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Thread: It feels like I'm wasting time trying to improve

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by RobLV1 View Post
    I know it's been mentioned before, but if you've been working with a "really good coach" for two years and you're not happy with your improvement, I would really question whether this coach is right for you.

    Also, I didn't see an answer to the question about your coach's qualifications. I've seen more bowlers messed up by bad coaching than I care to remember.
    Bowlerguy put a link in one of his posts for his coach’s credentials. It mentions the coach being on Bowlers Journal’s list of the top 100 coaches.
    John

  2. #12
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    I have a family member who has been to a few different USBC certified "coaches" for lessons. Some charged by the 1/2 hour, some were on staff at the local bowling center and offered coaching for free. Their average went down each time...and has not come back up to where it was before they ever started going to "coaches" to begin with. They wanted to go to a coach to get even better, but that backfired horribly. Now they are on the verge of quitting the sport altogether. They are experiencing the same issues of practicing with no sense of purpose or feeling of growth in their game, being miserable at leagues, fellow bowlers making comments about "what happened to your game? you used to be so consistent?" and generally just feeling like they no longer know how to bowl at the level they once did.

    My personal opinion is that any good coach will work with you to improve within your own personal style (let's face it, everyone bowls a little bit differently.) If a coach wants you to start over again from scratch, that is not an effective coach. A coach should watch you bowl to establish a baseline, and then tweak things within your current game/style to help you improve. I also don't think it should take years to see improvement. 6-8 months perhaps, but two years with no personal sense of accomplishment is a huge problem. If you like your current coach, and feel as though the time spent with them has been beneficial, then explain to them your immediate goals (modern release, for example) and focus on one thing at a time. Trying to tweak too many things simultaneously will just be detrimental.

  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by J Anderson View Post
    Bowlerguy put a link in one of his posts for his coach’s credentials. It mentions the coach being on Bowlers Journal’s list of the top 100 coaches.
    As I said before, I wonder whether or not the coach is right for him. He's not necessarily "bad," just not the right fit. Some coaches can make a connection with a certain bowler and some can't. The goal is to find the right fit.

  4. #14

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    He's actually on this top 100 list, certified silver coach. http://www.bowlersjournal.com/wp-con...aches-2015.pdf




    Undoubtedly he's the best coach I've ever worked with. At times, it feels like progression is very slow. But today when I went to practice, everything felt better overall, which is interesting. I shaved off a little bit of the callus on my bowling thumb and interestingly enough that seemed to have quite an impact on my release quality...practice overall today felt smoother than previous ones.

    @RobV1
    But yeah, what you said is spot-on. In the early years, where I developed my early turn habits, I had the worst coaches on this face of the planet teach me, or "help me improve." They were all about correcting things to bowl better that day, rather than improving actual mechanics. You can just see where that's gonna go, a one-way ticket to nowhereville.
    Last edited by BowlerGuy1500; 05-03-2021 at 05:41 PM.

  5. #15
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    I think JAnderson hit the nail on the head.

    What do you want? Communicate that to your coach. Develop a plan to get there.

    Your plan is going to have phases. Short term, mid term, Long term, and "dream goals". They are gonna look something like this:

    Short term:
    - Find qualified coach
    - Work on fundamentals

    Mid-Term:
    - Improve spare shooting %
    - Improve strike %
    - Raise average

    Long Term:
    - Join scratch league
    - Join challenge/sport pattern leagues
    - Enter a non-PBA tournament each month

    "Dream Goals":
    - Obtain PBA Card
    - Enter Regional PBA50 Tournaments

    See, these are "measurable" goals. REAL goals. Things you can work towards. Not just "feelings". If you miss them, your coach should be able to work with you on why you're missing them and develop a plan to fix it. Fixing those measurable goals...will include fixing those other things...like release, timing, approach, repeatability, balance, ball selection, etc... As you accomplish those lower goals and middle goals and work toward those higher goals...you'll HAVE to figure out the release to get there.
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