Coaches Corner: Michele Zaleski, Johnson Bowling

Michele Zaleski started as the Johnson bowling coach in 1998 and was at the helm of the team for six years. The run ended in 2004 as the team became an unfortunate budget-cut casualty. Good thing admins decided to bring the program back, as the Crusaders had an unforgettable 2010-11 season when they won their conference, the county tournament and the Group 2 Section 2 States title. Zaleski, who is a physical education teacher at Kumpf Middle School in Clark, has also been the head coach of the Johnson varsity volleyball team for the last 15 years.

What was your proudest moment as a coach?

The proudest moment for me had to be last year when my team won the conference, the counties and the sectional tournament. It was a phenomenal ride for the team. They were a very competitive squad. This was the group that fought to bring bowling back to the school, so the win was special for them. We were a very tight group, like a family. A lot of those kids had bowled together since they were very, very young. I knew from the first year that I saw them bowl in high school that they would be champions, of some sort, down the road. It was my first title, too.

Tell us something that we don’t know about the sport of bowling.

Everyone thinks bowling is just a recreational sport, but in order to be very competitive a lot of time has to be put in by the bowlers. Not only do they work on their own personal skills but they are also forced to know and adjust to different conditions, different oil patterns on the lanes, things like shot. It’s never the same shot. They need to be able to read the lanes. You have to have an understanding of the equipment. Bowlers have to make even the most minor adjustments, like moving a couple of boards to the right or left or watching their follow through. Bowling tends to be a very technical sport, so the slightest thing going wrong is really going to affect the shot that day. 

What do you do to help a struggling bowler get out of a funk?

I usually like to take a positive approach with them. Try to be encouraging of them. Lucky for me we have some very talented bowlers and leaders who will also step in if I can’t fix something that is wrong with a bowler. I have an amazing assistant who helps with the technical aspects of everything. I am always just trying to get them to have confidence in themselves and not to get down. It definitely affects their game negatively.

How do you feel about this year’s squad’s chances to defend?

Well, we’re a very young team. I have one senior and one junior who start and the rest are sophomores. We have a very tough conference this year so that will really be a test.

It’s anybody's year and the team has been stepping up and doing just enough to pull out those tough games. My captain, John Messina, has been instrumental for this team. He is a very positive kid and he is a very strong kid and he seems to get the team riled up and pumped up at the right times. When John is on, everybody's on.

Some goals for us are: to improve our individual game, to get more kids ready to play varsity when the time comes and, of course, we are looking to keep that title. Everyone is gunning for us.