John Reed remembers getting a high 204 in his first big bowling tournament several years ago, with his dad cheering him on the whole time. Since then, Reed’s passion for the sport has only grown stronger and has become a family affair on campus.

This passion developed into the UA’s 34-member bowling club, with Reed and members of his family at the helm. 

Reed, an environmental sciences sophomore and vice president of the bowling club on campus, said the game is not as low-key as some might think.

“”It builds character — you need a strong mental game and need to focus,”” he said.

Reed said there are ups and downs to the game, similar to the life of a college student, but during a bad day you need to find a way to prevail.

Club president and business management junior Jessica Reed, John Reed’s sister, has been bowling since the seventh grade. She continued to play in high school and attended ASU to bowl, up until her recent transfer.

“”I like that it’s competitive and it’s also in a fun environment,”” she said. “”The game challenges everyone in different ways, always making room for improvement.””

Most schools separate boys from girls, but the UA has a coed team, Jessica Reed said, adding that more people are starting to hear about the club and are expressing an interest in joining.

The siblings’ father, Doug Reed, is the club advisor and director of UA’s Race Track Industry Program.

Doug Reed said he developed an interest in bowling after watching his children play for years and his wife run a junior league in Tucson.

“”There has been a resurgence lately,”” he said. “”Bowling is becoming more popular again — it was big long ago and tailed off, but now it’s back.””

Reed tries to “”wear two hats,”” as a coach and a father, he said. 

“”I don’t get involved with the coach’s decisions, but at the tournaments I’ll go more as the dad,”” he said. 

He said a typical tournament is two days long and they bowl from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the first day and 8 a.m. to noon the second day.

During practice, the bowlers work on accuracy, such as knocking a particular pin down, as opposed to all of them.

He said one of the hardest transitions is going from high school to college, because of the oil patterns on the bowling alleys.

In high school, people bowl on a “”half shot,”” which he said makes it easier for the ball to hit the head pin. In collegiate bowling “”pro-shots”” are done, and they oil the lanes differently, which makes the ball react differently, creating a greater challenge.

“”We are growing, and that’s a fun stage,”” he said.