As the heavy, shiny, and perfectly round ball rolls down the lane, the spectators fall silent as they wait for the pins to fall. Strike! The crowd cheers and the loudest of them all is junior Nathan Doyle, who has rolled his third strike of the night. 

Bowling may just be a game you play a few times a year with your family on a rainy day, but not for Doyle. As a member of the Chelsea varsity bowling team, he lives and breathes bowling every day.

“I’ve been bowling ever since I could walk,” Doyle said. “It’s been a part of my life for a very long time.”

Loving the sport from a young age, Doyle knew he always wanted to compete and take his bowling to the next level.

“I got my first real entry-level bowling ball in middle school,” Doyle said. “I remember being excited to be in high school and join the team.”

Being a student at CHS comes with many responsibilities and one of many is school-sport balance and time management, especially for student-athletes like Doyle.

“I’m always in the mood to stay after practice and practice more,” Doyle said. “So I don’t get home until very late, and end up starting my homework at nine o’clock.”

Each day looks different for Doyle. Whether it’s a match day, a casual day at practice, or preparing for states, Doyle always pushes himself to succeed.

“At practice, we start off with stretching and team talks, then we go into drills for releasing or footwork,” Doyle said. “If there is the time at the end of practice, we turn on the boards and do some scoring and incorporate what we worked on.”

Loving the sport as much as he does, Doyle doesn’t want his bowling career to end after high school.

“There are definitely a lot of solid college teams across the country,” Doyle said. “Some schools I would love to go to would be Wisconsin Whitewater or McKendree University.”  

Skill takes athletes only so far, but passion is what makes athletes stand out–and passion is not something Doyle lacks.

“I think bowling is a unique and underrated sport,” Doyle said. “People may think it’s just for fun, but the competitive aspects of it make it even better.”