Her cheering squad is louder than the balls striking the pins. She looks back at her friends and family, a smile on her face. With the crowds of people watching, she shows no signs of fear. She steps up to the lane, walks forward and lets go of the ball, sending all of pins to the ground in a crash; it is the sound of a strike. Her cheering squad goes wild.

  

Hailey Collins has been bowling for almost 11 years. As a third generation bowler, Collins has followed in the footsteps of her grandparents and great grandparents. Collins’s love for the sport was immediate.

  

“I absolutely fell in love with it,” Collins said. “I fell in love with the people. I fell in love with the sport itself, and I think it gave me a better connection to my grandparents and my great grandparents.”

  

Her sophomore year, Collins was named the captain of Glendale’s bowling team, a title she has held her junior and senior years as well. This year the team won second in Districts, sending them to State in May. In addition to team success, Collins was named the Missouri State United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Dorothy Johnson Female Bowler of the Year for 2019. At the national level, Collins was awarded one of 12 USBC Gift for Life Scholarships of $1000. Her success has helped to validate her hard work.

  

“It’s an awesome feeling to know that you’re making your team and your coach and your parents proud,” Collins said. “You put all these hours and all this time in, and to see it pay off is better than any feeling in the world.”

  

Mike Freeman, the Glendale bowling coach, has relied on Collins for her bowling and communication skills.

  

“Hailey has been a leadoff bowler for our team all this time because she was very dependable on getting up there and starting with a strike,” Freeman said. “Communication has always been important to us. If she says this lane is acting this way and this one is acting differently, it helps the other bowlers understand that they need to make moves in order to maximize their ability.”

  

Throughout her time with the sport, Collins has learned what it means to be a bowler and team player.

  

“[Bowling] has taught me patience. It has taught me hard work,” Collins said. “It has taught me that you’ve got to believe in yourself.”

  

Because of her success, Don Cope, the coach of the female bowling team at Columbia College, recruited Collins. Cope says Collins will be a great addition to the team because of her advanced skills.

  

“She’s already adapted herself and her game to the harder shots that we’ll look at and see when we bowl against all of the other college teams out there,” Cope said.

  

Collins hopes to always be a bowler and a positive influence on the next generation of bowlers.

  

“I want to make a name for myself,” Collins said. “I want younger kids to see me as someone to look up to.”

  

Collins will be attending Columbia College in the fall on bowling and academic scholarships amounting to $20,000 a year. After two years at Columbia College, Collins will attend Missouri S&T to finish her schooling. She plans to double major in aerospace engineering and Spanish. Collins will begin college bowling in September.