Kreig Radford enters his fourth season hoping for big things
By Perry Swack
When I was in high school (10-12 years ago), the KHSAA sent our school a survey asking everyone to choose new sports that Kentucky high school students would like to participate in should they be offered. I remember sports like wrestling, boys’ volleyball, flag football, were options on the list. One sport that was listed was bowling. I always selected bowling as an option because I felt like it would be popular if it were chosen. Whether or not these surveys played any role in helping bowling become an official KHSAA activity is unclear; however, a few years after I graduated from high school, bowling was instituted as a “Sports Activity” within the Commonwealth. Bowling is now in its tenth season as a sanctioned sports activity. In the Greater Bowling Green Area, the region has grown from seven teams in 2012 to 15 teams as of 2020.
Spartan Dominance
The school that has enjoyed the most success in the state’s largest region is South Warren. The boys’ program has won three region championships – more than any other school in the 1st Region. The Spartans won the region title in 2013 and in 2016 under coach Scott Thompson. The team was a state semifinalist in 2016 and finished as the state runner-up in 2017. Thompson took the bowling job at Kentucky Wesleyan in 2017 and was succeeded by Kreig Radford. Radford is now in his fourth season at the helm, and he is coming off of his first region title in 2020. In talking with Coach Radford about the team’s keys to success, he was able to draw it back to some central ideas like practice and teamwork. “The kids put numerous hours of practice time in,” he said. “We averaged five games a night per bowler” for 2-3 times a week. “The kids had confidence in each other, so it didn’t matter which one of them were bowling, they thought they could win.” Radford and his coaching staff (Wendell Martin and Jake Goodwin) work with the team on a weekly basis as any other coach in any other sport would do. “They were very coachable and listened to instructions from the coaches…which is important in any sport”.
The 2020 Spartans were dominant in the alley, losing only one match in the regular season before making a strong showing at the state tournament. They finished seventh in the qualifying round before bowing out in the quarterfinals by the smallest of margins. Their success at state qualified them for the national championships; however, the pandemic canceled the national event. Jayden Martin led the way for South, finishing second at the region event and 17th at the state meet. The junior has had an excellent 2021 as well. He bowled a perfect 300 game, while recently bowling 279 in a match against Warren Central. His average is 220 on the year. The Spartans have no seniors on the roster. However, they do return Conner Japp, Conner Proctor, Carter Collins, Branden Brion, Jack Lewis, and Andrew Flynn from the state tournament team of a season ago. “We are young,” Radford says. “Most of the new bowlers are in their first season of bowling and they have fit in quite well. All of these bowlers have performed well in the early part of our season, with most of them – if not all – bettering their score weekly.” The Spartans were a perfect 8-0 on the season at the time of publication.
Lady Spartans & the challenges of playing in a pandemic
South Warren’s girls’ team has also enjoyed success in the alley, most recently featuring the 2020 region runner-up in Imagen Stevens. The program finished third in the region qualifying round but fell in the quarterfinals to Barren County. Only four players return in 2021 – Madison Bartlett, Lindsay Attwood, Macy Proctor, and Julie Goodwin. The team is 4-4 through the first eight matches of the season.
When asked about the challenges of coaching a high school sport during a global pandemic, Radford mentioned two: travel and social distancing. “(Outside of one match) we are not traveling to bowl against other teams in the region. Also, due to the (COVID-19) regulations, when we have a match the teams bowl on separate lanes that are on opposite ends of the building.” This obviously causes some problems for a coach trying to keep his team focused on the task at hand. “It seems like a practice instead of a match,” he noted. “We worry every day that the season will get canceled.”
Bowling Coaching 101
It is easy to imagine a seamless transition for coaches that played basketball, football, or baseball in high school and then take up that sport as a coach. But what about a sport like bowling? How does one get into a sport that many of us remember fondly as a social activity? For Coach Radford, his bowling story started as a young child. “I have been bowling since my father bought my brother and I our first ball at the age of six,” Radford recalled. “My father bowled all the time, and I still have the paper clippings of when he bowled his first 300 game. I have come close with a couple of 299s, but the perfect game still eludes me.” Radford noted he also plays in a few bowling leagues to stay sharp.
But what about coaching? When I talked with Coach Radford, I could not imagine there being as many tools for bowling coaches as there are for other sports like basketball, volleyball, or even track and field. Radford assured me that coaching bowling is actually like many other sports. “The keys to coaching this team is like any other sport,” he said. “First, you have to find athletes that are interested in the sport. You have to make sure that they are always having fun while they are bowling. I also try to make them study the sport, by either watching the pro bowlers on TV, watching videos on YouTube, or having local league bowlers help them while they are practicing on their own. I am usually at the bowling alley four nights a week.”
2021 Postseason and How to Keep Tabs on 1st Region Bowling
We all know how easy it is to follow high school basketball in the winter. The papers are covering the sport. Every team has its own streaming service, and all the statistics are posted to KHSAA’s website. Many alumni and fans would love to follow bowling; however, they are not sure where to start. Coach Radford said any bowling coach or athletic director would be able to provide you with the team’s schedule. In most seasons, it would be perfectly acceptable to show up to Southern Lanes and watch a high school match between Warren East and Warren Central. The 2021 season, though, has different protocols. The KHSAA allows each bowler to have two parents at each match. So, if you are interested in watching your favorite school at the alley, check back in 2022.
As for the postseason, the 1st Region Tournament is scheduled for March 8. Radford noted that Paducah was supposed to host the event, but that the host school did not field a team this year. Therefore, the location is TBD. The state tournament will be on March 22 at Executive Bowl in Louisville. As for the favorites to win the 1st Region, it seems that the usual suspects will be expected to advance. Radford mentioned that Apollo, Owensboro, and Barren County always have strong teams. Daviess County won the boys’ region in 2019, and McCracken County won in 2017 and 2018. The Graves County girls have won seven of the nine region titles. Barren County recently won in 2019.
Radford hopes that 2021 ends in success for his Spartans and Lady Spartans. “I just hope that we get to finish by winning region, have a chance to bowl for the state title, and qualify for nationals again. They are working hard to improve every night out, and that is all I can ask as their coach.”
