BY JOHN ROSS AMIGH
Staff Writer
Sandhills Bowling Center is serving up a strike in its 10th year of hosting the Kids Bowl Free Program all summer long.
Outdoor and aquatic activities are often a hit when it comes to summer fun. But when it gets too hot or a storm blows through, what’s left for children to do? That’s where the bowling alley steps in to keep the joy rolling along.
“ We want them to come in here and feel like they’re in Disney World, enjoying everything and having a good experience so they want to come back,” said Adam Krauss, one of the co-owners of Sandhills Bowling Center.
The program runs from May 1 until Sept. 30. Kids who arrive and sign up for the program are allowed to bowl two free games per day, or a total of 390 games for the summer. A shoe rental is still required, costing $3.75.
The program’s mission is to provide an affordable activity for families, while ensuring children remain physically active. It’s part of an international organization run by the Bowling Proprietors Association of America. The Sandhills Bowling Center first participated in the program in 2016 and has continued the tradition since, with it being one of its favorite ways to be involved in the community.
General manager Steven Suhadolink said he loves the program, not only because it helps give children something to do over the summer, but because he sees the same families coming back year after year.
“Everybody who comes in, I try to push the Kids Bowl Free. Even if they don’t have it, I tell them to grab a seat to sign up, it only takes a couple of minutes. It’s a great deal,” Suhadolink said. “ We get a lot of people in here, a lot of repeats over the last three years. I’ve gained some relationships with people because they come in so much.”
Suhadolink shared a story about a grandfather who frequents the bowling alley with his grandchildren, saying, “Whenever the grandkids come in, I have to come out from behind the desk, and three or four of them, they give me a big hug. And that’s what it’s all about — making the experience.”
The program wasn’t a hit at first, needing a little time to develop the right spin before soaring down the center of the lane.
“ It started out real slow because they had to spread the word out, and then over the years it just started growing more and more,” said the bowling alley’s head mechanic and Team DV8 ball representative, Kent Smith. He has worked at the bowling alley since the program began, with around 700 to 800 children signed up over the course of a summer.
Suhadolink estimates there is at least double, possibly triple the amount of sign-ups this summer. And the children arrive by the busload some days, with summer camps participating in the program.
In recent years, Krauss said the program has motivated more families to accompany their children when bowling. “ We’re getting a lot more family folks, adults joining it also. They’re bringing their kids, and they get a discount, so it’s nice.”
But the families aren’t the only ones motivated to come and bowl, Suhadolink said. A key part of the program is that it encourages children to join junior bowling leagues in the fall.
The sequence from being Kids Bowl Free members to junior league players and then high school bowling team members has produced some impressive bowlers. Krauss noted the Pinecrest girls bowling team — with many of the members starting as children in the program — has won state championships a few times.
But whether a child dreams of winning a championship one day or just not ending up in the gutter for the second time in a game, the core goal of the program is to have fun.
“ The kids, they get to ripping and running and hollering, you look down and think something’s wrong, something happened, somebody got hurt — nope, they just threw a strike,” Smith said, smiling.
Contact John Ross Amigh at jramigh@ncsu.edu.
