After half of its 12 members graduated last year, the bowling team rebuilt its roster this season.

Sophomore Kyra Redstone, a returning bowler, said she joined bowling because of a concussion last year.

“I couldn’t do basketball,” she said. “I thought, ‘Bowling’s an easy sport — I can’t get injured there.’”

The bowling team practices two to three times a week depending on the dates of upcoming competitions.

“Our practices are a half-hour away,” Redstone said. “We have to take a team van every day or a bus. We share the lanes with between three and five other schools.”

In competitions, bowlers play three games with a team of six — three girls on each lane.

“For scoring, you have six girls on your team, and you take the top four scores for each game,” she said. “If someone has a really bad game, that won’t affect the team score.”

Returning bowler sophomore Missy Stigliano said bowling is difficult because it requires a specific strategy in order to get a desired score.

“You have to position yourself correctly, focus on your mark and keep your arm straight,” she said. “It takes a lot of practice and concentration to get it right, and even then, you still have to adjust yourself throughout the game.”

Because there is only a girls bowling team at Blue Valley, Redstone said the players sometimes receive backlash from other teams.

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” she said. “If there was a guys team, that would be awesome because some schools refuse to bowl against us because we don’t have a guys team. For them, it’s not worth just bringing their girls out if there’s no one for their boys to play against.”

Redstone said bowling isn’t as stressful of a sport as those with large teams.

“[Bowling is] so small that you really get to connect with the girls,” she said. “With 12 girls, you know people really well because you’re together all the time.”

Redstone said bowling isn’t as easy as some people may think.

“I feel like a lot of people think bowling’s not a real sport,” she said. “Anybody could get out there and do it. But it actually does take practice, and you actually have to work hard at it. Most girls are bowling hours on the weekend or doing other club bowls.”

Stigliano said the girls bowling team has a promising season ahead.

“I’m looking forward to improving my technique,” Stigliano said. “We have a really great team this year and will hopefully beat last year’s scores.”