On June 6, Lee Keller kicked off the annual bowling program at Leisure Lanes Bowling and Golf Center, 3440 Columbia Ave. Meetings are held every Tuesday at 6 p.m. and will continue until the end of the 11-week program on Aug. 22., with the exception of July 4. The program is open to people 18 years old or younger, who may register for a small fee at any point through its duration.

During each meeting, participants bowl three games. The first game is primarily instructional; students learn about various techniques to employ when bowling. The remaining two games also contain educational elements, but the scores are recorded. Each student's score will be logged over the course of the program to highlight his or her improvement. "I've learned quite a few things through years of bowling that I want to pass along to the youngsters," Keller said. "The ultimate goal is to get them to be happy about what they did during the game."

One of Keller's goals when he created the program two years ago was to attract more interest in the sport, as well as encourage students to compete on Hempfield High School's bowling team. In the first year of the program, the meetings only entailed the two regular matches; Keller decided to add the instructional game the following year after drawing inspiration from coaches of bowling teams and meeting professional bowler Shannon O'Keefe. While visiting his son in Illinois, Keller bowled at the same lane as O'Keefe, who has won the Professional Women's Bowling Association Player of the Year award two of the last three years. O'Keefe is also the head coach of the bowling team at McKendree University, and Keller has incorporated lessons he learned from her into his program.

Keller also has his own wealth of experience to draw from; he ran the junior bowling program at the former Columbia Bowling Alley for 15 years. Keller first became involved with coaching when his two sons joined the program, and he remained a coach after they left it. The Keller family is rife with bowlers, many of whom played on Hempfield High School's team.

Although Keller no longer bowls, he and his wife regularly go to Leisure Lanes for the high school's home games. "I don't bowl anymore, but I get my enjoyment from seeing the kids leave the alley with smiles on their faces," Keller said. "I started working with some of the players on the team in the last year or two. Once they reach the limits of what I can teach them, I recommend a more advanced instructor."

For more information, email Keller at nippy.keller@gmail.com.