Over the new year while most people were out celebrating, sophomore Karina Capron was in the famed city of Las Vegas rolling out her shot for Junior Team USA bowling. 

Capron started bowling at the age of five when most kids are more concerned with snooping around for candy or hunting down Santa rather than joining a club sport.

Her bowling journey began because both of her parents had bowled on teams in the past.

“My parents both used to bowl, and my dad still does duals, but mom quit a while back,” Capron said. 

 They would take her to their practices when she was younger, and that inspired her to begin bowling.

“I got into bowling because of them, because it looked fun and I wanted to try it; I just fell in love with it after that,” Capron said.

Capron has always been interested in USA bowling. 

“I wanted to try out two years ago, but then it was canceled because of Covid.” Capron Said. “Then this year I was like, ‘I have a good shot’, and I went for it but the patterns were super tough.”

She proceeded to explain what a pattern is in ‘monkey terms’ so that it was easier to understand.

“Patterns are the oil that the machines put on the lanes. It can be in the middle, or on the outside,” Capron said. “It’s made to make you mess up.” 

Capron’s routine before a tournament is, 

“About attitude and a positive mindset. You can’t walk in with a negative attitude because then you’re setting yourself up for failure,” Capron said.

Capron also encourages others to give bowling a shot. 

Capron has been racking up scholarship money ever since she started and it accumulates more every year.

“It’s a great way to get out there, and just show people what you can be, it’s also a way to get scholarship money,” Capron said

Capron is eager to continue with bowling in the future and plans to bowl in college. She wants students to know there is more to bowling than meets the eye.

“Bowling is more than just throwing a ball down a lane, you make friends, see different places and make connections with coaches and players that can help you for the rest of your life.”