The Niles West girls bowling season is quickly approaching and the team is getting ready in hopes of improving from last year.

Last year, the team welcomed not only new players, but also new coaches Jaron Baker and Collen Gogerty. The new leadership and group of players spent the past year adjusting to one another and focusing on perfecting the basics.

“The growth that the team made as a whole was really impressive,” Gogerty said. “Some people who have never bowled before, they just had such a drive and determination to get better.”

Since their previous season, the team has put effort into getting stronger as well as participating in different clinics.

“From when the season ended, we definitely put out a lot more information about clinics, that students could go to open bowling, different ways to keep practicing,” Gogerty said. “Some of the girls had joined varsity PE, built up strength, because they need arm strength, they need leg strength.”

Returning sophomore Ameila Rios has begun preparing herself for the upcoming season, mainly prioritizing her mindset going into this year.

“My mindset was what really threw me off last season,” Rios said. “I think if I work on it this season, I think I could definitely get better.”

Senior co-captain Talia Spector hopes this season is more fun for her and her teammates, as she felt the team did not prioritize their positivity as much as they could have.

“I’m looking forward to having more fun at games,” Spector said. “Last year we were really focused on points and winning, but I think this year we can just foster that energy into the positivity.”

Rios also wants the team to enjoy this season and hopes for the team to improve their spirit going into this year.

“We weren’t interactive with each other last year because when people thought they weren’t doing as good as they were, it really brought the mood down,” Rios said. “I feel like [we need to] work on team spirit, then definitely uplift the mood.”

This year, the team plans on moving forward from the basics of bowling and working on improving their techniques to win more matches.

“The biggest thing is we’re not starting with the basics this year,” Gogerty said. “We’re able to get into it a little bit further of into the actual form and just overall having fun and getting better as a team, and beat [Niles] North.”

Tryouts for girls bowling begin Nov. 17.