Las Vegas - The 2009 USBC Coaches Summit concluded Tuesday afternoon at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino Convention Center, ending a two-day session of presentations and dialogue between some of bowling's top minds in coaching, research and elite-athlete training.

"Ever since USBC moved to Arlington to be a part of the International Bowling Campus with BPAA, it seems as if things are being looked at in a much more scientific way than ever before," said David Harris, a former member of the International Bowling Pro Shop and Instructors Association (IBPSIA) Board of Directors. "I really like where we're headed, so I'll definitely be back at Bowl Expo and the USBC Coaches Summit next year."

Harris' comments came at the end of the second of two days full of educational seminars on topics that ranged from how to properly implement exercise, strength and nutrition regimens to benefit up-and-coming bowlers to a USBC Equipment Specifications and Certification department preliminary report on how different variables (ball speed, rev rate, entry angle, exit angle and lane equipment factors) influence pin carry.

"By and large, we were given a lot more information than I was expecting, and all of it was excellent," USBC Silver coach Joani Emery said. "I coach children and individuals with special needs. Now, I can take the information that I've gotten during these two days of seminars, and impart it to my students and/or their parents. Having bowl.com and USBC's trained staff there to back up the information is invaluable."

USBC Exercise and Strength Conditioning Specialist Nick Bohanan, who jumped into his first Bowl Expo/Coaches Summit experience by helping produce seminars on issues concerning a bowler's body type and how exercise, strength training and nutrition should be evaluated and strategically planned out by coaches in order to help their bowlers reach their full potential.

"The level of knowledge and understanding displayed by the coaches was extremely impressive," Bohanan said. "Not only did they easily grasp the concepts that we had to present, but also they provided us with a great deal of insight as to the direction that the coaching department should take when looking at future research projects. They have told us what they want to learn more about in the future, so now it's up to us to get out there and grab the answers they need."

In Bohanan's area of expertise, some coaches expressed the desire to get more information regarding the benefits and potential consequences surrounding an athlete's use of vitamin and/or nutritional supplements as well as how alternative diets (low-carb, vegetarian, etc.) may impact a bowler's long-term ability to perform. Bohanan and co-presenter USBC Coaching Specialist Stephen Padilla will head up those research efforts.

"I brag about my staff all the time because I think it truly is made up of some of the best minds the sport of bowling has to offer," USBC High Performance Director David Garber said. "They have the knowledge and drive to study the sport in a different way that will help us uncover material that has never been seen before. I think that was shown over the last two days because these were some of the best seminars USBC and IBPSIA have ever had."