My first session with a coach,what should I expect?

[Parker1028]

Ok, so I decided to get some coaching to improve my game this summer. I found a local USBC Silver coach in my area and have my first meeting with him on Saturday for an "evalutation". So my question is, what should I expect at this first meeting? Besides, a sales pitch for future sessions. :)

As I've written before, I gotten back into the game after taking a decade and a half off. This year I lifted my average 22 pins in league play from last year but still have tons of room for improvement with my current 167 ave.

jp

[BubbaRay]

A good coach will watch you and make suggestions to you about your physical game. A coach can also help you to develop a muscle free swing that will let you repeat shots. This is the key to a great game - not muscling the ball in the swing. A bowling coach will smooth out your approach so you can improve your consistency. It is very important for a student and coach to have a good relationship. Do not be afraid to try anything me might suggest. Remember he is there to give the best advice and training in this sport to improve your game. Trust him and he will trust you. Good luck and let us know how you faired with him the first time.

[30 Clean]

I recently had my first lesson and it went along these lines:

1. We sat for about 30 minutes and he asked questions about my game like my experience, my style, etc; evaluated my equipment, and wanted to know where I felt my game was at and where I wanted to get to. i.e. Just get better? Bowl tournaments? Whatever.
2. Went on the lane and he had me throw some shots while he just watched.
3. Then videotaped me from behind and the side.
4. Replayed the videos and we discussed where he saw issues.
5. Continued to shoot some more while he watched and made suggestions.
6. Afterwards sat and discussed the things I needed to concentrate on correcting.

In the end there was no sales pitch for more lessons. He left that completely up to me.

I would like to say that he made me feel completely at ease and it was a great experience. I was so comfortable with him, that I feel he's more a friend now than "my coach". :)

[Parker1028]

Thanks guys. I'm really looking forward to this. And it really is my consistancy that needs to be improved so I think that I'm making the right move here. I'll keep the forum updated on my experience this summer. :)

jp

[jackhammer]

If you are serious about getting better it's the best thing you can do to improve your game. I meet with my coach once a month and he really points things out in my game.

The best advice I can give is this. Write down things that you have ?'s about because you may forget. Also keep an open mind and work on one thing at a time. Soak up all the info you can.

The second time I met with my coach I threw 14 strikes in a row!!! He was very impressed with how I improved. I will get the monkey off my back and shoot that perfect game!!

[Rowdy]

I recently had my first lesson and it went along these lines:

1. We sat for about 30 minutes and he asked questions about my game like my experience, my style, etc; evaluated my equipment, and wanted to know where I felt my game was at and where I wanted to get to. i.e. Just get better? Bowl tournaments? Whatever.
2. Went on the lane and he had me throw some shots while he just watched.
3. Then videotaped me from behind and the side.
4. Replayed the videos and we discussed where he saw issues.
5. Continued to shoot some more while he watched and made suggestions.
6. Afterwards sat and discussed the things I needed to concentrate on correcting.

In the end there was no sales pitch for more lessons. He left that completely up to me.

I would like to say that he made me feel completely at ease and it was a great experience. I was so comfortable with him, that I feel he's more a friend now than "my coach". :)

This is EXACTLY how a session with a coach should go. If you're not getting this,find someone else.

[Parker1028]

Ok guys, so had my first coaching session this past Saturday. I met the coach at the alley. Nice guy. Very friendly. He wanted to see me throw so he could find any flaws in my game. I threw a couple of balls and he started to give me some tips about my approach and the need for me to bend my knees more. He felt I needed to slow down atouch as well. And he had me stretching out my 3rd step which must have been a bit shorter than the others. He said I had a bit of a skip step.

After I got that down for a few frames, we went to work a bit on my targeting. I tend to have a problem with looking at the dots at the line instead of down the lanes. So we worked on that a bit.

The final thing that he had me work on was my balance at the line. He observed that I tend to pop up at the line. He explained that I need to be more like an airplane landing and keeping my head down as I glide to the finish.

After that, we were done. I threw a total of 20 frames with him working with me and I felt better and more comfortable with what I was learning by the end of it. I was ready to schedule my next lesson but he told me to work on what I learned today for a few weeks and then come back. He said he really didn't see that much more wrong with my basic game.

Since this was a free evaluation/first session, he didn't charge me a dime for it. I offered him his regular fee as I was happy with the result but he refused to take it. So I guess I'll work on what I've learned for a couple of weeks and then give him another call.

jp

[Rowdy]

This coach sounds like a winner for you. Keep up all the good work.