Central soccer star brings dedication to bowling alley

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Two years ago, Molly Federer had only a vague understanding that bowling was a sport.

A senior at Pickerington High School Central, Federer stumbled into the sport when she was asked to fill a spot during her sophomore year.

“I never thought that bowling could be serious in high school,” she says.

Her first impression of the team: “They’re really loud.”

Federer describes the team’s many chants, which are commonly led by the bowlers themselves. In fact, her teammates are not used to having huge crowds, despite the fact that most of them have been bowling since they were children.

After two years with the team, though, Federer has brought an audience to the lanes.

“I get a lot of people to come out and look at the bowling team, which is kind of cool,” she says. “I always have a crowd.”

The crowd may have followed Federer from the soccer field; she has played for Central’s soccer team her entire high school career. She earned her first varsity letter for the sport in her final season this past fall.

It certainly wasn’t her first varsity letter. She has also received two for her success on the bowling team.

Bowling and soccer are two very different sports, of course, but it’s not just the physical playing of the game that differs vastly, Federer says; the mental game is just as important, and mental preparation for one sport is not like mental preparation for the other.

“In bowling, you have to completely clear your head,” she says. “You just really have to focus, and I did not have that mental state during soccer season.”

One of the more difficult mental matches this bowling season was against Pickerington High School North. Having won against its rival for the past two years, Central’s team suffered defeat this season.

“My sophomore and junior years, we beat them by like 100 pins, but they got really good somehow,” Federer says.

Losing a match doesn’t really get Federer down, however. She has big plans for the future, and they don’t necessarily include bowling or soccer.

Her sights are set on attending Ohio University this fall, where she hopes to study psychology. But she isn’t choosing psychology merely because the subject interests her.

“I just want to help people,” she says.

Service is incredibly important to Federer, as shown by her dedication to many organizations, both at school and through her church, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. She has been a part of the church youth group’s leadership team since seventh grade. The team organizes community service events, such as food and shoe drives for those in need.

Federer is also a part of a leadership team at Central called Sunny Side Up.

At the end of the day, after going to bowling practice and volunteering for her many leadership and service teams, she still has to make time to study.

Valerie Mauger is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.

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