- Hey everybody, I'm Connor and that is Doug.
And this is the Bethel School District Presents podcast,
and we have a humdinger of a show for you
- Today.
Talk to me, goose. Oh,
- Does that make you Maverick in this scenario?
- ? I guess it does. It's
not actually a very good role for me.
- No, I'm thinking you're more like Dave, the dude
who fills up the jets with fuel
- .
I think that's pretty accurate.
But Top Gun does have a fantastic,
probably the best on film ever karaoke scene.
And I wanna celebrate that today by asking you, Connor,
what's is your Go-to karaoke jam?
- Oh, so many to choose from.
I often get asked to do karaoke
because my voice is like an angels .
When I'm gonna bless the audience with the song.
I usually go with my first pick, which is a bit
of a deep cut from the Paul Simon catalog, Cecilia.
But it's a crowd pleaser and I'm there to please,
- I, I don't know if I've ever heard Cecilia
and I don't know if our audience is ready for that blessing.
So let's, let's keep it in your back pocket for now.
Maybe we will do it at the end of the show.
That's what they call a tease, ladies and gentlemen.
But this is a fun question, Connie.
You wanna know my go-to karaoke jam?
- I actually already know your Go-to karaoke jam
because I've heard it.
Oh boy. And it's glorious
- - And it is Kenny Loggins Highway
to the Danger Zone.
And trust me, people, when I tell you,
if you ever get the chance to see Doug Belt
that one out, do not miss it.
- . And trust me, people, you should miss it.
It's not as advertised,
but it is a fun question to think about.
And Connor, you took this question
to our very own Spanaway Lake High School bowling team,
- And we are joined today by Coach Sebastian Foreman
and some of his Spanaway Lake High School bowling team.
And we're gonna start out with what Doug
and I were just talking about, karaoke songs.
I'm gonna go around the horn.
Could you introduce yourself,
tell me your bowling high score and your Go-to karaoke song.
- So my name's Serenity,
my Go-to karaoke song is Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus.
And my all time high is two 14.
- Um, I'm Alina and my high score is 2 79.
And my favorite karaoke song is Super Bass by Nicki Minaj.
- I'm Tamia, my high score is 2 99
and my all time favorite karaoke song is,
it's All Coming Back To Me Now by Celine Dion.
- And I'm Coach Foreman. And my Go-to karaoke song is
Friends and Low Places by Garth Brooks.
And my all time high score is 2 99.
- So first off, before we get going, coach Tamia 2 99,
if I'm not mistaken, 300 is a perfect game.
So there must be a small piece of your heart
that's just broken that you've got so close to perfection.
Tamia, I'm gonna start with you. Describe your 2 99
game. How long ago is this?
- Um, it was a couple weeks ago.
It was at my Saturday Night League
or Saturday Morning League.
And it was pretty good.
I, I threw the last shot to make it at 300
and for bowlers out there I left a five pin.
So that was kind of funny, honestly.
Um, that's the pin right in the middle. But it was awesome.
It was really cool. And I feel the 300 coming really soon.
- I bet. I mean, you, you're, you're very young.
I'm sure that's in your future foreman.
Oh, you're not as young. I'm not.
Is you, you, you think that three
hundred's in your future still? No,
- I don't.
And it's not something I'm trying to strive for.
Um, I did mine back in 2006, bowling
with my dad at Paradise.
Um, and it was, it was an experience that
is something I talk about with the kids all, you know,
when we, when we get close to it, it's just, it was,
it was different from what the normal bowling experience was
and I just didn't handle the pressure. Well,
- And I'm, I promise we're gonna move on,
but I'm just astounded by the 2 99.
So tell me first, what was it like
trying to go to sleep that night?
Did you just see that pin kind of wobbling back
and forth in your dreams
or were you just pretty stoked that you got a 2 99?
- I've gotten pretty close before in the past
and it wasn't, it was more fun
because it was a fun thing and I was just pretty happy.
I was like, wow, I've never gotten this
many in a row before.
And you know, my reaction, I just started laughing.
I was clapping for myself, I was happy
I was, you know, 2 99. That's cool. That is
- Certainly cool.
So Serenity, what got you into bowling
to begin with? How long have you been bowling?
- So it's my third year bowling.
I originally started
because I knew a lot of girls on my swim team did bowling
and I was just so attached to them.
But then getting into it, I realized like how fun it was
and I decided to come back for a couple more years.
- Nice. And Elena, what is it about bowling that kind
of drew you to the sport? What keeps you going?
- The family part of it.
Just everybody's, it's a very inclusive sport.
- I, I think if you ask most people
to say like Bethel school district
sports, what pops into your head?
I bet you most people are gonna say GK football,
but I would argue that this program's even more successful,
at least in recent years.
Every time I look it's, you know, a district title,
a league title, a state championship.
What is it about this program, maybe Coach Foreman,
that has allowed you guys to succeed so much?
- Honestly, um, along with Foreman,
but also all of our girls are just so supportive.
It really makes you want to come out
and want to have fun and do better.
- What about you, Elena? What do you think,
what is it about this program that's
enabling so much success?
- Um, I'm gonna go back to the family part.
I think everybody's just so, you know, everybody's nice
to each other and we're just like one big family.
- Tamia, what was that like? Winning state championship?
I mean, that's amazing,
that's a once in a lifetime type of thing.
Walk us through what that was like. So
- Me and Elena were actually freshmen we're juniors right
now and first year bowling.
I honestly didn't wanna do the bowling, but me
and Elena were friends and so we went into it, you know,
we're these two freshmen we auto, we get on varsity
and we won league then we won districts
and then we won state and I Do you think
that we went into it expecting to win?
Um, no, definitely not. It was definitely, we just had fun.
We were definitely underdogs, like you said
before, we, you know, no one thinks
of Spanaway like bowling.
And I think that was, we were fiery, we were ready
and it, it drove us to do the best we've ever done. Coach
- Foreman, what are these young ladies learning as they
bowl, as they practice, as they work with each other
that they might be able to take
with them throughout their collegiate
careers, their adult lives?
- You know, it's the same thing with any athlete.
They're all learning how to be great teammates,
be great members of the community.
Um, they're learning the individual things that have
to happen within their personality to be a,
uh, an efficient leader.
'cause every, each of them is different.
Um, each of them leads in a different way
and it's working with them individually to, you know,
talking to them about the, the different things related
to being a good leader, um, being a good teammate.
Um, they take that to heart and,
and each of these young women here have done that.
There are more women, you know, young ladies on the team
who have done this as well.
Um, and I think that's one of those things that's led
to our, our recent success.
You know, we came in here three years ago.
I took the team over four years ago
and I had a group of, um, a couple seniors
who had been bowling on Saturday leagues.
And then I had a couple juniors who are sophomores
who had bowled on Saturday leagues
and they were getting better.
We lost our seniors.
And then to me and Elena came in
and honestly, right, you know, when you,
I have a parent tell me, oh, my kid's been bowling,
you know, doing whatever sport for x number of years,
you take it with a grain of salt.
You know, when Tam Me's mom, Natasha called me
and said, you know, Tamias been bowling
for a few years, she's pretty good.
I was like, oh, well, well we'll see.
You know, but it's one of those things
where when they got there,
they were already better than many other kids at that age.
And, and so they separated themselves
and they earned their spots.
You know, it's not as if they were
given their spots on varsity.
They earned their spots on varsity,
they held their spots on varsity, they helped us win State.
I coached Serenity when I coached Fast Pitch as well,
you know, and, and the things, I saw her there.
She's in, she's taken and used them here on the,
on the bowling team.
And, you know, she's changed her game this year so much
that she has become our number three, number four, um,
bowlers on varsity.
So I'm happy to have, you know, have her and, and,
and have her family a part of this family.
And it's a big family for me.
It's like Helena said, bowling is a huge family thing
and it's all about being together and,
and supporting each other.
And yes, we're very inclusive and,
and I'm proud of that piece.
Very, very proud as a sped teacher in this district. So, and
- One of the things about bowling,
I I honestly can't remember ever meeting someone
who doesn't like bowling.
I mean, it's just a fun thing to do,
but most people aren't very good at it, myself included.
And I wanted some tips because, you know,
if we're getting 2 99, we're pretty good and,
and your high scores are pretty good too.
So most bowlers will have that odd round where you get,
you know, a hundred and fifty, a hundred seventy five
and you feel like, Hey, I might be
ready for the professionals.
Then you come back the next time and you're sub 100.
How can someone like myself
or other subpar bowlers pick up their consistency?
Is there something, are there any
tips you can give us to me? I'll start with you.
- I think 99% of this game is mental. It's so mental.
I mean, the reason I didn't shoot 2 99
nor Foreman was probably 'cause we got two in our head.
You know, it's rarely about
what you can actually do to the ball.
I mean, everyone can swing their arms straight
and let go of the ball consistently,
but it's, if you just let your mind do it.
And I think the key to just consistently getting better is
having the hunger to get better, the, the want.
Um, and just having fun with it
and just remembering that it's bowling.
At the end of the day, it's bowling.
- So, uh, Elena, when, when you have kind of an off day,
how do you correct yourself?
Are there, do you film, do you see, uh, is it,
is it usually something in the way you're kind of lining up?
How do you get back on the right track?
- Um, I usually film and send it to my coach
or something like that and I just try
and make the most of the day with it.
Uh, sometimes I'll get frustrated,
but you just gotta keep going.
- And, and Serenity Coach talked about this a little bit
about the kind of leadership component
and the comradery component.
Is there anything that you think you're getting from this
team that you'll take with you either in college
or your, in your adult life?
- Definitely, like Tamia was saying, it is a mental thing
and honestly, just hyping people up is a part
of how we get better.
And so taking that, just hyping people up in general
makes everyone want to be better.
And not only just in bullying, but also just their selves.
I know everyone hyping me up on the team has made me a
better person, not just in bowling, but in life.
So honestly, you just have to be nicer to people.
- Absolutely. Okay. That, that's, let's, let's take,
that can be our takeaway for today.
Tamia, you think you might pursue
bowling in the future in college?
- Oh, definitely. Um, I've been bowling for
around eight years now and it's more of a competitive thing.
I've gone to nationals.
Um, I was just at team USA trials
and I met with a bunch of different coaches.
Um, I have scholarship offers
and this is definitely something I wanna pursue in college.
It is something I'm going to pursue in college
and I'm really excited to see where I go
and what um, what other team I can find and make family.
And yeah, I think honestly, being a part
of high school bowling, it's really prepped me
for college bowling and I'm very excited
because there's similarities, there's differences.
It's a lot more intense in college, of course.
But you know, the baseline is you have a team,
you have a family, and that's where the magic comes from.
That's where the winning comes from.
- Well, thank you so much. I appreciate you explaining this
awesome sport to us and our listeners
and good luck with the rest of, uh, this season
and into the next season.
So appreciate it guys. Thank you.
- That's gonna be our show today. What a fun interview.
Great group of student athletes there.
And I loved hearing their karaoke songs as well.
And I love Bowling.
Connor grew up watching Bowling for Dollars
with my parents on TV and love going to the alley
and throwing some balls.
My high score 1 79. How do you do out there?
- Well, you know, strikes and gutters, ups and downs.
- I recognize, I quote a little big
Lebowski referenced there.
And last question of the pod,
what is a better bowling movie?
Big Lebowski for Kingpin.
- Both fine films, but gotta go with Big Lebowski.
- Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, uh,
your opinion, man.
- That'll do it for us, everybody. We'll see you next week.