Helping someone out

[Lefty]

Well on our scholastic team we have 4 people including me that carry decent averages and we have 1 that doesnt know how to bowl. So what I am asking is what are some helpful tips I can give him. Any tips will work he only has a 49 average

[RickJensen]

The first thing I'd probably work on is getting a good delivery. Have them work on a 4- or 5-step approach with a good straight backswing and followthrough, keeping shoulders square. Once they develop an approach and delivery that is consistent they should improve the consistency of their shot greatly and you could then move on to teaching them how to aim for an arrow or spot and their game should improve quite a bit with just these couple things. It will probably take a little bit of time and practice, and of course the bowler has to want to improve before they will be able to improve. Just take it one thing at a time and be patient!

[BubbaRay]

Start teaching him the basics lefty. How old is he? Fundamentals come first.
Teach him to use a straight ball until he can become more consistent.
This is good advice unless he has a natural hook. He can learn to control a straight ball quicker and he can learn to make spares sooner. He can also concentrate on fundamentals at the same time, which is a difficult job when one is trying to throw a hook . Teach him a four step delivery.

Teach him not to release the ball until after it has passed his left foot. Tell him to roll the ball and not throw it. The best distance the ball should be released onto the lane for a beginner is 6 -24 inches depending on his height.
Show him where to stand about 10-12 feet from the foul line for a 4 step delivery and face square on to the pins. Tell him not to run to the line but to take nice even strides. Have him hold the ball waist or chest high. teach him to have a free arm swing from start to finish. And show him when releasing the ball to keep the thumb at a 12:00 c'clock position.

If you need any help let me know and we can set up a practice time on a Sunday. I can come down and help you out with him.

[Walkin Kamikaze]

Well on our scholastic team we have 4 people including me that carry decent averages and we have 1 that doesnt know how to bowl. So what I am asking is what are some helpful tips I can give him. Any tips will work he only has a 49 average

WOW! Sorry, but we had like 10 kids that didnt know how to bowl, but they all had like 70 averages.. By the end of the season, the lowest guys average was like 120 (excluding 2 kids that didnt try or come to many practices) Just make sure to help with consistency, then worry about curve and stuff like that.. Make sure they get a consistent approach and stuff.. Then work on getting that with a curve. I don't think that if he has a 49 AVERAGE that he will be up to 100 by the end of the season.. Tell him to come out next year and by the time the 3rd year comes around, he could compete with 120 or more bowlers depending how good of a listener and learner he is..

[idlehourlegend]

Start teaching him the basics lefty. How old is he? Fundamentals come first.
Teach him to use a straight ball until he can become more consistent.
This is good advice unless he has a natural hook. He can learn to control a straight ball quicker and he can learn to make spares sooner. He can also concentrate on fundamentals at the same time, which is a difficult job when one is trying to throw a hook . Teach him a four step delivery.

Teach him not to release the ball until after it has passed his left foot. Tell him to roll the ball and not throw it. The best distance the ball should be released onto the lane for a beginner is 6 -24 inches depending on his height.
Show him where to stand about 10-12 feet from the foul line for a 4 step delivery and face square on to the pins. Tell him not to run to the line but to take nice even strides. Have him hold the ball waist or chest high. teach him to have a free arm swing from start to finish. And show him when releasing the ball to keep the thumb at a 12:00 c'clock position.

If you need any help let me know and we can set up a practice time on a Sunday. I can come down and help you out with him.


Yea I agree here, all of this is very good information for a beginner, teach him the handshake technique also, tell him to shake hands with the arrow that he wants to use, keeping the ball on the lane is a big thing so throwing straight will be better off for him because with the 49 average its obvious he doesnt do that much. So just as long as he keeps it on the lane, and focuses on making spares he will be fine, strikes will come. I would say that getting a ball, no matter what kind of ball it is that fits his hand would be a very good idea for him (Im assuming he doesnt have one). There are a lot of things we could say but working on the basics would be a big thing. Another thing to help is make sure he doesnt listen to like 94% of the youth league coaches down at SS, when you see them bowl you will understand why, atleast that is if the same ones are there from when I used to bowl league there. The best idea would be to have him get together with Bubba on a Sunday and he will help him dramatically with his game, also make sure he gets out and practices, bowling league once a week wont get him much better cause he wont want to try many moves and new things as league is going on.

[BubbaRay]

idle, you made a good point about the so called youth coaches at SS. But if go down on a Sat. morn or a Tues nafternoon for their leagues, you will find about 5 so called coaches ( parents) between the two days. Sad . I remember when I coached the youth leagues in the 70's and 80's. There was an ABC certtified coach for every 8 lanes. on a Sat Morn. And that was for two shifts of youth bowlers.

[idlehourlegend]

idle, you made a good point about the so called youth coaches at SS. But if go down on a Sat. morn or a Tues nafternoon for their leagues, you will find about 5 so called coaches ( parents) between the two days. Sad . I remember when I coached the youth leagues in the 70's and 80's. There was an ABC certtified coach for every 8 lanes. on a Sat Morn. And that was for two shifts of youth bowlers.

Its just sad where its going, we had bowlers coaching us when I was bowling, but they all had no clue what they were saying/doing. They would say I did something wrong when I left a blower 7 etc. it was just stupid. Most of those people average less than the kids they are trying to coach and most arent even certified. At Idle Hour I believe all are certified, they have around 8 or 9, 2 per division.

[Rowdy]

Video,video,video. All them things on YouTube are finally good for something other than inflating our ego's. Anyone trying to get better will respond faster seeing a good swing rather than trying to figure out what the heck you're talking about. I can tell you what to do,but you'll pick it up a lot faster if I show you what it should look like. Pick a bowler with a classic style,(Brian Voss,Danny Wiseman,Doug Kent,PBIII,etc)and grab some YouTube vid of them.