Coaching bundle vs per hour?

[TXBowler79]

Hi all, I'm a fairly new league bowler and also new to the forum. A little history about myself... I moved across the country a few years ago and after talking with some coworkers we decided to join a bowling league for fun last summer and had a blast doing it. I hadn't bowled in probably a decade and I only joined a league once in some backwater town when I was in college 16 years ago for fun where I taught myself to hook the ball.

Before last summer I went into the pro shop at the bowling alley to buy a ball, but they didn't have much of a selection and also didn't carry 16 lb balls anymore. I ended up going home with a 15 lb Aura Paranormal. Last summer I started off terrible with a 120 average and ended the summer in the 140s. Last winter I started in the 150s and ended around 167. All this time I've been watching youtube videos and reading forums on technique, but I hadn't had much time to actually get to the alley and practice outside of league itself. I decided to try out the Silver coach at the pro shop, but his rate was $40 for an hour and that was pretty expensive for me for just 1 hour. Most of that hour I was "warming up" while he was in the pro shop selling stuff and I walked away with 3 tips. 1) don't walk away after my shot, 2) keep my elbow closer to my body and 3) bend my wrist to the right (told me to swing a broom handle to increase flexibility with it). The bending of my wrist created a new angle that tore up my thumb in the next few weeks and my average dropped 20 pins. After a bunch more research I decided to go with a glove that was a lifter and helped the thumb leave the ball properly. After getting that glove my games have skyrocketed and I bowled my first couple 600 series during winter. This past summer I ended with a 185 average that was rising.

I would love to find a coach that has a deal or a bundle that would want to work with me not just a hourly rate. I see coaches that teach high school kids and have a hard time believing they are paying 40/hour! I also would love some advice on a new bowling ball. I hurried getting my ball because league was starting soon last summer, and nobody even watched me bowl before they drilled it which I am told now that is bad. I still can't hook across the oil pattern (I'm right handed) and have it come back all the way unless I were to throw it real slow.

[classygranny]

First, if the coach doesn't give you his/her undivided attention for the full hour (perhaps 50 minutes if that's their quoted hour), then you have every right to complain and demand that they spend the entire hour with you...not running the pro shop. Refuse to pay, except for the time being coached.

Most of the coaches I've dealt with, will do some type of bundle, do 4 lessons, the fifth is free. I pay $40/hr, but my coach is there the entire time. Even if someone comes up to talk with him, I still feel I get his attention when needed, and usually we go over the hour. He won't do more than one person at a time as it distracts from the lessons.

A lot of coaches will coach high schoolers for free or at a reduced rate to help build the sport. If you continue to work with this coach, make sure he understands what you want to accomplish and what you expect from him/her as far as their attention. Also, when you started to have issues with your thumb, you should have gone back to him and talked about it. That discussion should have been at no cost. If this coach isn't or won't adhere to these few principles then I would suggest a different coach.

You seem to be progressing, so coaching would probably serve you well, provided the coach is serving your needs. The Aura Paranormal, from what I know is a good ball. Although it might not match up to your game or house shot. A coach is a very good source on suggesting what ball(s) will work for your style, lane conditions, and what you want out of it. So are a lot of the forum members.

Good Luck!

[bowl1820]

Hi and welcome to the forum!

The coach you tried already sounds like he was more interested in running the ProShop than teaching.

The best way to find a good coach in your area is by word of mouth, ask around and try to find others that have used a coach and get a recommendation.

You can also try the USBC find a coach page here:

http://www.bowl.com/findacoach/

It will show you coaches in your area.

As for prices they will be different everywhere, $30 -$40 is in the ballpark a lot of places. Not to say you can't find cheaper.

In regards to the coaches teaching high school kids, youth coaching would be a different situation. I would check with those coaches though and see if they coach adults also.

Also watch out for training camps, a lot places have one days camps. While not full on coaching, you can get some basic help. Usually at a low cost.

[got_a_300]

I personally would not consider using that coach again unless
there was no other coach available in your area. Then I would
tell them I wanted their full attention if I was having to pay $40
per hour not have them off selling stuff in the Pro shop.

[RobLV1]

Most coaches will agree to giving you a package deal for a series of lessons, however you need to understand what coaching is about. A good coach will not cover more than two or three things with you in one lesson for the simple fact that to try and cover more is detrimental to you. Everything in bowling is interconnected and to have a bowler work on more than two or three things just creates confusion and chaos in the mind of the bowler and prevents him from incorporating anything effectively. Personally, I charge by the lesson, not by the hour. I will work with a bowler for as much time as it takes for him to show me that he has BEGUN to incorporate those elements that we've worked on that day. Sometimes it takes a half and hour, other times it takes two hours. Whatever it takes is what he gets.

Let's take a look at what he told you: 1) Don't walk away after a shot - This is general advice that is intended to let you know that you can learn as much from a bad shot as from a good one. A bowler who turns his back on a shot that he knows missed the target is missing out on the information that he can gain from watching the ball reaction on the area of the lane that he untentionally hit with the missed shot. 2.) Keep your elbow closer to your body - He's beginning to help you to get more behind the ball to get more power on your shot, and 3.) Bend your wrist to the right is another element to get you more power. The "tip" about the broom handle says that he is seeing some weakness in your wrist that is also affecting your power.

Let's look at this realistically. Your average went from 167 to 185 which apparently you attribute to using a wrist brace, but you still can't hook the ball across the oil pattern unless you throw it real slow. Really? You expect to take one lesson for one hour of the coaches undivided attention for $40 and be ready to join the PBA Tour. To me, also a Silver Level coach, it sounds like you made some pretty good progress for taking one single lesson. Rome was not built in a day, and neither is a top level bowler. It takes years of hard work and many, many hours of practice. Your "research" on the internet cannot replace the eyes of a trained professional coach. Perhaps if bowlers understood the true value of good coaching, your coach would not have to depend on running back and forth to the pro shop to sell balls to try to eek out a living.

[TXBowler79]

I never said anything about doing a pro tour or about learning everything I need in one hour. In fact, I'm pretty sure I said I would love a bundle deal with a coach. Also I said that after following his advice I dropped 20 pins in average in 4-5 weeks of using it as well as tearing my thumb to shreds because of my hand angle. Dropping his advice and getting the brace allowing my average to go up 20 pins (40 from what he had me doing) told me something totally different. That my problem was my thumb wasn't leaving the ball at the right time and I wasn't getting lift on my ball... which the brace helped with. That being a huge problem that my coach didn't notice with his eyes because they were in the proshop. Don't just assume I expect the world in an hour, but if somebody actually paid attention to my swing and release they could have told me those mistakes I was making which would have made a huge impact on my bowling. Also those tips had nothing to do with power, but with the axis of rotation my ball had as my ball wasn't spinning at a certain angle. All of these things the wrist support helped with moreso. I can't stand on the far left of the lane, throw it across with my normal swing which is fast, and have it come back into the pocket yet. I know it's a problem with my release / revs from my "research". I also know I don't need to hook like that as I stand between the 3rd circle and the large middle circle before my approach and throw it to the first arrow and have it hook just fine to the pocket. I just wanted to know how I could refine my technique to be able to throw across the lane.

Also, maybe you have tons of money to be able to afford "many, many hours of practice" and "good coaching", but at 40/ hour with no specials / bundles or deals might be why there aren't more people taking up the sport. It seems pretty evident from everybody that if you want to get better at the sport you should get a coach, but it's just too expensive for most people in today's economy on top of what you pay in league costs and just to throw a game or two now and then.

[JohnnyG]

To improve the game it will need follow ups and regular assistance while making changes approach I prefer bundle and it save.

[dnhoffman]

Most coaches will give you a package because more than just turning a profit, they're interested I'm seeing you find improvement and enjoyment with the game.

The people I coach I usually end up coaching for beers...

Use bowl.com, find a coach , and if you don't like them, move on to the next.