This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Winter Sports Preview: Bowling

Seniors Yeliz Inalman and David Daniels lead the way for Fort Lee.

Like a baseball pitcher on the mound, a bowler facing 10 pins at the end of a lane can  feel like he or she is standing in one of the loneliest places in the world.

The entire world is swirling around you, but the only thing that seems to matter at that moment is winding up, rolling a ball and hoping to knock down all ten pins.

This is the mental side of bowling, and it is something the Fort Lee co-ed bowling team hopes to master on their way to a successful season.

Find out what's happening in Fort Leewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"The more relaxed you are, the more concentrated you are going to be and the more fun you are going to have," said Fort Lee head coach Dennis Sayer. "If you put too much pressure on yourself, you are going to be stressed and miss your mark."

Yeliz Inalman is the top bowler for the girl's team, but she also has the task of keeping her fellow female bowlers focused.

Find out what's happening in Fort Leewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"I'm not perfect," said the senior bowler laughing. "I do have my moments where I mess up ... but I try to stay as positive as possible so the girls don't get the wrong idea. Being a leader is really important because they watch you while you bowl. Without you realizing, they do the same things you do, so you have to help them out."

Inalman will be working with first year bowlers Healin Park, Justine Valdez and others during the course of the year as coach Sayer has high expectations.

"Hopefully second or third in the league," said an optimistic coach. "They are doing well [but] have to maintain it."

On the other side of the lanes, the Fort Lee boy's team looks to senior David Daniels to pave the way.

Daniels, like Park, was new to bowling last year but has quickly ascended to become the top bowler for the boys.  

Just this week, Daniels bowled a career high 278 and another 200 after that. He is also a new leader in addition to being a newer bowler.  

"Being a leader for a team is a big challenger in only you're second year," mentioned Daniels. "I am adjusting … and hopefully it can get better as the season goes along."

Coach Sayer has already voiced his belief in Daniels and is seeing it pay off.

"He is taking all of the younger kids and trying to help them bowl," said Sayer. "We have a young team, so it's great to watch him bowl because the kids get a little more motivated."

James Han and Ammad Quraishi are some of the freshmen working alongside Daniels on the Fort Lee team in 2010-2011.

Coach Sayer hopes that the boys' team will finish third or fourth in the league.

As always, Sayer is extremely happy for the beginning of another season.

"I'm always happy for the start," said Sayer. "There is a great group of boys and girls. They enjoy bowling … and we have a good time bowling while we are competing."

The next match for Fort Lee is Monday against Westwood at Bowler City in Hackensack. Westwood is the team's last opponent before the Christmas break.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?