LEWISTON, Maine — To open up the floor for a younger generation who might be curious about committing to a bowling league, kids got a chance to play a few games at a "try me" event in Lewiston on Saturday.
Hosted by the Bob and Lucy Violette Bowling Foundation, the organization's goal is to get more youth involved in the sport.
The foundation works to honor Bob and Lucy Violette, who were killed in the mass shootings in Lewiston almost a year ago. Bob was a youth bowling coach and always was trying to get more people to join youth bowling, according to his daughter-in-law Cassandra Violette.
"It's exactly what we were hoping for with the foundation, to try and promote growth just like Bob would have wanted," Cassandra Violette said.
More than a dozen new faces joined in Saturday to play a couple of games and were also joined by a handful of coaches to help, like Kenny Moore.
Moore was running a youth bowling practice in Lewiston on the night of the mass shootings. He was recognized at a Boston Celtics game in December for his bravery after rushing people to the exits during the shooting.
Before becoming a coach and president of the Lewiston Auburn Bowling Association, Moore said he started off in the sport quite young.
"I come from a bowling family, so I basically grew up in a bowling alley," Moore said. "What I'm doing here now is I'm just trying to give back to a program that was there when I was a kid."
From learning grit to teamwork, Moore and others say the sport of bowling often teaches young participants skills to take with them through life.
"Sometimes you get a lot of gutters, sometimes they don't have the best scores and they're frustrated and they have a teammate there to give them a high five and pick them up," Amy Bushway said, who helps run the foundation.