A new coach, a new roster, a new team. Westfield’s bowling team has taken on a brand new identity this 2023-24 season. After a historic 2022-23 season, Westfield was ranked second in the Watchung Division standings, and they solidified a dominant 13-2 record last year. On top of that, it was their sixth straight season with five or fewer losses and a top-five finish in the conference.
The team obviously saw great success, and a lot of that had to do with the 2022-23 senior class and their coach, Ralph Corey.
Corey said that last year’s senior class was incredibly strong, and that losing the nine of them “was certainly a big impact.” He continued that he left the program during its rebuilding phase, but has “confidence that the more experience these new guys get at the varsity level, they’ll start to see success coming this year and beyond.”
When Corey left at the beginning of this year, there was an opening for a new head coach. In step coach Varhley and coach Pereira, the co-coaches of the 2023-24 bowling team. When we asked Varhley why he took the position, he stated, “I’ve been bowling recreationally for many years. Becoming the bowling coach never really occurred to me in the past… Due to the birth of our 1st daughter in October 2021, I decided to step down as the girls varsity tennis coach. With Mrs. Varhley coaching field hockey in the fall, I needed to take on the primary parenting duties after school. Since bowling takes place during the winter season, I’m available to coach the team. Mrs. Varhley takes on the primary parenting duties during the winter season.”
With nine of their ten previous Varsity bowlers leaving for college and other endeavors, coming into this season was a fresh start for the Blue Devils. And, they got brand new coaches under their watch to support the transition: Matthew Varhley and Pereira. With both operating as head coaches for the first time for this team, it was an adjustment from their previous experiences coaching. Varhley, the former girls tennis head coach, said, “So far I’ve learned the basic tenets of being an effective coach apply to all teams. An effective coach provides clear expectation, sound instruction, and positive support for the players.” So, that’s exactly what he did: he adjusted this coaching around the bowling rules. Varhley said, “The biggest adjustment is learning the rules for team and league bowling…Bowling is a fun sport. We work very hard at both having fun and improving each day.”
One constant from the 2022-2023 season is senior captain Matt Culhane. He averaged a 173 last year and this year has improved to a 183.11 average. Corey said, “I feel good about him leading the new guys.”
Varsity bowler Collin Grecco heard that “they were short on players because most of the former players were seniors, and they graduated.” He “wanted to try something new for the winter.” Without the strong 2023 class, he said, “We are doing our best… We’re going to try to make it to states. That is our ultimate goal for the season.”
As for the new coaching staff, Grecco said they are “doing well… They give us good tips, and they are very supportive.”
The 2023-24 girls tennis captain, Emily Shabinaw, had the opportunity to experience Varhley as coach before he retired to take on primary parenting duties after school while his wife, Corrine Varhley, head coached the field hockey team. Shabinaw said that Varhley was “a very versatile coach, and he coached each player to their own needs. He always kept practice interesting and tough, but we [the girls tennis team] always had fun and did fun things. He promoted a lot of sportsmanship and energy on the team. He coached the team for around 10 years and his coaching records speak for themselves. His individual player approach on coaching benefited the team so much because he always knew what to say during the match to help you. Not only was he able to coach us mentally, but he always had strategies for us if we were losing. He respected everyone’s individual coaching needs and his respect, understanding, and desire to learn more to help us and the team is what made him such a good coach.”
Just like tennis, bowling is a very individualistic sport. Not only do you have to perform for your team’s points, but you have your own personal goals that lay outside a team’s success. For example, every bowler’s dream is to have a perfect round: all strikes. Gabe Dayon, a 2023 graduate, achieved this dream and many have been striving to replicate his feat since.
However, bowling reached new heights this year by introducing their first female to the roster, sophomore Kenzie Schiller. She bowled a 111 in her only game played.
The bowling team’s current record lies at 3-6 with dominant wins over Elizabeth, Rahway, and Union. Westfield will rematch Elizabeth and Rahway later this season, and the team will also look to get revenge in rematches against Roselle Park, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Linden, and Cranford.
Going into the rest of the season, Varhley said, “Our team has excellent senior leadership and a young core of players eager to get better every day.” With a strong work ethic and leadership, the Blue Devils will look to overcome the challenges of a rebuilding program to make history again this year during the Watchung Division tournament and North 2, Group 4 sectional tournament.
