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The Gary Superneau Youth Bowling League is working to get kids hooked on the lifetime sport of bowling.
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North Adams Youth Bowling League Gets Some Help

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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About three dozen children and teens ranging in age from 5 to 19 participate in the Saturday morning league. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Gary Superneau Youth Bowling League is still going strong and has a new partnership that opens it up to more families.
 
League organizer Brent Lefebvre said because of the new financial partnership with MountainOne, the longtime youth bowling league will be able to teach more children how to bowl.
 
"The youth bowling league has been around for a very long time. I bowled in it when I was a youth and it was around before I came along," Lefebvre said. "This partnership will help us grow the sport of bowling by providing opportunities for children to bowl who normally would not be able to due to financial strain."
 
The league has been around for some time now and was renamed this year in memory of local bowling legend and champion of youth bowling Gary Superneau, who passed in 2016. Superneau and his father had managed and owned the bowling alley for many years. 
 
The group meets up Saturday mornings at Greylock Bowl & Golf where U.S. Bowling Congress registered and certified coaches are available to guide the youngsters.
 
"The mission of our league is to provide a safe and fun environment for the youth of our community to learn the sport of bowling," he said. "Children in the league will learn sportsmanship, teamwork, perseverance, and many other important skills useful in everyday life."
 
Lefebvre said there are 35 kids currently in the league and ages range from 5 to 19. The league is split into a peewee division and a junior/senior division.
 
"This is where they learn the fundamentals of bowling, proper form and technique, and the general rules of bowling," he said. "As the kids move up in age and skill, they move to the junior/senior division."
 
Lefebvre said once in the upper division, they learn more advanced skills.
 
"This is where, with the help of our coaches, they will hone their skills and learn the more advanced techniques of bowling," he said. "Things like how to use a reactive ball, how to read the lanes and where to throw the ball depending on what the oil pattern is doing."
 
Lefebvre said there is a cost to the bowling program and now that the MountainOne financial services firm is offering financial aid to families, the cost of the program can be offset, and more children can learn how to bowl properly. 
 
Bowling is different than other sports and the young bowlers are learning something they will be able to enjoy for the rest of their lives, he said.
 
"It's a lifelong sport. Similar to golf in the fact that it's something you can do at age 5 as well as age 70," he said. "It's not a high-impact sport so the wear and tear on your body is much less than that of football or basketball. Bowling requires hand-eye coordination, timing, balance and a large amount of focus."
 
Signups for the league were earlier this summer but anyone interested in participating can contact the league through its Facebook page here
 
Disclosure: Greylock Bowl & Golf is owned by iBerkshires.com Publisher Osmin Alvarez.

Tags: bowling,   greylock bowl,   youth sports,   

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North Adams Arts Commission OKs 'Hatchlings' Installations for Downtown

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Vanessa Hooper of Studio HHH gives a presentation on the light structures to the Public Arts Commission on Thursday. 
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A light installation that's graced the Esplanade and Greenway in Boston the last couple years will spend the spring, and likely the summer, in North Adams. 
 
The Public Arts Commission last week enthusiastically approved a proposal by Studio HHH to set up the "Hatchlings," six lighted half shells, at points around the downtown. 
 
The studio has offices in Greylock Works, where the Hatchlings were built. The half shells are a metal framework strung with LED lights that can be programmed. Two are solar-powered and the others require electricity. 
 
"They really just generally attract a lot of attention and people wanting to come ... they just sort of flock to it and want to take photos," said Vanessa Hooper, director of Studio HHH. 
 
She gave a presentation on their construction and showed pictures of people interacting with them during their time in Boston.
 
"I included these photos because we were actually really surprised that a lot of people come during the day and still like to take photographs in them as they are, this sort of like basket-woven black structure is also just really beautiful, and people love that, too."
 
They spent a year on the Esplanade, playing off the iconic Hatch Shell, and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, until all nine were moved to the Greenway last November.
 
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