It’s 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday evening, and the Bowling Club is having another practice. Junior Riley Winkler rolls his third strike in a row, earning himself a turkey sticker. He then stows away the sticker for safekeeping. Later, he goes home and gives the sticker to his little sister, delighted by how happy it makes her. Moments like this are one of the many things that keep him coming back to his unique sport.

There are many sports that the majority of people do not take interest in, like bowling. However, this does not mean that they aren’t well liked; for some, the niche and uncommon sports are near and dear to their heart. Winkler, for example, has been bowling since he was young.

“From a young age, I’ve gone bowling with my step-dad, and I always liked just being around the alley and the people there,” Winkler said. 

For him, bowling has always been important. He grew up with a special attachment to it, and he takes great value in bowling. As for why other people don’t make as strong of a connection to the sport, Winkler thought that people might not take it seriously when they haven’t tried playing it often.

“I think the reason more people don’t bowl is because they just see it as something to do on the weekends rather than an actually challenging sport,” Winkler said. 

It’s certain that for most people, bowling is not an activity that they participate in very often. It’s certainly not as popular as other sports here at FHC, where it falls under the list of clubs rather than sports. That being said, it is also possible for sports that are more official than bowling to be less popular as well. Senior Grace Bannon, the only diver on the girls swim and dive team, reflects on why she thinks diving is so rare.

“If I had to guess, I’d say people don’t try diving more because they assume they wouldn’t be good at it,” Bannon said. “The hardest part to get over beyond that might be actually jumping off of the board, which can be scary.” 

Bannon feels that diving is so rare because people get in their head about trying it. Fear often takes a great role in one’s decision-making, the fear of failure more so than the fear of heights. After diving for the greater part of her high school career, Bannon’s only fear in diving now is the cool 79 degrees Fahrenheit when she hits the pool. Similar to Bannon’s perspective, junior Kat Mann finds that being self-conscious is one of the biggest difficulties when doing shot put, another atypical sport of its own.

“I think shot is difficult because it’s mentally and physically challenging. It’s easy to get in your head and not perform well because of it,” Mann said.

 Again, the recurring sentiment people have about why others don’t play new or rare sports is because they have doubts about what it would be like. Whether someone thinks they wouldn’t be able to thrive, or they don’t view something as anything more than a hobby, the reason these sports are so uncommon is due to preconceived notions around a sport or around oneself. Although these are natural assumptions, the individuals who are committed to these hidden-gem sports find the positives to outweigh the negatives.

“Last year, me and a friend who also was in dive would have friendly competition, and we always tried to do better than the other, which was fun,” Bannon said. 

While Bannon found the competition entertaining, Winkler and Mann focused greatly on the communities they entered through their sports. 

“Shot put has let me make connections with my team, my coaches, and other track and field athletes,” Mann said. 

Winkler mentioned how he too has developed his relationships with others through his sport.

“I met one of my current best friends through bowling back when I was a freshman and he was an eighth grader. Bowling has helped me make new relationships, for sure,” Winkler said. 

Although these sports may be niche and different to many people, it is undeniable that they have had a positive impact on those who play them. These sports have helped people become more confident in themselves, make new friends, and improved their lives as a whole. As long as strangers to these sports are willing to try something new, they can expect to have a fun, exciting time as well as possibly find a new interest for them to pursue. New experiences will forever go undiscovered until someone gives them a chance to shine.