As the Bob Jones Bowling team wrapped up its tournament last Thursday, not one of the ten members could be seen without a grin of satisfaction on their face.

With seven wins and three losses, the bowling team accomplished “more than we could have hoped for,” said Bob Jones sophomore Viviana Miranda. Playing for the first Bob Jones bowling team, the experience has been “exciting and groundbreaking. Coach Hoyle has taught us a ton.” Viviana finished sixth place in individual finals as well as her teammates James Mason in third place and Deante Chilsom in sixth. The tournament consisted of high school teams from Sparkman, East Limestone and Scottsboro.

Before 2014, the Alabama High School Athletic Association did not recognized bowling as a sport. In 2014, eleven high schools committed to having a varsity bowling team as a school sport. “Bowling is sanctioned as of last year but is labeled as an ‘emerging sport,’ which means they will not crown a state champion in the first year,” said Hoyle in his interview with The Madison Record. That being said, tryouts for the next season will begin in August and the buildup to the first bowling state championship will begin.

“This is a sport that can appeal to everyone including special needs children,” said Huntsville’s United States Bowling Congress president, Janice Mason.

“Next year, Bob Jones is planning on having a boys and girls Varsity team and a JV coed team,” said Hoyle.

Students in grades seventh through twelfth can join and are not required to complete any physical training. As a teacher and a coach, Mr. Hoyle manages to keep both his team and his students focused and alert. A teacher of advanced-placement economics and psychology and early U.S. history at Bob Jones, Hoyle knows the key to being a successful coach coincides with being a successful teacher. “The thing I always tell my kids, both as a coach and as a teacher, is to ‘follow through’.”