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Rockledge HS girls bowling has record-setting finish at FHSAA state tournament
Courtesy: Leslie Shinault

Rockledge HS girls bowling has record-setting finish at FHSAA state tournament

ROCKLEDGE, Fla. — The bowler prepares and is analyzing the pins at the end of the wooden path. As the ball is released down the wooden path towards the pins that are standing at attention, the crowd is quiet. They are anticipating the ball knocking over pins and staying out of the gutter. As the ball hits the pins, a loud crash is heard throughout the alley and the pins all come down! The bowler just got a strike!

Rockledge High School (RHS) bowling team completed their 11th season in the fall. Coach Shinault says that for the past 8 years, they are the only program in Brevard County that has sent an individual or team to the State Tournament every year. The girls’ team finished this season as Runner-up in the state, which is the best finish in school history. They were also District 10 champions and runner-up in the Cape Coast Conference (CCC). RHS boys team was the CCC champion and one of the boys qualified individually and finished 3rd in the state.

Coach Shinault had 7 girls on this year’s team and 5 of them are 10th and 11th graders and only in their second year of bowling! She also had a 12th grader and a 10th grader who have bowled for many years in a youth league before they came to RHS. This years team consisted of: Faith Arter – 12th, Josie Pasion – 11th, Nicole Newman – 10th, Michelle Kirkpatrick – 10th, Brynn Caldwell – 10th, Emilie Miles – 10th, and Trinity Norfolk – 10th.

With little year’s of experience bowling between all of the players, the girls didn’t have any one player who could carry the team- this made it a true team that had to work together and do the best they can. Coach Shinault feels that because they are all good friends, they didn’t have a problem accomplishing this.

Coach Shinault enjoys coaching the teams. Managing emotions and expectations can be difficult for anyone. Her kids want to succeed at the highest level possible. She found a lot of teaching moments this season with helping the kids focus on what they can control in emotions and effort and not worry about what they can’t control in lane conditions and outside distractions.

Before Covid, the teams were allowed to do chants and cheer each other on, which they loved to do! However, this year, that was not able to happen. The teams put a lot of practice time into getting better. They practice 4 days a week from 4-5:30 pm at the Shore Lanes in Merritt Island. Many of the kids are also in a youth league so they practice even more hours outside of the team practice.

Coach Shinault has been coaching the team for all 11 years at RHS! She is the school Media Specialist and a bowler herself. She bowls in a league and has a history of bowlers in her family, along with an aunt who was a professional bowler in the 1970s. Her uncle managed Bowl a Rama that was on King Street in Cocoa many years ago.

She can’t do it all alone and is blessed to have two technical coaches to help her. She believes that Kevin Richardson and Anthony Caso are two of the best technical coaches in Brevard County. She has great names for them: Focus and Fire. Kevin helps the kids focus when it is needed and Anthony gets the kids fired up when needed! Both are professional bowlers and have a lot of technical knowledge that she believes puts the teams over the top each year.

Coach Shinault says this was not an easy season at all, so to end up where they did was special and very exciting! Many of the kids will continue to bowl in youth leagues and tournaments until next season. The girls want to go to nationals in June in Dayton, Ohio so she will be working on getting them to commit to off-season practice and fundraising to try to make that happen.

Look for RHS bowlers to be at the top of their game again next season!

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