Kingsway Introduces Bowling

Mulligan, of Bellmawr NJ, has been working at Kingsway for the past three years and has been bowling since the fifth grade. Mulligan, a former Gloucester Catholic graduate, played four years of varsity bowling. He was also later an assistant coach at Gloucester Catholic.

When Mulligan interviewed with the Kingsway district for a teaching position, he mentioned that he would be interested in starting a bowling team. Sure enough, in his third season as an assistant at Gloucester Catholic, Mulligan was given the nod and was asked to initiate and coach a Kingsway bowling team.

Mulligan doesn’t coach alone in a vacuum. Angel Sheridan is the assistant coach. Sheridan is a great stat keeper who takes care of all the books. She also works with the girls on the team.

The team practices at the Westbrook Bowling Alley in Westville on weekends. Because of the demands on the lanes, practice times are limited.

Mulligan has grown up at Westbrook. “Westbrook is wonderful to the kids. It’s a family atmosphere and they do things to help out the team like donating bowling balls to the kids,” said Mulligan.

That is why Mulligan chose Westbrook as his home field for coaching bowling.

A typical week in the bowling season has three matches. The kids practice before the season starts. Once the season begins, lane time becomes even scarcer.

The team focused on tackling the fundamentals and working on fine sportsmanship. Infusion of the fine values into the kids is very important to Mulligan.

“Next year, we will get into a lot of the finer aspects and details of the games such as release points, release timing, and fine tuning the whole game,” said Mulligan.

Senior George Brooks really started to make a name for himself this year. Brooks wound up starting by the season’s end.

“Brooks has great raw talent and I wish I had him earlier in his young bowling career,” said Mulligan. “Brooks was a great leader for the team with his respect and sportsmanship,” added Mulligan.

Senior Captain Jennifer Gaunt was the anchor of the team. “Gaunt was a great leader,” said Mulligan. “Gaunt mentioned that she had a 170 average and asked if she was good enough for the team.” Mulligan chuckled then said, “You better try out for the team!”.

Freshman Forrest Smith is already the team’s anchor. At this young age, he is already averaging 195. He will be the centerpiece for the team for years to come.

“Smith is a little hard on himself which makes him a perfectionist. That is why his average is so high,” said Mulligan. Smith has also had a lot of coaching over the years.

Sean Wilkins is a team captain. Wilkins averages over 140. “Wilkins epitomizes the qualities of a leader,” said Mulligan. “He always has a smile on his face, works hard and is very coachable,” added Mulligan. Wilkins is definitely the glue among this group of bowlers.

Sophomore Sean Beatty is a junior varsity up-and-comer who is also going for his Eagle Scout badges. That shows a lot about his determination and willingness to work hard and improve his game.

Beatty is also the team “mascot” and leads the rally every time.

Sophomore Shane King is another bowler who has really improved his game over the course of the year.

Rounding out the varsity team is John George. “George is the most consistent bowl we have,” said Mulligan.

Next year the Kingsway Bowlers are hopeful to gel as a team and get Kingsway recognized as a legitimate bowling team. The goal for next season is to have every player improve his/her personal score and add about 50-100 points to our team average.

Once they hit an average of 900 points per match, Kingsway will be recognized as a regional powerhouse in bowling.

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