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On Saturdays this winter, 8-year-old Josef Thurston has packed up Tigger, his bright orange bowling ball, and headed to Thunder Rolls Bowling Center.

After growing up watching his family bowl, Thurston is happy to finally have his chance to bowl.

"The best is getting strikes," he said. "I've made new friends, and it's fun."

Thurston and more than 30 other bowlers ages 4 to 13 were at Thunder Rolls on a recent Saturday morning for the Craig Youth Bowling League.

Brenda Burke is the league's director.

"This is the first year for the league, and there are a lot of first-time bowlers," she said. "We're keeping it pretty basic this year. My motto is, 'Keep it simple, keep it fun.'"

The basic teachings include a video tutoring lesson. Burke said she shows the video every other week.

"It teaches the beginners the four-step approach and that they need to keep their hand straight," Burke said. "There are more advanced videos that I'll show to the older kids."

Wade Johnson appreciated that the only TV his three children were watching on Saturday mornings was a bowling video tutorial followed by some exercise and life lessons.

"It teaches them that everything in life isn't perfect and helps them deal with some disappointment," he said. "You're not going to bowl a strike every time you try something in life."

Johnson's son, 8-year-old Travis, came over to brag to his dad that he bowled a 107.

"We golf in the summer, and they now have something to look forward to on the weekends in the winter," Johnson said.

Although the league is in its first year, some talented bowlers have developed.

Ten-year-old Trevor Goodwin rolled a personal best 201 recently. He was bummed Saturday because his new bowling ball had a chip in it.

"I don't know what happened," he said with a frown. "It's not going as good today."

Trevor said he would probably sit at home and watch cartoons on Saturday morning if it weren't for the bowling league.

"I always bowled with my parents," he said. "Now I get to go by myself and bowl with kids my age."

The bowlers participating in the league are placed on teams, and they compete as teams. This year's pairings were informal compared with future seasons.

"I didn't really know the kids that well," Burke said. "This year, I just let them pick teams. Next year, we'll keep track of teams and their scores."

Burke, who was a high school bowling coach when she lived in Nevada, will be taking five youth teams to Grand Junction on March 18 and 19 for the youth league's first tournament.

"We'll have teams at different levels going," she said. "I hope to give them some exposure."

Exposure and winning in big tournaments are the ultimate goals for Burke.

"The expressions on their faces make it great," she said. "When they get their first spare or their first strike and come up to me beaming is what I like to see."

Youth leagues start bowling at 9 a.m. and 14- to 18-year-olds start at 11:30 a.m.

The cost is $10 for a bowling card, and $8 per week. You only pay if you show up to bowl.

Daily Press reporter Dan Olsen contributed to this story.