Grizzly Lanes introducing kids to bowling through youth leagues

Rhino Page and Grizzly Lanes are helping bring bowling to the next generation.

Page, a professional bowler who took over ownership of the lanes with his business partner Jeff Heinle in December 2021, is using his establishment to help pass on his skills to area children through a pair of youth leagues as well as a Monday learning program.

“Being a life-long bowler, I knew how awesome youth bowling is and I couldn’t believe there was not a lot going on for kids around here in the winter,” Page said. “Also, as a business owner, these kids are our future and we should be investing in them.”

The Maulers League, which plays at 4 p.m. on Fridays, is meant primaily for Jr. high and high school age players while the 9:30 a.m. Saturday Griz Kids league is meant for players ages 12 and under.

Participants in both leagues get their own custom-drilled ball for free when joining the league and get three games of bowling and coaching each week.

‘When you are coaching someone, having a ball that fits is super important. It also gives them ownership into the sport,” Page said. “When they see that ball, they are thinking about bowling. It’s a way to get them really engaged in a new sport.”

Both leagues began last week and run for 13 weeks. The Maulers League is $10 per week or $120 for the season while the Griz Kids is $8 per wook or $100 for the season.

In addition, Grizzly Lanes is also hosting a Monday after-school youth learning program where bowlers receive two games and coaching.

Players in either league can attend the Monday sessions for free, but it is also available for those not in a league for $15 per week.

“Working with us on Mondays is a perfect time for kids to get better, but it is also a great chance meet other kids that are interested in bowling,” Page said.

Under the United States Bowling Congress, both leagues offer the opportunity for bowlers to enter youth tournaments under the organization, where scholarship prizes are awarded to all ages.

“Bowling is a very unique sport. We are under the United States Bowling Congress, so we have to use Safe Sport certified and registered volunteer coaches. We are one of the safest youth sports there is,” Page explained. “We provide scholarships instead of trophies, which is our way of looking after the future of our participants. I have 5-year olds in our leagues that have money waiting to help them go to college. How great is that?”

According to Page, who started bowling at age 4, he had more than $31,000 in his USBC scholarship account by the time he entered college as a freshman at the University of Kansas, paying for his first three years of college.

Grizzly lanes has awarded $6,750 in scholarships through its youth program to date.

Page started his youth leagues less than two months after taking over the lanes in 2021 and says the program now has more than 50 participants, but he would love to see even more growth.

He would like to someday see bowling become a high school sport in Montana.

“Bowling is a high school varsity sport in 34 states, all of them northern states, but not in Montana. That doesn’t make any sense to me. I would love to see it catch on here, but that’s a long term goal,” he said. “My goal right now is to give kids a good experience with bowling. There is nothing better than when they get that strike for the first time. They are over the moon.”