Seven-year-old Gabby Pollet gets ready to bowl Saturday at Royal Crest Lanes.

Seven-year-old Gabby Pollet has bowled since she was 3.

Saturday she kept on rolling. Pollet was one of many familiar faces at Royal Crest Lanes Saturday on a day that marked the opening of league play.

Pollet is a member of the Bantams, a competitive league for ages 8-and-under.

She said she enjoyed the atmosphere of the bowling alley. She especially liked making new friends. But all that aside, when it was time to bowl, Pollet was determined.

“I want to get lots of strikes and spares,” Pollet said.

Early on she struggled to find a bowling ball that fit her hand. But after she found the perfect match, she bowled like she was a pro. Pollet thought her average was about a 75 and she hopes to improve during league play.

Pollet may have an advantage in accomplishing that task. She has received some pretty good coaching tips from her mother and grandfather.

“My mom said to hit the hand and my papa said to bowl at the third arrow on the lane,” Pollet said.

That is pretty good advice for anyone, even more so given the fact Pollet is a third-generation bowler.

Her mother, Patricia, was a youth and now serves as a coach at Royal Crest. Pollet’s grandfather, Mike Miller, is a coach as well as assistant director.

With her father having been involved with youth bowling for many years, Patricia thought it was just natural that Gabby would do the same.

Patricia said she enjoyed watching her daughter bowl but being a coach has additional rewards.

“I like working with this age group and being a role model for them,” Patricia said.

Having someone to look up to was easy for Patricia. Mike was a talented youth bowler, and he helped mold Patricia into a good bowler as well.

Today, Miller enjoys teaching the game of bowling to kids.

“We try to teach them the basics,” Miller said. “We want to make sure they have a good time and make bowling fun for them.”

Miller has worked at Royal Crest for 17 years, and in that time he has seen some of his students go on to perform well at both the state and national level. A pair of his former students was on the Kansas University men’s bowling team when they won the intercollegiate Bowling Championship in 2004.

Miller has seen a lot of talent in his years as a coach and mentor. But even if the participants are not competing in a league, he still encouraged the kids to come out and give it a try.

“Some are here to play competitively. Some are here just to have fun with their friends,” Miller said. “And that’s fine.”