The words of encouragement for the members of the Gateway to Success bowling team were frequent at Spartan West on Thursday afternoon during practice.

The clang of the ball smashing the pins were followed by hoots, giggles, laughs, and “Nice job.”

G2S’s bowling team, essentially, shows it’s an extension of what is taught at the non-traditional school.

“Part of it is part of our school culture. We’re the Wolfpack, and it’s very united,” said G2S coach Tony Johnston. “It’s kind of feeling. Being able to keep that and part of the team. This is falling together pretty nicely. Some day, we will be competitive. But I want this to be something they want to do next year.”

Johnston is the team’s coach in its inaugural season, and the team is the first for G2S.

“We had our social worker, John Chalko, from (Mason County Central), and he was a coach over there,” Johnston said. “He came on and had an interest in being an (athletic director). So, he went through that whole program.

“We kind of landed on bowling because we don’t have the facilities to house a basketball team, a football team or anything like that,” he said. “So it was just functionality in terms of what we could do. This was a team that made sense for us to do.”

Interest in the team gradually grew. Johnston said G2S let the students know through their weekly all-school meetings about the team. Eventually, the team became it’s seven members.

“It was a slow process, but you have to have a full team,” Johnston said. “You have to at least five to bowl the formal way. Slowly, kids started coming out of the woodwork, so we’re up to seven now.”

The team is comprised of freshmen and sophomores, which should bode well for the growth of the sport for the Wolfpack.

Freshmen on the team are Bryce Murawski, Ayden Kortge, Lauren Strandberg, Dustin Spiker, Leo Koopman and Lanie Miller. Andrea Spiker is a sophomore.

Johnston said he is surprised by the team.

“There were kids I thought were absolute shoe-ins that they would bowl, and there are kids I had absolutely no idea they wanted to be on a sports team,” he said. “I think it was an organic thing.”

The skill level varies for the bowlers, too. Some bowled as their families have bowling as a recreational activity while others were starting right out of the blue. He’s seen a lot of changes out of the team even in the early portion of the season.