If there is one thing that Collinsville girls bowling coach Sean Hay firmly believes when it comes to his Kahoks, or the sport of girls high school bowling for that matter, it is this - on any given day, any given team can come out on top.
While the defending Illinois State bowling champions finished 10-3 and in third place in Southwestern Conference play, Hay is still looking for more.
"I was ecstatic about (the 10-3 record) considering how much we lost, quite a few seniors from last year's team," Hay said. "It has been pretty much a brand new team. They worked hard at the beginning of the season and dropped a couple matches here and there and we were still pretty well off I would say. By the end of the season, we started shooting more 1,000 (pin team games)."
The biggest key for the emergence of this year's team has come in its numbers.
Sure, any squad has to have its leaders, but the great thing about the 2010-11 version of the Collinsville girls team lies in its depth.
"The effort was there because everyone worked as a team," Hay said. "As opposed to having one or two bowlers (doing really well) and having everyone else do okay, the girls are hitting their stride just when they need to. I would say that if sectionals were this weekend, they'd be ready for it. We, unfortunately, have to wait a (until Feb. 5 for the Godfrey Sectional) for that."
A definite strength for the Kahoks this season has been the play of sophomore Sarah Crafton.
She has been consistently good in leading Hay's team.
"She's got the second highest average (204) in the conference," Hay said. "I have to be real pleased with that. Any time you can get an underclassman making noise like that, it's not only good for now it is good for the future."
Hay must be a very happy man this season as he only has one junior amongst his top ranks.
That junior - Sarah's sister, Katie Crafton - is among the best bowlers in the conference with a 192 average.
"Katie has really been making strides," Hay said. "If we had any more season left, it wouldn't take her many matches - maybe two - to get her up over that 200 average without a problem."
Hay added that senior Elizabeth Beauchamp has, after a slow start, really turned it on and is a valuable asset to the Kahoks' program.
Sophomore Amber Burns and junior Courtney Brunsick round out Hay's top five in the line-up but definitely have come on like gang busters these past few weeks to help the Kahoks.
"Amber has had a pretty solid season even though it is a little lower than she would like it," Hay said. "She knows there are some areas she would like to improve in. She's starting to put it together. She had a middle of the season slump but then they call it a sophomore slump for a reason."
As far as for what he would like to see out of his team for the rest of this season, Hay said it's simple.
He wants his girls to go out and gun for first a state appearance and then they'll see how they can do at the championship meet.
"We want to have that (state meet) as a definite goal every year," Hay said. "I will be honest, though, our sectional is nasty. You have to make it into the top two (teams) to qualify for state. We used to have two sectionals down here and that's been cut to one. All of the best downstate teams are fighting for those two spots. It's gong to be a battle."
