By Sierra Williams
Staff Wroter
Most students believe their teachers spend all of their time in the classroom. However, this is not the case for a group of Mira Costa faculty members who also spend time at the bowling alley.
This group, including science teachers Harold Coller, Danny Sponaugle and Karl Kurz, math teachers Daniel Debevec, Kelly Donovan and Jason Robertson, receptionist Mary Glunt, attendance clerk Frida Shamburg and maintenance manager Jeff Mullikin, is apart of the Torrance Faculty League. This league bowls from October to May on Tuesday afternoons from 4 to 6pm at the Gable House Bowl in Torrance.
There are three Mira Costa bowling teams, the “Tiki Lounge Lizards” composed of Debevec, Glunt, Shamburg, “S & M Dept.” with Coller, Kurz, Mullikin and an untitled team including Donovan, Sponaugle, and Tom Koerhing, a Torrance district employee and friend of Sponaugle. A total of 18 teams are in the league that the Mira Costa staff competes with two or three times throughout the season.
Their involvement in the league began when Sponaugle was asked by Koerhing to be apart of his team as a substitute bowler a few years ago.
“My neighbor was looking for a substitute bowler and asked me if I could fill in, and then I was asked to join the team,” Sponaugle said. “The other staff members joined by word of mouth, mostly from me.”
Once Sponaugle joined the league, other staff members began to express interest in it. When the league was looking for more people to join, Sponaugle asked experienced bowlers such as Kurz and Mullikin to become a part of it.
“I play on a team with Kurz and Coller,” Mullikin said. “We have probably played together for three to four years. Each and every year we end up as one of the top two or three teams.”
The following year, Coller and Debevec started bowling in the league. According to Debevec, competing in the bowling league with other teachers from Mira Costa provides him with a creative and exciting outlet.
“It is a fun afternoon with a lot of good people that all get along,” Debevec said. “It is a friendly competition amongst the various teams, but it is also an individually scored sport as well.”
As the season progressed, additional talent joined the team. Glunt, Shamburg, and Donovan became apart of the league. Glunt started as a substitute player three years ago and has now been bowling with her team for two years.
“I expressed my interest in joining permanently to other Costa bowlers,” Glunt said. “They said they heard Dan was looking to join a new team so I contacted him and then there were two.”
Shamburg was asked by Glunt to join her team because her new team was short one player. This is Shamburg’s second year bowling with the league.
“My favorite part of the bowling team is the members and getting to know them outside of work,” Shamburg said.
With the season coming to an end, the competition is beginning to get serious between the leagues. According to Shamburg, the competition amongst other teams is starting to intensify.
“It is starting to get competitive because our team is in first place,” Shamburg said. “But the best part is how much fun we are having as a team.”
In addition to having fun while playing their sport, being apart of the bowling league gives these teachers the opportunity to meet new people and establish friendships with others from the Torrance district who are involved in it.
“I love having a weekly crew to hang out and bowl with,” Donovan said. “They are so funny and hanging out with colleagues builds camaraderie.”
Even though the league is in the Torrance district, the league continues to recruit more and more staff from Mira Costa and are open to any staff members wanting to become involved.
“There are bowlers in our league who barely average 100 pins a game, up to bowlers who average nearly 200 pins a game,” Debevec said. “But, we all put on our ugly bowling shoes and throw the ball under the same rules and conditions as everyone else.”
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