- May 16, 2024
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Matanzas bowler Haley Olson and FPC bowler Emma Pezzullo. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Haley Olson bowls during practice at Palm Coast Lanes. Courtesy photo
Haley Olson sits with Matanzas girls bowling coach Tony Benvenuto. Courtesy photo.
Haley Olson, right, with her "big sis" on the Matanzas cheerleading squad, Ashlyn Gilyard. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Haley Olson has been watching Matanzas High’s bowling team practice and compete for two years.
Now she’s on the team herself. Haley, who is autistic, is also a member of the Matanzas cheerleading squad. Both activities have helped her social skills and self-confidence, her mother, Jackie Olson, said.
Her new teammates and competitors have benefited as well.
“She’s always giving happy vibes,” said Flagler Palm Coast bowler Emma Pezullo, who bowled next to Haley on the first day of practice as the two teams practice next to each other at Palm Coast Lanes.
Now they seek each other out.
“She’s a really good person, a good person to be around,” Emma said. “When we’re done bowling, I ask her to come over and bowl with me.”
Haley, a sophomore, has been bowling for five or six years, her mom said.
“She would tell us when she was younger, ‘I want to go bowling.’ We take her bowling everyday now,” Jackie said. “It allows her to be with others, without judgement.”
Jens Oliva, the Matanzas boys bowling coach, remembers watching Haley bowl when the high school teams were practicing.
When he found out she was going to attend Matanzas this year, she and Pirates girls coach Tony Benvenuto encouraged her to join the team.
“Haley and her mom were there every day for the past two years,” Oliva said. “When she bowls that strike, she has that nice little whoo and claps twice. It’s just neat to see.”
Haley doesn’t use the ball’s finger or thumb holes. She tosses the ball underhanded down the alley and usually hits or is close to the pocket. Her average is about 120.
“She’s really good at bowling,” Emma said. “I’ve tried doing that myself without my fingers in the holes, and it’s very hard.”
Emma is Haley’s first best friend, Jackie said.
“Kids with autism don’t always have friends,” Jackie said. “She doesn’t get invited to birthday parties. She loves this because she’s part of the team and it doesn’t matter that she has a disability. The best thing about it is she's accepted by her peers and she belongs here.”
What does Haley think?
“It’s fun being a Pirate,” she said.
