Eastside Bowling: Supporting Kids and Making Results

By Abby Haney, The Sandy Standard

“The most important thing I want to state is traditional sports are great oppourtunities but there are also alternative sports,” President of Vince Schiro Memorial Bowling Ball Locker Program and USBC Silver level Certified Coach Amber Palmer-Ortner said. Typical sports don’t suit everybody and promoting alternative sports allows those to discover a passion and opportunity to be involved athletically. Palmer-Ortner promotes and began a bowling club (Eastside Bowling) that offers high school students to engage in alternative sports. 

Prior to Eastside Bowling, Palmer-Ortner started the Vince Schiro Memorial Bowling Ball Locker Program which stores bowling equipment donated to her to then be redistributed to any youth bowler for free. She has helped numerous high school and college programs by either driving to meet them, arranging a pick up at her house or mailing equipment so the program can obtain the neccessary items. She has even coordinated with members of the bowling community who worked to help programs, even if they aren’t a part of it directly. 

“It really is an impactful situation where we can get at least the equipment into the hands of the kids for free and then they have the opportunity to feel comfortable and confident from day one,” Palmer-Ortner said.Palmer-Ortner relates to those who are unable to get equipment access when she was a youth bowler but fortunately, she had a coach, Vince, who supported her and provided the tools for her to bowl. 

“When he passed away, it was my heart that said I need to do this [start the program] so kids can have access to equipment. So I started the non-profit. Then I started Eastside bowling the next year,” Palmer-Ortner said. Eastside Bowling, like every other youth program, has access to The Vince Schiro Memorial Bowling Ball Locker Program resources. 

Eastside Bowling is a co-op team of four high schools with home school students represented in the program that compete in the Oregon State United States Bowling Congress (OSUSBC) High school bowling program. Currently, 13 kids are a part of the program and make up two teams, one Estacada girls and one Corbett boys. However, each team is allowed to represent three high schools by players, the limit for OSUSBC co-op guidelines . Palmer-Ortner’s goal is to have multiple teams represent one high school, these schools being the places she speaks at. 

“We want any school to understand that this isn’t just a club, we treat this as a sport,” Palmer-Ortner said. “We want everyone to feel included, to have a safe space to be themselves.”

The bowlers compete from Nov. 1 to the second week of March. Tournaments are usually every weekend. During the tournaments, the bowlers compete in 20 games or up to 40 games at districts and state competition during a one or two day time period. Practice occurs at Mt. Hood Lanes, supporters of Eastside Bowling, where they focus on skills, development, friendship, and sportsmanship.

“It’a not just kids coming in and throwing a bowling ball. There is actually structure,” Palmer-Ortner said. Bowling involves science, seen in oil patterns on lanes, and Palmer-Ortner teaches the why of bowling.

“So bowling is a way to, first off, teach STEM. People don’t understand that you’re dealing with wood lanes or synthetic lanes, topography, oil absorption, oil density. This is all stuff that requires an eye,” Palmer-Ortner said. Additionally, Palmer-Ortner promotes teaching visually, auditory, and individually to connect with all at their learning style.

“I try to challenge them academically,” Palmer-Ortner said. “What I did this season is I gave each kid this form [SMART Goals] and I said ‘I’m challenging you to fill this out for me so I can know how to help you best.” 

With bowling comes finance that can be difficult to pay. Palmer-Ortner ensures financial isn’t a barrier for kids by doing fundraisers and reaching out to local organizations. Bridgetown Invitational Tournament (BIT) was an essential starter to The Vince Schiro Memorial Bowling Ball Locker Program. Crystal Hill, a local realtor, sponsored the team’s jerseys this season and the Sandy’s Kiwanis was another organization that helped support the club. 

“We were so impressed that we helped sponsor their sweatshirts,” Dale Scobert from Kiwanis said. A goal for Kiwanis is to help kids through scholarships. 

“The big thing is we are trying to get our school district to recognize them as a high school sport,” Scobert said. “That would allow us to award scholarships to bowlers who are deserving of funds for scholarships.” The sweatshirts, while seemingly small, represent the bowler's pride and ability to play athletically for their sport. 

“These kids should be able to represent their school pride even if not playing in the High Schools traditional sports model,” Palmer-Ortner said.

Scholarships are especially important when it comes to college. Numerous colleges offer bowling scholarships which Palmer-Ortner encourages and helps the kids to obtain, some members already on this pathway with going to play collegiate with a scholarship. 

“There’s 250 universities in the United States that offer scholarships for kids for bowling as a collegiate sport, and none of them are on the West Coast . My goal is to change that,” Palmer-Ortner said. Oregon State University and University of Washington had bowling clubs but aren’t funded through the college.

The team began two years ago but results are already prominent. This past year, the Estacada girls team won second in the OSUSBC District 3 tournament and 13 in the whole state. During the state tournament, many girls faced injuries but “They didn’t give up. That to me is championship thinking,” Palmer-Ortner said.

The boys team finished first in the OSUSBC District 3 tournament and second in the whole state. A centennial player on the team made the State All Star team and ranked first in the state at the state finals. 

“In two seasons we have gone from not having a team to finishing second in state for the boys open team,” Palmer-Ortner said.

While Eastside Bowling is a relatively new program, results are already occuring. Palmer-Ortner hopes to continue to expand the program and have bowling have a wider influence, especially on the West Coast. 

“Helping a program to grow doesn’t always mean helping your own program. It means helping others who might not be able to afford it or reaching out to the schools to advocate for these athletes that have a chance to go to college with a scholarship for a sport they love,” Palmer-Ortner said.