FRUITPORT – The Fruitport boys bowling team is set to begin a new era when it opens the season on Wednesday with Tim McKeeby as head coach.

“It’s got a legacy,” McKeeby, who also coaches Fruitport boys track, about the strong bowling program which was previously coached by Mike Weaver. “It was established under the last couple of coaches who have had a lot of wins and conference championships. We want to continue to do that and develop anyone who wants to be a bowler.”

A benefit that McKeeby will have this season is four bowlers who return from the 2023 squad (pictured at top) that won the O-K Blue conference championship and qualified for the state finals.

Those returning to the team are senior Bradon Krohn, junior Michael Hanson, junior Zach Durakovic and sophomore Devin Winskas.

“We lost two important pieces from that team,” said McKeeby about the 2022-2023 squad. “It’s easy to think we can’t reproduce qualifying for state like we did last year, but I think we can. I think we’ve got a good group of guys.

“Krohn and Hansen are going to lead the charge for us. But my ultimate goal for these kids is to make sure we’re having fun and making good connections, and that we do our best and hopefully win conference again along with qualifying for state.”

McKeeby, who has coached in the Grand Rapids bowling scene, is excited about taking a program over in the Muskegon area, which is rich in bowling history.

“I used to coach in Grand Rapids and the talent there is really raw,” he said. “But we’re in a great area with great facilities. It’s really awesome to get to coach kids who have a lot of experience in youth leagues.”

The Trojans’ high level of experience, with the four key bowlers returning, will make McKeeby’s job easier this season.

“It’s really awesome to see how these kids are working together,” the coach said. “It just shows how prominent bowling is on this side of the state. It’s awesome to see the kids helping each other out and just sharing their experiences with each other to help give each other more knowledge.”

While the Trojans are eager to match everything the team did last year, their first priority will be repeating as O-K Blue champions.

“I think attacking our conference is the first and biggest goal for the season,” McKeeby said. “We want to try and stay conference champions.”