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First time coach would like so assistance :)

Posted: March 15th, 2017, 7:56 pm
by Mattias
Hi I am new to coaching and this is my first student.
I have been coaching her since the beginning of December and the first video was taken Dec 13, the others I took yesterday.

She's a quick learner and very enthusiastic about bowling but sometimes lacks discipline.

Personally I feel like she's lifting the ball to much at the "push away/hinge", we practiced this at the beginning and some progress was made but i feel like it could still be better.

I have been trying to get her third step longer and her fourth step a bit shorter so it's more under her head/body and not slowing her down just before the slide.
Her fourth step also goes to the right instead of in front of her left foot, when I put tape on the approach she can execute the footwork perfectly but as soon as the tape is gone she goes back to the old approach.

When it comes to the release all we have done is getting a better wrist supporter but there is still a lot of work to be done there.

Any tips would be appreciated, maybe you know of any good exercises we could try.

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Re: First time coach would like so assistance :)

Posted: March 16th, 2017, 2:18 am
by TonyPR
Hello Mattias, what you are doing is great, youth are the future of our sport! I am a youth coach myself and am a certified USBC Bronze coach. If I may respectfully ask, are you certified or how did you learn how to be a coach. The first thing I made sure, in my case, was that I was 100% sure that I not only knew what I was teaching but also that I knew different proven methods of how to transmit that knowledge as people learn in different ways.

I am a fan of video analysis and use the Ubersesnse App (now called Technique) as recommended to me by coach Jeri Edwards who is currently coaching team Puerto Rico. The great thing about video is that you can look at it in slow motion multiple times and methodically study a player from toes to head. Technique lets you draw lines, circles and arrows in different colors so that you can show the video to the athlete you are coaching so they can see themselves and show them what they are doing.

I am also a fan of isolating parts of the game and prescribing drills to fix deficiencies in the physical game. In that I am a fan of Del Warren's method used at Kegel training center. They have a lot of empirical data to back it up. Check out these videos:

http://wiki.bowlingchat.net/wiki/index. ... ence_video" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are a couple of things that stick out on your student's video and my main concern is that maybe the ball is too heavy for her. Why does she need a wrist support? Sometimes parents will prefer their kids use a heavier ball than what they should use because it won't deflect as much and score better in the immediate future. What they are really doing is hindering the athlete's development. She needs to learn balance at the foul line, have a fluid approach getting her body out of the ball's swing slot and she must learn to release the ball in a modern way and learn to be versatile with her wrist. All the above will take a few years but at the end you will have helped develop an athlete that will probably have a chance at collegiate scholarships in different universities and right now colleges in the USA are in fact seeking women bowlers...

Start her up with the finish drill(week 4 of the Kegel videos) on the lanes and have her practice stance and start (week 2) in her house. She can also practice the approach and step drill on her own at an empty lane for free, just ask the bowling alley if it's ok to tape a line with blue painters tape.

Good luck and remember that practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent and it takes about 1,500 repetitions to learn how to do something as second nature so you get around 20 shots a game if you purposely don't strike so you do the math.

Good luck and stay positive.