Three cheers for Harlem High School’s bowling teams

MACHESNEY PARK COURTESY PHOTO The Journal
Both Harlem High School’s boys and the girls bowling teams recognized in Nationals. The girls team took first place.
Machesney Park Mayor Steve Johnson proudly announced more triumphs for Harlem High School’s bowling team members, and notes, “The Harlem Girls Bowling Team has won its second straight National Title, and the Harlem Boys Bowling team is national runner -up.
“Both teams dominated at the U.S. High School Bowling Federation Nationals in Ft. Wayne, Ind. just months after taking top honors at HSA State!
“A Welcome Home Celebration for both teams occurred at Harlem High School on June 10 accompanied by an escort of the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department.
“A few hundred people showed up to show their support and pride for these incredible students/athletes and coaches.
“For more details, call the Harlem High School Athletic Director’s office, Reed Allison at(815-654-4511.
“I represented the Village of Machesney Park and expressed how proud I am of both teams for their dedication and hard work ethics, which resulted in both teams achieving outstanding results. The village board will recognize both teams at a future village board meeting.”
Information provided by Harlem High School notes, “Both the boys’ and girls’ teams competed in Indiana over the weekend and walked away as National Runner-Ups and National champions, respectively.
“The trip to the championship wasn’t easy,” as Harlem senior Andrew Bell said. Bell described the challenges his team faced throughout the season.
“I had a hard time at state,” Bell said. “I had so much riding on it. Mentally, I really wanted to perform for my team. I felt like I had to be the rock, but it just drained me, and I completely forgot how to walk and throw the ball.”
Bell said some of his teammates also went through a tough mental battle this season, and it taught him how important the mental part of the game is.
“Mental is probably like 60/70 percent of all sports,” Bell said. “You can be on top physically, but if you can’t control the mental, it’s not any good.
“On the girls’ side, Ashlin Teves is a three-year varsity bowler. She said she sees the program’s success as an opportunity to inspire future bowlers.
“It’s like a privilege to be able to like, have like a target on my back,” Teves said. “I don’t really see it as pressure. I just see it as people, they look up to us, they want to be like us.”
Jim Heathscott has been the girls’ head coach for 25 years. He said he credits the team’s success to their focus on the controllables.
“We don’t watch them, we can’t tackle them, we can’t throw marbles on the ground,” Heathscott said. “It doesn’t matter what they’re doing. We have to make sure we’re taking care of ourselves.”
“Bell said he leaves behind the legacy of family, which he said is something he learned from his teammates and coaches. They’re all family to me because we’ve just grown up like that and the coaches are really enforcing that,” Bell said.
“They are not really all about the physical thing; with the coaches it’s all mental, and that’s why I think our team has always been so good.”