There is a high school team in town where a letter can’t be earned yet, but if coach Loren Kaiser has anything to say about it, someday that may change.

Kaiser has been coaching the Albert Lea High School bowling team since 1991 and he has enjoyed coaching the teens that have come through the program.

“We really have had some super kids on our teams,” Kaiser said.

Kaiser’s office at Holiday Lanes is where the proof hangs on the walls. Pictures of the teenagers that have made up the teams that he has coached fill the wall. Each picture was of a team that represented their year and wearing the uniforms with their individual number on their sleeve.

One of the bowlers on this last year’s team is eighth-grader Tyler Espe.

Espe said that one of the things that he likes the best is just being on a team.

“I really like bowling,” Espe said. “Bowling is something that I will probably do for the rest of my life.”

Espe is often found at Holiday Lanes — whether it’s bowling or working, he dedicates himself to both.

“Tyler is also one of our best workers at the (Holiday) Lanes,” Kaiser said of his young star bowler and employee.

Espe’s personal best is a 288 game.

In his second year Espe made the South Central All-Conference team.

The bowling season for the team runs from early September to mid-November.

“I like the fact that being on the team helps me to get recognized,” said K-Lynn Sjogren. “It’s fun, you get to meet people from other towns. It’s an experience and I really like to bowl.”

For most of the bowlers, one of the things they had in common besides liking to bowl, was that they come from a family of bowlers.

“I have been bowling almost since the day I was born,” Sjogren said.

Kaiser has been teaching people how to bowl for decades and still pays attention to the details of the game.

“He coaches us on the little things,” Espe said. “He is a good coach.”

Minnesota High School Bowling is similar to high school football, basketball, baseball, and other high school athletics in that a group of students from a high school get together to make up a team that will represent their school and their community.

The main difference between those sports and bowling is that the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) is not the governing body for high school bowling.

Minnesota High School Bowling is a club sport overseen by the Bowling Proprietors Association of Minnesota.

Forty three high schools offer bowling as a club activity and 125 schools compete in conference meets.

Albert Lea bowlers pay a $5 fee for each practice session and pay for travel to each away meet.

Other players that are already preparing themselves for the 2009 season are: Nick DeRaad, junior, Brianna Oftedahl, seventh grade, Paige Boyum, eighth grade, Cody Olson, eighth grade, K-Lynn Sjogren, sophomore, and Colby Fjelberg, sophomore.