Girls Bowling: Mickley finding her mark with Lady Hubs

RTHS junior looking to convert more spares this season

Russell Hodges
Posted 11/27/20

A hallmark of former Lady Hub bowling coach Joey Johanning’s philosophy on the lanes was that every pin counts. Junior Alyssa Mickley has learned that while bowling under Johanning over the last two seasons, and she’ll look to continue improving her spare shooting when the Rochelle girls eventually resume their winter season under new coach Eric Widick.

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Girls Bowling: Mickley finding her mark with Lady Hubs

RTHS junior looking to convert more spares this season

Posted

A hallmark of former Lady Hub bowling coach Joey Johanning’s philosophy on the lanes was that every pin counts. Junior Alyssa Mickley has learned that while bowling under Johanning over the last two seasons, and she’ll look to continue improving her spare shooting when the Rochelle girls eventually resume their winter season under new coach Eric Widick.

Mickley has been a leader on the lanes for the Lady Hubs, qualifying for the IHSA Sectional Series during her freshman season and posting the team’s high average as a sophomore. A consistent scorer through her two years on the varsity team, Mickley said her goals for her junior season include raising her average and converting more single-pin spares.

“I felt that I performed well over the past two seasons,” Mickley said. “I thought my scores were pretty consistent. I feel that I’ve thrown my strike ball well and I’m looking forward to improving on shooting 10-pin spares because those are something I’m not very consistent with. My goals this season are to have a higher average and record a good amount of 200 games.”

Mickley has helped make up a core group of varsity girls who will be upperclassmen this coming season. That experience should help make Rochelle’s coaching transition much easier, and Mickley said she’s looking forward to learning more about the fundamentals of bowling, something Mickley first took up when she was 5 years old and has done for the last 12 years.

“I enjoy bowling with my friends and having something to do when I need to clear my mind,” Mickley said. “I’ve learned a lot from coach Johanning. I’ve learned different ways to throw my strike ball depending on the lane circumstances. Coach Johanning also helped me avoid getting down on myself when I’m not doing my best. Coach Widick mentioned he’s going to teach us why we shoot where we shoot and how the oil affects the lane conditions. I know where to shoot for different spares, but I’m looking forward to learning why that is.”