teamwork, and showing respect for the team and its opponents. “Overall, with this team, I want to create something that can go forward for years to come,” coach Tarabek stated.

Aside from the team goals, athletes on the team have personal goals for themselves. Senior Carter Lyons has never bowled in his life. He decided to join bowling just for leisure because it is his senior year. To his surprise, he is a gifted bowler. The senior has two goals this season: “I want to pass Peyton Price and become the best bowler on the team. Another goal I have for myself is to get better as a bowler. I aspire to be better than my brothers,” Carter said.

Across every sport, Forest Hills Northern (FHN) and Forest Hills Central (FHC) rivalries run deeper than the Mariana Trench. However, for the bowling team, the rivalry is brought to a new level as the team practices right next to FHN. AMF Eastbrook Lanes —the home bowling alley for the Rangers— is shared with FHC’s long-standing rival FHN. This season, the varsity boys bowling team is here to prove that FHC runs the hills.

“We practice right next to them so I’m looking forward to playing Northern,” said junior Luke Stiles. Wes Baldwin added, “They are our rival, we practice right next to them, and we all know how they play.”

All of the bowlers on the varsity team are looking forward to states. Last year, the bowling team didn’t make it, so this season, the boys are looking forward to trying to achieve that goal. With the new talent and coaching, this achievement is within reach.

“The coaching is significantly better this year as [coach Tarabek] brings a new dynamic to the team and brings new and different approaches to practice,” Luke Stiles commented. Luke believes that those newly added elements will be key factors behind the future successes this team makes.

The new coaching, practice strategies, and players are important to the team’s future accomplishments. Along with those three components, another aspect of the team that is crucial is one particular bowler. Although all bowlers on varsity are talented, one bowler sticks out from the rest; Peyton Price. Peyton is a senior and he is the star player on the team as he averages a score of around 200 per game. He has been on varsity since his freshman year so he is a seasoned bowler. With his positive energy and bowling talent, the team looks for a deep playoff run.

The boys and coach Tarabek are excited about what this season has in store for them. Their first tournament is on December 3 at Park Center Lanes. It’s a tournament kickoff fans shouldn’t miss.