What to expect when taking lessons?

Questions about coaching?

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davidmk81
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What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by davidmk81 »

Ive always been a 190-195 average bowler for about 10+ years. Just recently Ive decided i want to seek out a coach locally for lessons to take me to the next level. I was wondering if anyone can give me a idea on what to expect in terms of how frequent i should be meeting with a coach. Keep in mind I'm sort of a slow learner... So if in the next 1-2 years if not sooner I'm trying and become a tournament player should i be going more than once a month? When i saw tournament player i mean tournaments like the High Rollers and Regionals. I contacted a Gold certified coach in my area and am waiting for him to get back to me on a date and time.
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kellytehuna
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by kellytehuna »

It will largely depend on the coach, what your working on, your goals and your willingness to work. For most, you're not going to work on more than one thing in a week or two. I think once every 2-3 weeks is pretty good. If you REALLY put in work and see progress quickly, you might want to up that a little, but more than once a week is probably over kill.
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kboveington
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by kboveington »

I agree with the previous post. Even once a month may be plenty. Or he may give you something to work on and once that learned skill is put into muscle memory call up your coach and have him evaluate your progress, then work on something else.

Ten years of the same average is a lot of repetitive motion. Keep an open mind and be patient with the coach. You may not see immediate success. In fact you may see a dip in performance while learning some new skills. Sometimes you have to take a step back before 3 steps forward.

You mentioned you think you may be a slow learner. Tell the coach this up front. There is nothing wrong with this. Some people are just more teachable then others. Also give him some goals as how YOU would like to see your game evolve.

Also if you haven't already if you can upload a few shots of you bowling. Post it under certified coaching and jmerrell will give you a free analysis of your bowling approach! He is very thorough and will answer any questions you may have.

Good luck! It's great to hear when people are striving to get better! I am excited for you. The game gets more fun the better you get!
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by MWeitz »

You have a lot of ingrained habits.

I would start with weekly and then work down from there. Every 3 weeks or month is more of a "maintenance" schedule in my opinion.

In the beginning, he is going to be changing things. Having him "tune you up" every week or so will greatly increase your chances of success. Of course, this is assuming you are going to do a few practice sessions a week.

I'm a new bowler. Been bowling since mid June with the kids, then started getting serous in aug. I have taken 2 sets of 5 weekly group classes and the family (4) did one 2 hour private. I also have some free time so get to practice pretty regularly.

I could barely break 100 when I started. My average is now 145 and my high game is 224. I'm a very slow learner. I have taken lessons in all the sports I do, Freedive classes, advanced SCUBA, dirtbike classes and boot camps, bowling classes, ski class, snowboarding classes and so on.
davidmk81
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by davidmk81 »

Thank you for all the replies =) looks like i got alot of work to do =)
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halfaclue
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by halfaclue »

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Same is true when "fixing" the bowling swing, as long as you are "fixing" root causes and not chasing symptoms. Make sure that whom ever you are taking lessons from is using video and some type of slow motion capture software (several great free options).

In my opinion, I think lesson frequency should be determined by the coach and the student together. Some lessons will take several attempts to learn and some will come easily. This may result in taking an extra week (month whatever) to practice before the next lesson.

Always remember that no matter what, you get out of bowling what you put into bowling. Make sure to think about your bowling goals, and express them to your selected coach. This will allow development of a plan to obtain your goals.
Dan

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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by MWeitz »

davidmk81 wrote:Thank you for all the replies =) looks like i got alot of work to do =)
How did you and your coach decide to go about it and how is the schedule working out?

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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by sprocket »

I took a few lessons once and I wish I would have stuck with it. A good instructor can make a huge difference. My first lesson the instructor had me walking to the foul line for about 90 minutes. WITHOUT the ball. That was it. End of lesson #1. It helped. A LOT.
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glssmn2001
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by glssmn2001 »

Expect nothing, you get what you give, provided you have a decent coach to work with.
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JJakobsen
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by JJakobsen »

Since I am lazy, I didn't bother making a curve.

But expect your scores to go like this, the start is 190 where you are now, the bottom part will last longer though.

First you have to do it right, then you will have to think about doing it right, concentrate on doing it correctly every shot, and when you don't have to think about it, thats when the curve goes up again.

Image
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halfaclue
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by halfaclue »

It is true that it takes approximately 1500 shots to make it a natural motion. But that doesn't mean your scores should go down for an extended period of time.

If you practice properly and not just go throw balls while keeping score. I always ask myself this question: How do you get to Carneige Hall?
Dan

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JJakobsen
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by JJakobsen »

My thought and experience says that if you got something you wanna get rid of, you have to force it by doing exercises and focusing on it in normal shots. Like trying to open up your hand through the swing and into the release. If you don't focus, you often end up THINKING you are opening up, but that's just the brain fooling you.

But when you do focus, you do something differently, which doesn't connect with the rest of the approach, so you will get more inconsistent on more planes before getting consistent again.

As I said, my experience.
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Re: What to expect when taking lessons?

Post by jmatthews »

I took my son to Joe Slowinskis clinic just prior to the holidays (attended by both Menorevs and halfaclue). Needless to say Joe provided a lot of information and direction, and although we attended both days it seemed to be way to short of time to digest and implement the changes recommended. My son has continued to work on the drills and suggestions provided. Its a process....but the improvements in his game is starting to show. Somethings have come easily, and others are still a work in progress. My son being 15 has the tendency to want instant gratification, but is starting to see the benifit of patience and hard work. I think everyone can gain some useful info from lessons or a clinic, whether it be direction that works for you, or that it doesnt. I'm hoping both halfaclue and Menorevs would give their in-site on Joe's clinic and any benifits they gleaned from it.
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