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Amid a clatter of crashing pins, Special Olympics coach Charles Coleman offers some pointers as 18-year-old Jamie Brami eyes the final throws of her Saturday morning practice at the posh new AMF 300 bowling alley in Gaithersburg.

Coleman gives her a low-five and steps back. Tenth frame. She's working on a spare.  Qualifying for the state Special Olympics bowling tournament is only a week away.

The Gaithersburg resident sends her ball sliding smoothly down the lane. Seven pins tumble.

Even with the 9th-frame spare, her tally comes to a bit more than half of what she's capable of — though you would never know it as she checks her score.

"I got a 39!" she beams to her father Luc, who watched among the throng of parents and family members of the 60-plus athletes who bowl with the county's Special Olympics group.

Bowling is the fastest growing Special Olympics sport, according to Special Olympics Maryland, and the county's group has doubled in size over the years, involving athletes from middle school age up to one bowler who is 62 years old.

"We are more about community than improving your stroke," explained Germantown resident Debbie Fickenscher, a team coordinator and mother to athlete Elaine. "For some of these people, this is it — this is all they have. They don't have a job; they're living in a group home. This is a huge deal for many of the athletes."

And it's that time of year when the bowler is about to be an even bigger deal as three months of training culminate this Saturday in a qualifying round to decide the 18 athletes who will go to the state Special Olympics bowling tournament next month.

"It's just the end of the rainbow; it's so way cool," Fickenscher said.

Even with qualifiers looming near, most of the parents hardly bother with how high or low the scores might be. Their thoughts are more on everyone having chance to let loose.

"Ooh, it means a lot," North Bethesda resident Teresa Rangel said of seeing the joy bowling gives her 16-year-old daughter Eugenia, a sophomore at Walter Johnson High School. "… It's great, it's great. I mean, to see her happy, doing something happy. These children, it's better to keep them busy, doing something. If you leave them at home doing nothing, it's terrible. That's why parents feel so happy to bring them to things like this."

It's as if the warm-and-fuzzies are contagious: six years since joining the crew of volunteer coaches, Silver Spring resident Rich Domros might need these bowlers more than they need him.

"You forget the frustrations of your work week," he said. "Every Saturday I come out here I get my smile back."

But don't be fooled: these athletes have no shortage of competitive fire — and in Barbara Hinkston's case, a dash playful bravado.

After scoring a strike to start her second game, the 48-year-old from Rockville coolly backs it up with another.

"I'm hot today!" she boasts to the lookers-on.

Her next turn is rife with anticipation.

Five pins fall.

Without the slightest hesitation or hint of let-down, she turns and exudes her prediction — "Spare, baby!" — her bright yellow T-shirt emblazoned with Special Olympics Maryland's motto, "Inspire Greatness."

To hear parent Joe Robinson of Damascus tell it, Saturday is the one day of the week that his son Jonathan has no problem getting out of bed. Showing off his black-and-orange ball that reminds him of a fireball — with his name etched in cursive — the 18-year-old student at Damascus High School described what he loves about the game: "Get strikes," he said. Though his two games Saturday saw no strikes, he doesn't wont for confidence when asked if he will make it to his first state tournament.

"Oh yeah, I'll make that one. I'll bowl a hundred!" he said.