These powerful words were spoken by 3rd year NJIT bowling coach Casey Creutz while discussing how he felt about being labeled a club sport. Coach Creutz, along with sophomore bowler Darius Singleton, sat down with The Vector to discuss their views on the state of the 16’-17’ bowling team. Coach Creutz, who has been bowling for over 30 years of his life, believes that all club teams at NJIT should be equally supported by the community. As stated by Coach Creutz, “Each group works so hard all year long to represent the Highlanders to the best of their ability, it’s only right they receive the same amount of awareness”. With all this hard work being performed it’s not a surprise that the bowling team was able to successfully capture the first place spot in the Blue Hen Classic tournament this season. Coach Creutz credits team chemistry for their successful performances this year.
Darius Singleton noted the activities the team participated in while traveling or training is a fundamental factor to their success. Completing tasks such as homework together & overall just enjoying conversation with one another has boosted team camaraderie and has brought the team closer together. The addition of new freshman Nick DiGeronimo, Janina Santoro, Zack DiPirro, Daniel Burke, and Marcus Regino have also bolstered the team this year. Both Creutz and Darius believe this year’s freshman class has filled the bowling highlanders with raw talent across the board. However, as stated by Coach Creutz “They’re amazing players already but, they still need development to reach their full potentials which is pretty exciting”.
Coach Creutz is a fun-loving guy as he enjoys eating pizza and teaching PE 211, Which he hopes to expand further in the future, however as much as he enjoys his sport he preaches that his players must take their school responsibilities first. When asked about what he expects from his players Creutz stated, “1st get a degree and handle yourself in the classroom, 2nd, handle yourself as a bowler on this team.”
Darius expressed that the workload from being a student athlete is difficult and will only continue to become more so the further along you progress through school. But he loves the challenge his workload poses, in fact he compared it to bowling when he stated “It’s 85% mental, if you just focus on what you have to do it all becomes 1000 times easier”. Darius, who works at a bowling alley and enjoys working on his “beach bod”, has spent most of his life bowling. He first got introduced when he was just three years old by his father. Darius’s father went to college to play tennis but acquired an injury which sidelined him from playing. During this time Mr.Singleton began to bowl and develop a passion for the sport. Since his dad introduced him, Darius has continued to passionately bowl. Darius credits his church family and Coach Romeo for believing in him and supporting him throughout the years.
As for the future of the bowling team, bright things lie ahead. Everyone on the team is excited to see what unravels this season. With that being said come out to support the Bowling Highlanders at the Shippensburg Classic Dec 3-4th! Visit the NJIT Athletics website to find the official game schedule for times and locations!
